BRIEF HISTORY OF HOW THIS CAMPAIGN GOT STARTED

When mother Andreea Ionescu enrolled her daughter in a municipal daycare in August 2006, the menu looked great but soon discovered that:

• many foods contained trans fats
• margarine(trans fat heavy) was being used
• fried beef patties(which were both fried and trans fat heavy) were fed to the kids
• frozen fried eggs were served as “egg patties” instead of using fresh boiled eggs
• canned fruit (imported from great distances and served during harvest time in Ontario!!!) was often used instead of fresh fruit, e.g. canned peaches from Greece
• in general, canned foods were heavily relied upon even when the same foods were available fresh (examples: canned potatoes, canned soup)
• fish fillets from China were fed to the kids (doesn’t Canada have an ocean on all 3 sides?). This item is still currently on the menu.
• tuna was served on a weekly basis
• genetically modified canola oil preserved with BHT (preservative banned in the US from children’s food, also banned in other countries) was being used
• plus some other unpleasant items: processed foods with fillers, additive, etc. as opposed to meals cooked on site from scratch.

WHAT IT TOOK FOR THE CITY TO MAKE SOME POSITIVE CHANGES:

• It took three letters addressed to Children’s Services, David Miller, local MPP, local city councillors
  • Letter to: Mayor David Miller and Budget Committee Chair Shelley Carroll
  • Letter to: Brenda Patterson
  • Letter to: Peter Tabuns
• two deputations with the Board of Health (concerning trans fats) and the Parks and Environment Committee (concerning introducing more local food)
  • Deputation By ANDREEA IONESCU
  • Deputation By DERYK JACKSON
• two newspaper articles
  • Toronto Star
  • NOW Magazine
• other letters of support from parents, doctors, and the Health and Stroke Foundation