CFF Attends Half Your Plate Symposium

In April 2025, Dorothy Long and Penny Eaton from Canadian Food Focus attended the Half Your Plate Symposium in Montreal, an event held in conjunction with the Canadian Produce Marketing Association’s annual convention and trade show. The symposium provided a full day of discussions from dietitians, researchers, farmers and others about how to help Canadians improve their fruit and vegetable consumption for better health.

Fascinating learnings were shared at the event, including how traditional approaches to nutrition advice often do not accommodate dietary and cultural differences for Canadian immigrant communities. For example, a ‘snack’ is not a common concept in some cultures. Also, foods such as cassava, plantains and others are not really included in Canada’s Food Guide, or are classified differently in terms of fruits, vegetables and starches. Freezing and canning are unfamiliar to many new Canadians. Several global dishes have ingredients all mixed together rather than separated into food groups, which can make estimating relative proportions of different foods difficult. All of these factors add challenges for immigrant families trying to meet their nutritional goals.

As well, Half Your Plate included a panel of farmers, wholesalers and retailers to discuss and answer questions about what it takes to bring fruits and vegetables from the farm to the plate.

Symposium attendees participated in a group activity to identify barriers to fruit and vegetable consumption and explored ways to overcome these difficulties. The day also included a guided tour of the CPMA tradeshow which showcased 630 exhibitors representing over 325 companies. The Half Your Plate delegates had the opportunity to speak with featured exhibitors, ask questions and savour interesting food samples.

Thanks to Jennifer Ong Tone and Sue Lewis from CPMA for the invitation for CFF to attend!