8/3/2019 5 Lessons to Savour From Foodstock

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5 LESSONS TO

SAVOUR FROM

FOODSTOCK By J O D I L A S T M A N on O C T O B E R 1 9 T H , 2 0 1 1

There’s no doubt about it. Foodstock was a rip-roaring success. By  various accounts anywhere between 20 and 30,000 people were inattendance–eating, drinking and raising much needed funds to fightHighland Companies‘ proposed quarry. The event also brought anunbelievable amount of awareness to the proposed quarry and therisk it poses to the environment, agriculture, water and health of communities across Ontario.

Michael Stadtlander set an attendance goal of 20,000, and up to a week before the event organizers were secretly saying they hoped that5-10,000 people would attend. No one could have anticipated thenumber of muddy wellies trudging through the forest last weekend.But once you consider the strategic steps employed around stopping

the megaquarry, the results are no surprise.

Here are the 5 most important lessons to be learned from Foodstock’ssuccess:

1. A Staged Process: In the months leading up toFoodstock, awareness events were built around specific thoughtfully articulated issues. The first event at Marben, was focused on food andthe implications the quarry would have on our local food supply. Thesecond event at Patagonia was about the potential impacts on our

 water. Rather than throwing out all the issues at once (and seeing

8/3/2019 5 Lessons to Savour From Foodstock

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 what stuck) each issue was given its due and as a result those whoparticipated walked away with a deeper understanding of what’s atstake and the urgency of getting involved.

2. Engage Communities of Interest: At each of the gatherings there

 was a healthy mix of non-profit leaders, intellectuals, members of themedia, bloggers, community advocates, representing a range of issues. Heck, Barry and I were even invited. The organizers thoughtabout all of the groups who could possibly care about the mega quarry and built relationships with them, one at a time.

3. Create Short Term, Achieveable Goals: Rather than conveyingthe knee-jerk “No Mega-Quarry” message at the outset, the initialthrust of the effort was focused entirely on ensuring that HighlandCompanies were required to undertake an environmental assessment 

 before moving forward with their proposed quarry. When thishappened it was a clear win for the issue and created the momentumneeded to make Foodstock a real celebration and a sign that we could

collectively make a difference.

4. Have Fun: Imagine this was a traditional protest instead of aconcert and food festival. How many people would have shown up (inthe rain) with placards in hand? The fun-factor made the eventappealing to a much wider constituency who aren’t the usual activistsuspects. A gathering at French’s Farm where chefs served up

delicious local food under the forest canopy reminded everyone what’s at stake. And the music of  Hayden, Jim Cuddy, Sarah Harmerand members of the Barenaked Ladies warmed the cold and soggy crowd and made Foodstock feel like a modern day protest. At onepoint Hayden reminded everyone not to “Eat the brown crème

 brûlée.” We can fight for change and have a good time at the sametime, can’t we?

5. Give People the Tools they Need: Upon arrival at Foodstock every person was handed a brightly coloured envelope for donations.The crowd was reminded from the stage that the fight was just

 beginning and that people needed to chase down their MP’s and letthem know that the quarry needs to be stopped. You need to givepeople tools. People have good intentions but the right tools helpthem get the job done.