Guiding Principles
Thriving Agrifood Sector – A strong agrifood sector contributes to the social and economic wellbeing of rural communities.
Connectivity – Strong relationships and collaboration are essential for robust rural food economies.
Community-Led Solutions – Individuals and communities lead from where they stand to solve their own food system challenges.
Learning & Empowerment – Rural communities relearn how to retain and share value locally.
“The Connect for Food process engages, empowers, and enables members of the Food Wheel through a replicable and cyclical approach. By fostering connectivity, we cultivate communities of practice that drive sustainable behaviours and ensure local value stays within rural food economies.”
Who We Are
“Grow what we eat. Eat what we grow.” This simple yet powerful message drives Connect for Food. Inspired by Perry and Keleigh’s deep experience in agriculture and food, our initiative strengthens local food systems with a shared passion for sustainability.
Momentum for local food is growing. People are rethinking how we produce, distribute, and consume food, and Connect for Food is here to harness that energy. By fostering connections, we unite knowledge and best practices to help communities take increased ownership of their food economy.
Local food has often been seen as niche, but we take a broader approach—expanding beyond Alberta’s dichotomy of “premium” local products or commodity ingredients—to producing more food for our consumption. A thriving local food sector isn’t just about production; it’s about people. More rural opportunities mean stronger, more resilient communities, helping rural Alberta grow, adapt, and thrive.
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Perry Phillips
CO-FOUNDER
Perry Phillips’ focus and passion has been organizational design/development, program/project planning and management in the agricultural-environmental sector for over 20 years. Environmentally sustainable agriculture, land use management, localized food production and community-based leadership have been central in Perry’s career. He lives on his farm in Smoky Lake County, Alberta.
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Keleigh Cormier, FCMC
CO-FOUNDER
Keleigh is President of ClearThink™ Group and a Fellow Certified Management Consultant (FCMC). She draws on her ranching roots and global food industry experience to strengthen agrifood businesses and advance agritourism. She lives in Strathcona County and is co-founder of Connect for Food.
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Cara Shan
PLANNING & COMMUNICATIONS ASSOCIATE
Cara lives in Ardrossan with her family and has been involved with Connect for Food since 2023. She also co-leads Athabasca Grown and serves as President of the Ardrossan Ag Society. With a background in environmental consulting and 10/11ths of a Master’s in community studies, she now focuses on enabling socially embedded food systems.
Connect for Food projects are administered exclusively through
