The Ontario Food Terminal Board (OFTB) has a new vice chair and a new director effective August 31. Christy McMullen of Summerhill Market in Toronto is now serving as vice chair of the organization, and John Den Boer of Den Boer Family Farms near Tillsonburg has assumed a director position. Both have been appointed by the Ontario government to three-year terms.

McMullen worked as a chartered accountant in Canada and abroad before returning to the family business in the heart of old Toronto, which she co-manages with her brother. She’s past chair of the Canadian Federation of Independent Grocers and is a board member of the Vineland Research and Innovation Centre.

She takes over the vice chair role from Mark Pearlman, Chief Operating Officer CannAssist Group Inc. who first joined the OFTB in 2006. 

Den Boer grew up on a vegetable farm in the Netherlands and worked in the produce and grocery industries there before moving to Canada with his family in 1992. The family farm near Tillsonburg, now managed by his son and daughter-in-law, produces a wide range of vegetables that are primarily sold at the Terminal. He’s president of the Toronto Farmers’ Association and is currently a member of the OFTB COVID-19 Crisis Response Team.

Den Boer replaces outgoing board member Margaret Appleby, a part-time professor in the Food and Farming Program at Durham College and owner of Northumberland Hills Farm. 

Ken Knox remains chair of the board.  His term ends January 16, 2021.

Source:   Ontario Food Terminal Board August 31, 2020 news release