"In 2015, Halton Healthcare got onboard with Ontario's Local Food Act and created a local food procurement statement to promote the use of local food in its hospitals." 
— Vawn Himmelsbach for the Toronto Star

Getting more fresh, local Ontario food into hospitals is a challenge, but innovators and leaders in the industry are rising to the challenge. Halton Healthcare has incorporated Ontario foods into its menu year-round, and St. Michael's Hospital worked with George Brown to develop more from-scratch recipes for its patients. This feature originally appeared in the Toronto Star on Saturday, January 7, 2016.

"To say that Ontario's agri-food industry is an economic powerhouse may sound like hyperbole, but in fact it's something of an understatement." 
— Dick Snyder for the Toronto Star

Indeed, our agri-food sector generates $63 billion in sales to consumers each year, and employs 767,000 people. In this double-page feature, read about the financial benefits of fresh, homegrown food; farmers' stewardship of the land; overcoming the challenges of bringing food from the farm to the table; and why fostering food literacy at the grassroots level benefits the province and Ontarians at large. This feature originally appeared in the Toronto Star on Saturday, December 3, 2016.

This past winter respected journalist Dick Snyder penned a four-part Greenbelt Fund-focused series for the Toronto Star. Every Sunday from January 11 to February 1, we published Snyder's articles on our website.

Published weekly in the Saturday paper preceding our posts, the articles highlight the diverse and innovative local food successes of our farmers, schools, hospitals, and other Greenbelt Fund partners.

Now that the series has wrapped up we we wanted to make it easy to access each article. Below, we've included downloadable PDFs of Snyder's four pieces. Enjoy!

Part 1: Local food & innovation Published January 10	Part 2: Local food & consumer choice Published January 17
Part 3: Local food & our institutions Published January 24	Part 4: Local food & our policymakers Published January 30

Long list of potential benefits starts with consumer access

By: Dick Snyder

Every Sunday from January 11 to February 1, we'll be publishing Greenbelt Fund-focused articles by respected journalist Dick Snyder. The four-part series, which will first run in the Toronto Star on the Saturdays preceding our posts, will highlight the diverse and innovative local food successes of our farmers, schools, hospitals, industries, and other Greenbelt Fund partners.

Getting to the heart of local-food buying means peeling back the layers

By: Dick Snyder

Every Sunday from January 11 to February 1, we'll be publishing Greenbelt Fund-focused articles by respected journalist Dick Snyder. The four-part series, which will first run in the Toronto Star on the Saturdays preceding our posts, will highlight the diverse and innovative local food successes of our farmers, schools, hospitals, industries, and other Greenbelt Fund partners.

MEALsource helps farmers expand into health markets

By: Dick Snyder

Every Sunday from January 11 to February 1, we'll be publishing Greenbelt Fund-focused articles by respected journalist Dick Snyder. The four-part series, which will first run in the Toronto Star on the Saturdays preceding our posts, will highlight the diverse and innovative local food successes of our farmers, schools, hospitals, industries, and other Greenbelt Fund partners.

Local food champions help farmers expand their markets

By: Dick Snyder

Every Sunday from January 11 to February 1, we'll be publishing Greenbelt Fund-focused articles by respected journalist Dick Snyder. The four-part series, which will first run in the Toronto Star on the Saturdays preceding our posts, will highlight the diverse and innovative local food successes of our farmers, schools, hospitals, industries, and other Greenbelt Fund partners.

Food activist Joshna Maharaj says delicious Ontario-grown food is waiting for you—all you have to do is ask

 By: Dick Snyder

Every Sunday from January 11 to February 1, we'll be publishing Greenbelt Fund-focused articles by respected journalist Dick Snyder. The four-part series, which will first run in the Toronto Star on the Saturdays preceding our posts, will highlight the diverse and innovative local food successes of our farmers, schools, hospitals, industries, and other Greenbelt Fund partners.

Teaching the positive impacts of Ontario-grown food one tasty snack at a time 

By: Dick Snyder

Every Sunday from January 11 to February 1, we'll be publishing Greenbelt Fund-focused articles by respected journalist Dick Snyder. The four-part series, which will first run in the Toronto Star on the Saturdays preceding our posts, will highlight the diverse and innovative local food successes of our farmers, schools, hospitals, industries, and other Greenbelt Fund partners.