Going Local, Toronto $65,000

Aramark developed and provided Ontario employees with a Purchasing Guide to Buying Locally and Sustainably, which explained how to track local food, convert non-local to local, revamp menus to focus on local ingredients, and promote local sources. Farm tours and the creation of 30 farm profiles helped strengthen the relationship between Aramark’s chefs and producers. Aramark increased the visibility of local food and educated the public on the benefits of buying local by holding a series of promotional campaigns and local food day events at universities, colleges, and other public institutions. Other activities included a “building a better lasagna” campaign, recipe development, staff training, creating RFPs with local food emphasis, and the flagging of local products in their purchasing system for easy identification.