Veritas Cafe Local Food Expansion, Waterloo $15,000

Veritas Café, owned and operated by the Graduate Students Association at Wilfrid Laurier University, focuses on local and healthy foods. Veritas Café will increase their storage and customer seating capacity, expand their menu using seasonal local food, launch an online local food marketplace and offer seminars to help students and customers increase their local food literacy.

Single-Serve Grab-n-Go Whole Milk Program for the Broader Public Sector, Loretto $25,000

Sheldon Creek Dairy will purchase equipment to scale up their pilot project to provide accessible grab-and-go single serve size 250 ml and 350 ml non-homogenized whole milk products to elementary and post-secondary schools, retirement residences, and daycares. Production of their single-serve products has reached capacity, yet demand is out pacing supply.

Good For You Locally Grown-Phase 3, Oakville $38,500

Halton Healthcare will develop meals made with Ontario ingredients to increase local food purchases by 10% annually. Building on the success of their last two projects, phase III is to expand in-house scratch cooking primarily for i) sandwiches ii) desserts and iii) entrees. They will purchase a packaging machine for prepared sandwiches and host a Local Food Expo connecting local farmers, buyers, distributors, and hospital staff, in order to increase the amount of Ontario food in their institutions.

Increasing Local Food Procurement in the City of Toronto's Long-Term Care Homes and Services, Toronto $37,500

The City of Toronto's Long-Term Care Homes and Services division will undertake a comprehensive review of its use of local food in its 10 long-term care homes, with a plan to increase the amount of local food purchased by $350,000-$420,000 annually or from 19% to 25% of their total food spend -  through a combination of menu substitutions, new recipes, and equipment and staff training for in-house scratch cooking.

Developing a Local Food Procurement Training Program for Industry Professionals, Hamilton $30,000

Mohawk College will develop an online professional certification program in local food procurement through their Online Continuing Education division. The program will teach foodservice staff local food procurement skills, as well as how to create menus that celebrate and maximize the use of Ontario foods.

Get Fresh Café Expansion, Thunder Bay $35,000

Roots to Harvest will partner with the Lakehead District School Board scale up its “Get Fresh Café” to two area high schools in Thunder Bay, reaching over 2,500 students. The project is a complete overhaul of the schools’ cafeteria offerings from pre-packaged food to sourcing all fresh and from-scratch ingredients, sourcing as much as possible from Ontario growers.

Serving Up Local Food Training at Long-Term Care Facilities, Vaughan $20,000

The GHFFA and TRCA will build on the success of their two-year local food procurement initiative to launch a comprehensive local food literacy initiative to train long-term care professionals and frontline staff on local food offerings to increase the visibility and awareness of local food in LTC homes.

FoodReach Goes to School, Toronto $10,000

Parkdale Activity – Recreation Centre will expand its FoodReach program, which provides nutritious prepared meals for schools without food preparation areas, by increasing the number of customers through a marketing campaign and upgrading its ordering system to label products that are locally grown.

Good For You, Locally Grown – Phase 2, Oakville $51,500

Halton Healthcare will build on the progress made to increase local food served in its hospitals by working with farmers, manufacturers and other industry colleagues to develop recipes using Ontario food that meet the nutritional needs of patients. The project will also establish branding to identify local food choices to patients, as well as a marketing campaign to promote the local food offerings at Halton Healthcare facilities.

Get Fresh Cafe - Local Food Procurement Pilot, Thunder Bay $45,000

Collaborating with the Lakehead District School Board, Roots to Harvest will launch a “Get Fresh Café” in a Thunder Bay high school, including a complete overhaul of the school’s cafeteria procurement to source all fresh and from-scratch ingredients. The model will be replicable across the school district.

Bringing Microgreens to Broader Public Sector Institutions $50,000

Greenbelt Greenhouse Ltd. will invest in automation equipment for packaging and labelling their clamshell containers, which will increase capacity and reduce costs. This will allow Greenbelt Microgreens to be cost-competitive and gain access to large scale broader public sector institutions.

Promoting Local Food Procurement Across Ontario's Universities and Colleges, Toronto $125,000

Meal Exchange will pilot a Real Food Challenge and Campus Food Report Card at 8 Ontario Universities to rank and promote local food procurement on campus, and engage students to influence university decision-makers to increase local food procurement.

Increasing Local Food Procurement at Ontario Colleges, Hamilton $107,500

Mohawk College will spearhead a two-year program to develop a local food procurement model for Ontario colleges, in a first for Ontario. Along with increasing local food literacy at Mohawk College, the pilot is expected to increase local food purchases at the three participating colleges by $1.5 million over two years.

HACCP Compliance and Training, Toronto $69,000

Real Food for Real Kids will overcome a significant barrier to serving local food in Toronto hospitals by obtaining HACCP certification for its facility. Once certified, Real Food for Real Kids will be able to prepare delicious, nutritious local food for hospitals like St. Michael’s Hospital and Scarborough General.

Creating a Provincial Plate $130,000

Dana Hospitality will work with its suppliers to create a daily Provincial Plate – a full meal consisting of only Ontario products for its Broader Public Sector clients. Dana will increase market access for 30 Ontario farmers and processors, and will increase purchase of Ontario food by $1.8m during the grant period.

Packaging Line Implementation Project for Expansion of Public Sector Protein Supply, St. Clements $115,000

Stemmler Meats and Cheese will invest in automated packaging and new technologies to support growth and increase protein sales to school boards, long-term care facilities and hospitals. The project is expected to increase sales to the broader public sector by 103% to $1.8 million in 2017.

Increasing Municipal Local food Procurement in 3 Golden Horseshoe Municipalities, Vaughan $100,000

The TRCA and Golden Horseshoe Food and Farming Alliance will work with municipal partners to increase local food procurement in long-term care facilities. With the Public Health division in Hamilton spearheading the project, it is expected that local food procurement will increase by 5% in 3-4 participating municipalities over two years, for a permanent increase of $270,000 annually in local food purchases.

From the Ground Up - Supporting Municipalities to Buy Local, Toronto $50,000

Sustain Ontario will implement the recommendations resulting from the planning grant awarded in 2013. They will work with Durham Region, Chatham-Kent, and Bruce County to refine and implement local food procurement plans in a variety of institutions including long-term care homes, daycares, municipal offices, and a convention center.

Ontario Goat Milk: Assessing Market Opportunities in the BPS, Guelph $25,000

Ontario Goat Breeders Association is working to quantify the market opportunities for goat milk in the Broader Public Sector. This includes benchmarking current goat milk sales, and identifying areas for future growth. They will also determine what the current consumption levels are of goat milk/goat milk products such as yogurt and ice cream, and the barriers to increased consumption within the BPS.

Developing the Ontario BPS-Food and Beverage Processing Sector Value Chain, Guelph $25,000

Food and Beverage Ontario will build awareness of the local food market opportunities in the Broader Public Sector to their members. This will result in a discussion paper outlining the main product needs and opportunities in the BPS followed by a business development workshop.

Choices for Ontario Food at University Health Network, Toronto $124,000

The University Health Network (UHN) will investigate the day-to-day barriers that prevent them from providing local food to their patients, staff, and visitors throughout their seven sites at Princess Margaret Cancer Centre, Toronto General and Toronto Western hospitals, and the four sites of Toronto Rehab. They will then create a strategy to increase their procurement of local food by 5 per cent by 2015, and 25 per cent by 2018.

Taking Action: Increasing the Purchase and Sale of Local Food on University Campuses, Toronto $75,000

Ryerson University’s Food Services Department, in partnership with Compass Canada, will create a market for local foods on campus by engaging the Ryerson community in their new food strategy. Student, faculty, and staff engagement activities include: menu/recipe development; community programs such as field trips, meals, and guest speakers; and social media campaigns and educational outreach. The project will also increase Ryerson’s ability to track and report on local food sales and evaluation and analysis of the project will yield lessons learned that will be shared with other postsecondary institutions.

Local Food Procurement Mentorship Program, Kitchener $105,000

My Sustainable Canada will partner with MEALsource to mentor four institutions to showcase the benefits of local food purchasing, and help them to implement buy-local programs. They will assist the four institutions to draw from, build upon, and share best practices and lessons learned, which will enable the broader public sector to better leverage its buying power.

Creating “WOW”: Ontario Local Food for Patients, Toronto $6,450

Marsan Foods Limited investigated the feasibility of creating local, ready-made entrees for healthcare. This included scoping out the cost and supply of local foods, and creating test recipes for products. Healthcare stakeholders were brought together to help Marsan Foods determine which value-added local foods are needed in healthcare.

Leveraging Best Practices in Municipal Procurement, Toronto $10,000

Sysco Ontario created more opportunities for the sale of locally produced products to public sector institutions by improving their internal ordering systems to better identify and track local products. They also developed partnerships with suppliers that can offer them more Ontario products. They will develop marketing materials to promote Ontario products and provide education sessions for staff and customers on the local foods available through Sysco Ontario.

SOLocal Protein, Mississauga $59,000

Sol Cuisine Inc. will increase the sale of Ontario tofu by building relationships with foodservice providers and implementing a marketing and education campaign, which includes creating tofu-friendly recipes for institutions such as universities and colleges.

Increasing Local Food in Student Nutrition Programs, Peterborough $20,000

The Peterborough County-City Health Unit will work with Food For Kids Peterborough and County as well as Farms at Work and the YWCA of Peterborough Haliburton to link local food and farming to 47 Student Nutrition Programs through both education and purchasing. The project will create new market opportunities for at least five farmers and will connect local food to the curriculum.

Ontario Greenhouse Vegetables in the BPS: Growing Procurement and Maximizing Impact Through Application of Win-Win Strategies, Leamington $125,000

The Ontario Greenhouse Vegetable Growers will build relationships between commodity groups and the broader public sector, focusing on marketing, education, and facilitating partnerships with major foodservice companies. This project will increase sales of Ontario greenhouse vegetables in the BPS by 10 percent per year.

Making it Work: Creating Effective Strategies for Incorporating Local, Sustainable Food into Public Institutions, Toronto $30,000

The Hospital for Sick Children will position itself as a local food leader by removing barriers to local food procurement. They will develop a local produce procurement policy for retail foodservice, and research the different types of food safety regulations processors follow. They will then consult with internal hospital and municipal stakeholders to identify which standards adequately satisfy their food safety concerns.

Good for You, Locally Grown, Oakville $107,000

Halton Healthcare Services will create one of Canada’s first local food procurement policies in healthcare. They will partner with Gordon Food Service and Signature Culinary Solutions to procure local entrees and develop a line of sandwiches using local eggs and meats.

Cultivating Change: Local Food Within the Healthcare Sector, Toronto $120,000

George Brown College is partnering with St. Michael’s Hospital to develop a certification course to train St. Michael’s foodservice staff on how to prepare fresh, local foods in healthcare kitchens. St. Michael’s staff will experiment with “from scratch” local food recipes to reveal skill gaps, while George Brown students will test recipes to understand how the healthcare kitchen operates. St. Michael’s will offer internship placements where George Brown students work alongside hospital staff to assist with ongoing menu creation featuring local food. George Brown will then replicate the training program at one additional healthcare facility.

Cafeteria Connects: Bringing Ontario Foods to Secondary School Cafeterias, Mississauga $109,000

Ecosource will partner with Compass Group Canada and Durham District School Board to increase student and cafeteria staff engagement in buy-local programs and drive local food sales in public high schools. This project includes training cafeteria staff on how to purchase, track, and prepare local food. Ecosource will also host local food events and integrate local food education into several curricula including business studies, hospitality, and family studies.

Strengthening Connections, Thunder Bay $80,000

The City of Thunder Bay and partnering institutions look to increase local food procurement in both municipal and regional facilities such as long-term care homes, child care centres, and post-secondary institutions. In order to facilitate an increase in local food purchasing, the City will streamline its procurement models and work with their suppliers. They will also host a series of educational events.

The Business Case for More Local Sustainable Food and Supply Chains $100,000

Aramark Canada Ltd. will establish the business case for supporting local food purchased by university campuses, ultimately changing how large foodservice companies think about local food. Pilot projects at Trent University, University of Toronto, Wilfrid Laurier University, and York University/Glendon College will assess how to increase local food purchases in both residence and cafeteria/food court settings. The pilots will be supported by a mobile app that allows for local food tracking from field to plate.

Local Beef Aggregation and Traceability System, Thunder Bay $45,000

LA Quality Foods is developing public sector market opportunities for beef farmers in Northern Ontario. In partnership with Rainy River Regional Abattoir and the Thunder Bay Cattlemen’s Association, they will work with local farmers to implement a traceability system to enable them to track individual cuts of meat to their originating farm.

Developing the Middle: Creating Economies of Scale for Small Farms in Ontario, Creemore $59,000

New Farm, a well-established organic farm in Creemore, is making operational changes to meet the needs of public sector institutions. From packaging and marketing materials to developing cost-effective irrigation systems, New Farm will find the right tools and technology in order to increase the amount, variety, and seasonal availability of local produce being offered to institutions such as hospitals and colleges. New Farm will expand their capacity and improve their farm safety protocols, and increase their sales by $235,000, almost doubling their current levels. By developing best practices, this project paves the way for other small and medium scale organic farms to make the necessary changes to increase their business.

Ontario Campus Food Systems Project, Toronto $80,000

Meal Exchange will engage students from Carleton University, Ryerson University, and the University of Waterloo in order to increase on-campus demand for local food. Regional student campus representatives will lead student engagement activities to increase the interest in and demand for local food. An industry advisory panel of food service providers and distributors will assist in developing these activities and provide their expertise to student-based research projects that will identify how to best increase the amount of local food in universities. Best practices will be shared through studentfood.ca.

Increasing the Procurement of Local Foods, London $25,325

The University of Western University established a baseline of their annual Ontario food purchases and has set targets for an annual growth rate of Ontario food purchases of 3 percent each year for the next five years. The University developed a strategy to increase their local purchases that included identifying supplier partners that can provide them with locally grown food, working with existing suppliers to identify new opportunities to expand their local purchases, and purchasing an integrated computer software program that would enable them to track local purchases moving forward. They also developed and ran educational and awareness campaigns to increase interest in local food among students and staff such as Chef’s Table events that feature local products, and themed menus.

Serving Local Ontario Food in East Toronto, Toronto $20,000

Toronto East General Hospital developed and tested new recipes using local ingredients for patients as well as customers of their retail café. The chef worked with their primary distributor to source more local food. The project involved the creation and promotion of cafeteria feature meals/menu items and patient menu items that showcased Ontario foods. They also developed a local procurement policy, provided on-site staff training, and developed marketing materials to promote Ontario food to patients, hospital staff, volunteers, and visitors.

Grown in Ontario, Mississauga $35,000

Sysco Ontario created more opportunities for the sale of locally produced products to public sector institutions by improving their internal ordering systems to identify and track local products. They also developed partnerships with suppliers that can offer them more Ontario products. They will develop marketing materials to promote Ontario products and provide educational sessions for staff and customers on the local foods available through Sysco Ontario.

Identify, Source and Promote the Sale of Ontario Food Products, London $150,000

Summit Food Service implemented a new IT system that highlights local food in product guides, invoices, and sales reports. Both customers and sales representatives have been given the ability to run their own reports to quantify and analyze all Ontario food purchases. Summit also designed and ran an advertising program, Embrace Ontario, to promote sales of Ontario food to customers. Components of this included a monthly Ontario produce availability page, Ontario food listings, a monthly Ontario food feature article, and monthly-featured recipes.

Creating Local Food Entrée Options for Healthcare, Brantford $65,000

St. Joseph’s Health System, Group Purchasing Organization (SJHS-GPO) conducted a project that helped hospitals increase their local food purchasing in three new ways: (i) demonstrating that menu items made from scratch using local ingredients can work with reheating food ovens (re-therm); (ii) working with the local food value chain to create new ready-made local food entrées for re-therm; and, (iii) creating a new product category for fresh, minimally processed products in their contracting process. St. Joseph’s has been successful in creating and testing 50 new local food entrée options, including the nutritional information with their new recipes. To promote local food, the GPO developed outreach materials and a coaching program to support re-therm clients in using the new local food options.

Ottawa Local Food Hub Project, Ottawa $24,998

A food processing company, Signature Foods has taken advantage of their existing infrastructure in order to foster the creation of a local food hub in Ottawa. Partnered with Just Food, they were able to build on the interest and commitment of public institutions generated in Just Food’s previous BPS project. Signature Foods contracted the Business Development Bank of Canada to conduct a full analysis of its Information and Communications Technology (ICT) systems to identify gaps and opportunities to create efficiencies for the food hub. They also developed a communication strategy and promotional materials, and met with larger distributors to investigate partnership opportunities. Just Food created training resources for producers to help them scale up production to supply the wholesale market.

Developing a Value Chain for Local Food with the Broader Public Sector in Northwestern Ontario, Emo $20,000

Rainy River District Regional Abattoir Inc. (RRDRAI) lead a partnership of five parties (RRDRAI, Rainy River Meats, Sunrise Meats and Sausage, Clover Valley Farmers’ Market, and Riverside Health Care Facilities) with the goal of increasing sales of quality local meat and vegetables produced in the Rainy River district to the broader public sector. The Abattoir and partners organized and developed a specific meat product line for sale to BPS institutions. Due to the short time period involved in the project, and the numerous roadblocks and challenges faced by the partnership, there is still work to be done in the future. The value of this project has been in beginning to resolve many of these barriers.

Growing Ontario Apple Products in Public Institutions, Kitchener $35,000

Working in close collaboration with the Ontario Apple Growers, My Sustainable Canada identified market opportunities within the broader public sector for Ontario’s apple growers. They also produced marketing materials for Ontario apples, their products, and their use in BPS institutions. My Sustainable Canada also explored new partnerships (i) between apple packers and schools to promote Martin’s apple chips, (ii) between apple processors and healthcare institutions to reintroduce apple purees to their product line for hospitals, and (iii) between the apple industry and foodservice distributors and operators to promote the sale of Ontario apple products over products.

Ontario Grass Roots Program Systems Upgrade, Oldcastle $96,104

Morton Wholesale worked to increase the amount and diversity of Ontario products they offer through a combination of changes to their operating systems and staff responsibilities. Morton trained a specialized buyer that focused on the purchasing of Ontario food, which led to the addition of 25 new products on Morton’s product list. They launched the third stage of their Ontario Grass Roots Program, which now includes more than 1,800 Ontario products.

frescoServe Ontario on the Menu, Oakville $119,300

Marek Hospitality Inc. provided hospitals with freshly prepared and locally sourced meals through their existing retail operations. Marek worked with their distributor Stewart Foodservice to track sales and purchases and trace the point of origin of the food on their menus. Marek identified that 30 percent of the 28 new recipes in the frescoServe handbook use Ontario-sourced product. With this knowledge, Marek substituted non-Ontario ingredients with a locally sourced product.

SickKids Buy Local Initiative, Toronto $50,000

The Hospital for Sick Children built a network of local suppliers focused on local and sustainable farming to source ingredients for new, seasonably based recipes and menus. Foodservice staff were trained on the new recipes as well as on the benefits of eating locally sourced food. Promotional materials to advertise local food to the broader SickKids community were also developed with the aim of generating excitement and interest among cafeteria customers.

University Growth, Listowel $50,000

Harmony Organic developed a number of tools to educate university students and the general public on the benefits of organic milk products. Videographers were sent to producers’ farms to produce educational videos for upload onto YouTube, Facebook, and the Harmony Organic’s website. Demonstrations of Harmony’s products were conducted at George Brown and Seneca Colleges, and at the Hospital for Sick Children.

GFS Tipping Point, Milton $257,524

Gordon Food Service (GFS) created a regional distribution system with Fresh Start Foods (FSF) to double their local food sales by 2016. FSF has three depots in London, Milton, and Ottawa that act as regional hubs. GFS Ontario developed new supply logistics procedures to enable all GFS Ontario and FSF customers to have access to regional foods through these hubs and through GFS Ontario food listings. GFS launched a comprehensive new IT and social media platform, making it easier for both GFS and Fresh Start Foods customers and sales reps to readily find Ontario items.

The Ontario Farm to School Challenge, Toronto $54,000

FoodShare Toronto and their partners engaged schools and school boards in a challenge to increase their local food purchases. The participating boards and schools were provided with online tools, guides, and webinars to assist them, and they hosted local food events across the province to bring together local farmers and buyers. FoodShare launched their Farm to School Challenge on Ontariofresh.ca, and undertook promotion to more than 500 schools, administrators, and school board officials across Ontario. After successfully completing the first round, the project partners decided to follow up with two more rounds in the spring and fall of 2013.

Eat Local, Cook Global $75,000

Compass Group Canada built on their previous success by developing a marketing strategy to educate and motivate the consumer to increase their purchase of local menu items. Compass produced and distributed entrance communication stands to more than 40 locations across Ontario in order to raise awareness and to promote sustainability and wellness. Compass also developed and executed an Eat Local 4 Seasons campaign that used seasonally relevant recipes and menu items. Finally, Compass created a marketing kit to promote local food awareness, and developed internationally-based cuisine using local ingredients.

Promote Ontario Foods , Thunder Bay $99,233

This project took the first step in bridging the gap between public sector purchasers, the agricultural community, and others in the food value chain in the Thunder Bay area. After a series of interviews with public institutions and producers, the City identified specific barriers to local food procurement in the broader public sector. One of these was the challenge of identifying and tracking local food purchases. A tool was developed to identify the amount of local food currently being purchased, providing a baseline that will allow them to track the amount of purchases over the course of the next year.

Building a Better Menu, Toronto $74,987

Aramark Canada Ltd. provides foodservices to approximately 300 broader public sector institutions across the province. Through this project Aramark developed and disseminated a booklet of 24 new locally-based recipes for healthcare and higher education facilities, with additional recipes in development when the project ended. They also launched a Who’s Your Farmer promotional campaign profiling specific farms in Ontario. Working with new supplier partners, Aramark Canada also developed a new signature local beef burger and a local paneer recipe.

Year Round Local Food, Guelph $44,820

The University of Guelph’s Hospitality Services (UGHS) team created year-round access to local produce on campus by building a self-sustaining food processing facility. The necessary equipment was installed and staff training in safe food handling was completed. Next steps include testing carrots, potatoes, and onions with the new equipment, confirming pricing with produce suppliers, and putting the new production schedule in place. For more on this project check out this story that appeared inEdible Toronto.

Identify, Source and Promote Ontario Food, Vaughn $49,429

Food distributor SKOR Foodservice made changes to their inventory database to identify Ontario products and quickly switched 20 of the 100 products they identified as non-local to local. SKOR sales representatives were trained in selling Ontario products and a protein category manager increased sales by adding eight pork product SKUs. A marketing program implemented by SKOR included revising their website to focus on Ontario food and growers, developing and promoting Ontario recipes, making Ontario produce the theme for SKOR’s annual Food Show, and advertising in Ontario Restaurant News.

Increasing Access to Ontario Food, Lindsay $35,000

Ross Memorial Hospital (RMH) worked towards increasing patient satisfaction and meal consumption with a menu full of fresh and local products. An evaluation of their seven-day patient menu identified five non-local menu items that represented an opportunity to switch to local. RMH worked with distributors Sysco and Gordon Food Service to source new ingredients, noting that Ontario meat and vegetables were less expensive, cost neutral, or only slightly more expensive than the non-local ingredients they were replacing.

Real Food for Hospitals, Toronto $52,985

Real Food for Real Kids (RFRK) took their experience in providing local, healthy meals for daycares and adapting wholesale capabilities to broaden their offerings to include hospitals and long-term care facilities. RFRK consulted with several relevant broader public sector institutions and identified the necessary equipment to fulfil special dietary menus. The purchase of a blender/mixer allowed for on-site preparation of purees, condiments, and baked goods featuring local ingredients. A pouch sealer will ensure food stays fresh and can be safely divided into individual proportions with the contents and usage date clearly labeled thanks to a new printer. The new wholesale model of cooking, packaging, storing, and distributing individual and bulk portions will enable RFRK to customize their offerings and reach new BPS institutions.  

Outstanding Ontario Hospital Food, Ottawa $35,900

Queensway Carleton Hospital (QCH) partnered with food manufacturer Healthcare Foodservices (HFS) to raise patient satisfaction by increasing the amount of local food in their restaurant-style foodservice model. QCH performed its own Ontario food purchases audit and have started to change menu offerings by introducing two new soups, one sauce, and an all-Ontario fruit smoothie.

Greenhouse Vegetables for the Public Sector, Leamington $50,170

The Ontario Greenhouse Vegetable Growers (OGVG) are helping the public sector foodservice industry understand that obtaining local produce is feasible beyond the harvest season. This specific project focused on educating key stakeholders on local produce and the strengths of local growers, such as year-round availability and food safety. New relationships with public institutions, including hospitals and universities, have been established with the hopes of future partnerships. The OGVG are currently working on securing volume commitments from corporate foodservice operators.

Erie Innovation and Commercialization: Growing Access to the Broader Public Sector Marketplace, Simcoe $40,450

As an operating group under the Ontario Fruit and Vegetable Growers Association, Erie Innovation helped broader public sector institutions in the South Central Ontario Region (SCOR) increase their Ontario food purchases. A phone and online survey of 85 BPS institutions led Erie Innovation to conclude that focus should be on long-term care facilities, which have an annual estimated food spend of $13.1 million. Erie Innovation identified that a local food hub would better enable aggregation of locally grown products to serve BPS institutions in the SCOR. A business plan for the hub was developed, which included market opportunities and an assessment of different approaches for procurement and distribution.

Creating a Regional Distribution Hub, Ottawa $54,847

Just Food Ottawa initiated a long-term plan to develop a food hub by building by-ins of key stakeholders in the BPS foodservice value chain. The results of a survey administered by Just Food to more than 1,200 farmers and buyers, as well as face-to-face meetings and background research will aid in developing the logistics of the centralized local food hub.

More Ontario Food for Grey Bruce Public Institutions, Owen Sound $36,150

Grey Bruce Public Health and Foodlink Grey Bruce assessed the foodservice departments in their partner institutions, including local school boards and long-term care facilities. The assessment identified many misconceptions, including the belief that local food is costly, more work, not readily available, and requires burdensome inspections. Identifying these barriers assisted Grey Bruce Public Health and Foodlink Grey Bruce in dispelling some of the myths about local food as well as linking the increasing interest in healthy eating to fresh, local food. A tool was also developed to aid partner institutions in tracking local food purchases.

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.

Diversity in Local Food Options for Public Institutions, Vineland Station $14,946

Vineland Research and Innovation Centre have been working hard to bring ethnocultural vegetables to consumers via retail stores and expected to see that expanded to broader public sector institutions. Following the completion of interviews with BPS institutions, Vineland found similar criterion for buyers purchasing ethnocultural vegetables and non-ethnocultural vegetables, with quality, consistency, availability, and food safety all listed as important factors. The research also concluded that BPS institutions want to stay relevant to customers and must continue adapting their offerings as immigration patterns change. The evolving demographic bodes well for future demand on ethnocultural vegetables. Vineland’s ongoing plans include using their research to assess potential market size for ethnocultural vegetables, identifying market barriers, and raising the visibility of ethnocultural vegetables.

More Ontario Food for Patients, Toronto $55,000

St. Michael’s Hospital’s revamp of their local food offerings to patients, staff, and visitors demonstrates that buying fresh local products is both financially and logistically realistic for large institutions. Twelve locally infused recipes were added to patient menus and many produce items were switched to fresh Ontario fruits and vegetables. The kitchen at St. Michael’s, though outsourced, was on board with the changes and introduced 56 seasonally focused recipes, a salad bar with Ontario produce, and daily baking featuring local ingredients. St. Michael’s implemented a tracking system to easily identify local food, noting that 50 percent of the newly introduced Ontario products were less expensive than the previously purchased imported items. At the time of this project, Ontario purchases represented 16 percent of St. Michael’s total spend and a procurement program was implemented to increase this number.

Local Food for Students, Waterloo $40,000

During this project, the University of Waterloo Foodservices took effective measures towards increasing the use of local food on campus. A buy local policy for the UW Foodservice Strategic Plan was implemented and RFPs for identified key Ontario foods were issued to new and existing suppliers. Campus chefs and other internal staff were outfitted with a local food “toolkit” highlighting relevant websites such as Ontariofresh.ca. UWFS initiated a marketing campaign to raise local food awareness including promoting revised campus menus. Preserving seasonal produce and other ways to heighten local food visibility on campus past the project end date were being explored at the time of the project.

 A New Model for Local Food Distribution, Barrie $30,262

Simcoe County Farm Fresh Marketing Association (SCFFMA) is eliminating barriers to bringing local food to broader public sector institutions in the county. Identifying the need for a better understanding of local food distribution, SCFFMA surveyed 64 stakeholders across the value chain and presented the results and their recommendations to BPS institutions, food producers, processors, and distributors. SCFFMA noted that a centralized food hub, a shift in perception away from local food as costly and not available year-round, and a vocalized demand for local food from BPS institutions in Simcoe County would be beneficial to bringing Ontario products to the area. At the time of this project, SCFFMA began addressing these areas of interest and are implementing their new strategy to increase BPS purchases of Ontario food.

Creating a New Food Culture, Scarborough $191,000

Understanding fresh local food as a key component in a patient’s health and recovery, Scarborough Hospital worked diligently to bring high-quality local products to their facility. An overhaul of weekly patient menus, new training for staff, upgraded kitchen equipment, updated procurement processes calling for additional local food purchasing, and forging of new relationships with local food producers and distributors are examples of how Scarborough took great strides towards achieving their vision of fresh local food throughout the hospital. Brand awareness was increased through an extensive communications roll out using social and traditional media, resulting in several high profile media stories.

Growing the Value of Ontario Protein in Public Institutions, Guelph $80,180

The Ontario Independent Meat Processors worked collaboratively to increase purchases of locally produced meats by major volume buyers. Qualitative research conducted by George Morris Centre and fsStrategy was pivotal in outlining the necessary steps to increase Ontario protein sales within the broader public sector, as well as the products that held the greatest potential for increased sales. A resounding need for an umbrella program geared towards marketing Ontario proteins across species as well as the outlining of the added value of Ontario proteins was echoed throughout the project by foodservice operators and distributors.

Northern Coalition, Cochrane and Haileybury $150,000

Food processors Ontario North East (ONE) Meats and Golden Beef are committed to bringing Ontario meat to First Nations and northern communities. ONE Meats and Golden Beef began using freezer storage for their inventory after establishing a partnership with Golden Beef Co-operative and Belle Valle Meats and Abattoir. Golden Beef worked with local colleges to launch value-added recipes and food festivals to spread awareness of Ontario meat. ONE Meats expanded their offerings to broader public sector institutions, through the purchase of a dual-sectioned trailer.

Cultivating Relationship from Local Producers to the Consumer, Simcoe $150,000

During this project, Norfolk County successfully procured local products for three different health care facilities in the area. A combi-oven purchased by partner VG Meats allowed for customized batches of their product for all three facilities. Cedarwood Village Hospital and Norfolk General purchased a Blixer, which enabled staff to puree local food on-site. Long-term care facility Norview Lodge purchased a mixer to use with Ontario produce. Norfolk and Norview introduced one new menu item with Ontario grown ingredients and replaced 11 menu items with Ontario products. By contracting a wholesaler specializing in buying local produce and by encouraging their Group Purchasing Organization to work with Ontario vendors, all three facilities were confident they could increase local buying by five percent.

Serving Ontario Food to Diverse Audiences, Toronto $102,989

During this project, Metro Toronto Convention Centre (MTCC) created an Ontario Food and Beverage Charter, and educate their staff, suppliers, and clients in buying local. As part of implementing an Ontario food procurement strategy, they connected MTCC staff with local farmers, committed to updating their menu more than once per year to reflect seasonal availability of local food, replaced imported products with local, and expanded their supplier base.

Connecting the Farmer to the Foodservice Business, Newmarket $54,847

The Holland Marsh Growers’ Association (HMGA) created a two-part plan to increase sales. They reached out to seven businesses/individuals to act as a broker for the Marsh growers to sell to the broader public sector but were unable to find one with the requisite capacity. The second half of their plan involved providing training and certification in on-farm food safety (CanadaGAP) for their member farmers. HMGA have successfully partnered with fellow Regional Food Grant partners, for example, helping procure a deal between the University of Guelph and a number of Marsh growers.

Growing a Regional Local Food Economy, Guelph $115,000

Guelph Wellington Local Food implemented a six-step plan including: (i) product substitution and vendor referrals for individual institutions; (ii) hosting events to dispel myths about buying local, and to connect institutional purchasers with suppliers; (iii) providing small grants to enable institutions to purchase equipment or promotional materials; (iv) recognizing local food champions with an awards program; (v) creating a Tool Kit and related series of six videos; and (vi) hosting a series of forums with farmers. This new plan empowered 13 BPS institutions to take preliminary steps towards increasing the amount of local food found on their menus.

Teaching the Importance of Ontario Food, Toronto $200,000

George Brown College Centre for Hospitality and Culinary Arts (CHCA) focused their efforts on boosting the amount of Ontario grown food purchased by the college. Beginning with an audit to determine the amount of locally grown food the College was currently purchasing, the CHCA implemented preference for Ontario-grown product in RFPs. They then completed a pilot to process and preserve fruit and vegetables on-site. For example, St. Michael’s Hospital is now using a newly created pizza sauce. A revised first-year curriculum at CHCA features Ontario produce, proteins, and dairy. At the time of the project, CHCA projected local food buy increases of five to ten percent in the first year to a minimum annual spend of $300,000 within five years.

Ontario Food All Year Round, Oakville $219,563

Dedicated to making a positive impact on the local food landscape, foodservice contract caterer Dana Hospitality LP committed to updating their menus to feature 80 percent Canadian and 65 percent Ontario food. A large company with $12 million in annual food purchases, Dana Hospitality LP created an internal team to promote its new strategy, including increased communication with broader public sector customers. The team also generated recipes and menus featuring local products that targeted the needs of their school and healthcare customers. Additionally, the team added local procurement specifications to their own RFPs and requested that their purchasing group, Food Service Exclusive Alliance Inc., require suppliers to identify Ontario food on their order guides.

Bringing Nutrition to Ontario Schools, Mississauga $100,000

Committed to bringing healthy, fresh, and local options to youth, the Dairy Farmers of Ontario (DFO) purchased 40 Dairy Nutrition Centres, or milk vending machines, to provide milk, yogurt, and cheese to Ontario middle schools. Although met with challenges surrounding space and limited business opportunities in some locations, 12 DNCs were installed in Ontario middle schools during the project timeframe. DFO projected annual sales of $1.7 million once all units were in place.

Providing Fresh Ontario Food to Public Institutions, Toronto $133,460

Purchasing two refrigerated trucks during this project allowed 100km Foods Inc. to double their delivery schedule to four days a week and decrease their lead time from 72 to 24 hours—a requirement of BPS institutions. The trucks also allowed 100km Foods Inc. to increase orders from their North Farm Run where “BPS-ready” farms are concentrated—that is those farms that have the scale and food safety programs in place to serve the BPS. An automated ordering system to aid in the tracking of local purchases by BPS clients was also implemented. Overall sales of local product by 100km Foods Inc. grew 50 percent in 2011.

Building Supply and Demand for Ontario Cheese, Mississauga $230,000

Sysco set out with the ambitious goal to increase the demand for Ontario cheese and in turn assist Ontario cheesemakers’ efforts to deliver supply to a new customer base. On the demand side of the equation, Sysco worked with two institutional broader public sector partners to reimagine their menus and feature Ontario cheese. Just as cheesemakers had to change to meet health and safety, nutrition and packaging requirements, Sysco also adopted its procurement procedures to accommodate small-scale production and specialty products. The success of working with both the supplier and the customer far surpassed Sysco’s anticipated increase in Ontario cheese sales, with a 26.8 percent surge in sales representing more than a $4.5 million increase. Sysco has dispelled perceived cost barriers to local cheese resulting in previously Ontario cheese-free BPS institutions now purchasing local product.

Understanding the System to Create Change, Guelph $100,000

St. Joseph’s Health System, Group Purchasing Organization (SJHS-GPO) has made great strides in leveling the playing field for Ontario producers bidding on contracts that make up SJHS-GPO’s $12 million food business. During their project, SJHS-GPO introduced a baseline level for local food requirements for 14 of their contracts and accepted bids from new local suppliers. Going a step further, SJHS-GPO also implemented “local” as evaluation criteria for future contracts, a move that exemplifies their commitment to supporting local producers. SJHS-GPO’s efforts resulted in a 15 percent increase in local food procurement with more than $670,000 spent on local food.

Building Resources for Education, Guelph $25,000

Adaptability and resilience are two leadership traits that Rowe Farm Meats have exhibited in their journey to facilitate change within their company and the Canadian meat industry. Rowe Farm Meats set out to market and distribute their product to the broader public sector through a resource centre, which included a demo kitchen. After realizing this was not the route best suited towards their goal, Rowe Farm Meats went back to the drawing board and reimagined their plan. This time they identified market demand for specialty meat products such as gluten-free. With a newly formulated proposal, Rowe Farm Meats opened a central warehouse that could supply both retail and foodservice operations.

Raising the Food Standards in the Public Sector, Toronto $200,000

Local Food Plus (LFP) initiated relationships with a dozen broader public sector institutions including municipalities, long term care facilities, colleges, and universities to implement a policy mandating required levels of local sustainable food. This led to working relationships with both the University of Western Ontario and Ryerson University. LFP also increased the number of farmers that were certified local and sustainable.

Ontario – A Category of its Own, Milton $360,000

Leading by example, foodservice distributor Gordon Food Service (GFS) is ushered in a new era of industry giants supporting local food production. During this project, GFS created an internal team focused on increasing their local food purchases. Working with vendors, GFS took steps to ensure local food was labeled as such and easy to identify in their system. GFS continued their push towards local food by implementing a marketing initiative that included the new Ontario’s Own logo, grower profiles, advertising in external publications, and adding a Local Ontario page to the GFS national website. GFS’s efforts proved a shining success with an increase in local food purchases of $1.7 million year over year.

Alternative Distribution Creates Model for Local Food Success, Toronto $84,798

Using the results of a survey administered to key players, including farmers, students, educators, and foodservice providers, FoodShare identified 20 actions necessary to increase the use of local food in Toronto schools. FoodShare’s commitment to helping Ontario youth eat local food was exemplified in their business plan to create a local food hub for schools. FoodShare’s efforts proved effective, with their local food purchases up 45 percent in the first year of their project. FoodShare also facilitated the inaugural gathering of the Ontario Farm to School Network.

A First for Local Food in Schools, Mississauga $99, 968 

Education begins in the classroom, which is exactly where Ecosource and Peel District School Board (PDSB) along with Peel Public Health and Compass Group Canada focused their efforts to educate youth about Ontario food. The group engaged more than 11,700 students in local food events, encouraging active participation in food choices, education on preparing locally grown foods, and taking part in the Cooking Up Action Culinary Challenge. Cafeteria staff received training on ordering and preparing local foods, which was paramount to the success of the initiative. The successful addition of five Ontario ingredients and eight products featuring Ontario ingredients onto cafeteria menus resulted in the implementation of priority purchasing of Ontario food in high school cafeterias.

If We can Track it We can Change it, Mississauga $100,000

Foodservice operator Compass Group Canada is committed to helping promote Ontario food products. During this project, Compass teamed up with their suppliers to geo-tag over 85 percent of the local products they buy. A managed order guide was developed to assist in giving unit level managers much needed current information on product origin. The Closer To Home campaign provided materials to identify and promote Ontario product to more than 300 broader public sector locations. The campaign also provided exposure for Compass’ growers through farm tours and information distribution at farmers’ markets. In 2011, six new Ontario products were test marketed in different BPS locations. After only four months these products resulted in sales of more than $160,000.

Creating Farm Clusters to Supply the Broader Public Sector, Bradford $350,000

As an innovative leader, Cohn Farms worked on a collaborative approach to supplying the broader public sector with fresh Ontario produce. By working with other producers to create a co-packing line, Cohn Farms has helped nearly a dozen Ontario farmers gain access to innovation that assists them in meeting the unique needs of the broader public sector. They have also been able to expand the diversity of the Ontario food products they supply. Through this process, Cohn Farms has been able to increase the availability of fresh produce that meets sector requirements for health and safety, product volumes, processing and packaging as well as reaping important environmental benefits found by using fewer trucks to transport a higher volume of product and reducing water consumption. During the duration of their project, Cohn Farms saw an increase in sales of Ontario vegetables of almost $1.2 million. This increase continues today.

Half of Local Food Purchases Targeted to Go Local, Toronto $113,890

The City of Toronto developed an action plan to achieve its 50 percent local food target for its long-term care facilities, child care centres, shelters and hostels, and other facilities. This included looking at the real and perceived barriers to buying more local. The City trained staff and developed recipes that used at least 50 percent local ingredients while still meeting the dietary and nutritional needs of their clientele. They also identified the equipment needed to help child care centres improve their use of local food.

Bringing Rural to Public Institutions, Sudbury $76,000 

Eat Local Sudbury (ELS) hit the road running with their efforts to shorten the distance between northern farms and local tables. During this project, ELS purchased a cooler van to safely and efficiently deliver produce and meat grown and raised within a 150-mile radius of the city to broader public sector institutions. The van purchase allowed ELS to maintain adequate stock levels and meet customer demand, resulting in increased sales. Institutional sales increased 45 percent in a five-month period, which encouraged ELS to develop and implement steps to track orders and measure their cost effectiveness. The increase in sales also led to ELS taking on additional suppliers.