Greenbelt Fund News

The Greenbelt Fund recently employed the consulting firm Millier Dickinson Blais (MDB) to engage its key stakeholders as it considered the possible expansion, development, and improvement of the Ontariofresh.ca website as well as potential directions and opportunities in the context of these consultations. The following is a summary of the feedback received from 160 stakeholder participants and the potential strategic directions that emerged through the process. To provide us with feedback on these potential strategic opportunities, take our survey!

When the Challenge is to use Ontario berries, the default is usually to create a sweet dish or dessert. This is exactly what Local Food Challengers at St. James High School in Guelph were thinking when they decided to go the savoury route and pair explode-in-your-mouth, juicy Ontario blueberries with lamb. Don’t think they go together? Think again. The rich, distinctive flavour of lamb marries perfectly with the slight acidy and woodsy notes of the berries, and the presentation could not be more appealing!

The Regional Food Grant Program (Broader Public Sector Grant Stream) has awarded over $5 million in grants to fund local food projects across the broader public sector (BPS) value chain. The Education and Outreach Program facilitates the sharing of best practices, provides training and resources, assists in tracking and reporting local food purchasing, and aids in promoting Ontario foods in BPS/OPS institutions. The Education and Outreach strategic plan includes an assessment of 100 BPS foodservice operations and their ability to track and promote Ontario foods.

Everyone loves a party, especially one that celebrates fresh and delicious things. In June, we celebrated our first ever Local Food Week. We asked our Local Food Challengers to join us, and our participants across the province put on one heck of a party.

University Health Network (UHN) is moving full steam ahead with their latest project supported by the Greenbelt Fund. They've started using crowdsourcing to identify creative solutions to help them overcome the main challenges in providing local Ontario food to UHN patients.

According to Simon French of Cookstown Greens, there’s a real opportunity to change people’s lives through food.

Story by Chloe Brown, Ontariofresh​.ca Program Coordinator

“We’re not a value chain, we’re partners. We share the bounty.” – Bryan Gilvesy, Y U Ranch

When we think of local food, our thoughts most often default to produce. Of course we love fresh Ontario fruits and vegetables. This is especially true this time of year, when the markets are bursting with rhubarb, asparagus, fresh peas, and fiddleheads. However, there’s more to love than just these seasonal delights – May’s Challenge puts the spotlight on beef! This month, Challengers were asked to come up with a recipe using local beef, a product widely available in Ontario. In fact Ontario produces 20 per cent of all the beef in Canada.

My Sustainable Canada and the Greenbelt Fund present a FREE day-long workshop exploring Collaboration on Local Food in Sudbury.

The Greenbelt Fund is pleased to announce additional support in the amount of $12,500 toBighead Hops in Meaford, Ontario. The announcement was made Wednesday night at Brewers Plate Toronto, a celebration of local food and Ontario Craft Brewers.