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.

Come Grow With Us! Ontario Lamb Company & Ontario Veal Premium – Ontario Farmers Producing for You, Newmarket $207,500

Newmarket Meat Packers Limited will bring local lamb and veal into major grocery retail chains. They will install equipment that will allow them to meet retail food safety standards, and create an Ontario brand of halal veal and lamb. This project provides a unique opportunity for small and medium-sized producers to get their animals to market.

Hub and Spoke Local Food Distribution, Hamilton $5,000

THAAT Co-op has partnered with Common Ground Farm to develop an efficient, sustainable, and specialized model for connecting small and medium sized farmers in the Hamilton area with small and medium sized distributors and users of produce by creating a local food aggregation hub at the farm. In doing so, THAAT Co-op provides emissions-free delivery of local food with the use of cargo tricycles, cargo bicycles, and trailers. THAAT Co-op is conducting a market analysis and developing a business plan for expanding their delivery model to increase their local food distribution.

Sustainable Food Cluster – Elgin County, St. Thomas $10,000

The Southwest Economic Alliance (SWEA) formed a value chain team to begin the development of a business plan for a local food aggregation and distribution cluster in Elgin County. A food cluster works on the premise that each region has its own agricultural product and processing specialty that when linked together can create local food systems. During their project they established a diverse project team with representatives from the entire value chain including farmers, processors, and distributors from the County of Elgin and Elgin-St. Thomas Public Health to guide in development of a distribution cluster.

Creating Ontario Beet Spirits, Toronto $14,100

The Toronto Distillery Company Limited will distill and bottle an Ontario organic beet whiskey and market the offerings for retail—the first project of its kind. This project will heighten awareness of distilling new spirit types from local feedstock in Ontario, which will provide new opportunities for local farmers who are currently shut out of Ontario’s spirits marketplace.

From Field to Freezer, Ontario Grows, Toronto $105,000

The Toby Brand Corporation will develop and market a range of individually quick frozen Ontario vegetables including kale. The new frozen products are projected to result in over $300,000 of sales per year. The project will begin with a research and development analysis to ensure a strategic and sustainable farm to freezer product plan is in place. Once the new products are formulated, they will seek sustainable partnerships with growers and market the products through a comprehensive marketing plan

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 Foodservice Hub Initiative, Milton $250,000

Gordon Food Service will conduct market research to develop a strategic plan for three new foodservice hubs in Niagara, GTA/Central Ontario, and Eastern Ontario. The market research will involve identifying demand and market share of local products by individual product category.

Growing Ontario Hops Forward: Expanding Existing Models of Production, Meaford $42,500

Bighead Hops will expand the market opportunities for Ontario hops growers by providing Ontario craft brewers the hops processing and packing they need. With new equipment, they will gain the ability to pelletize hops, which will optimize the quality of the product.

Brokering Connections from Producer to Market, Toronto $15,000

Local Food Plus undertook a market analysis for locally sustainable food brokerage–a service used in the food industry as an alternative to hiring a sales force in order to access hard-to-reach markets. During this process, they examined existing business models and conducted extensive consultations with market partners on both the supply and demand side.  Their research confirmed that there is a significant market opportunity for this kind of brokerage system.