Ottawa Food Hub: Setting Up for Success, Ottawa $186,500

Natural Gourmet Fine Food Kitchen Inc. will partner with Just Food to bring regional and Ontario food to both retail and foodservice markets by launching the Ottawa Food Hub. This will be accomplished through the aggregation, processing, packaging, and distribution of foods from the Ottawa region, backed by Ontario product when local is unavailable.

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.