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.