Capacity Building and Investment Project, Toronto $120,000

100km Foods will expand its warehouse and cold storage capacity to scale up operations efficiently and effectively. The expansion will allow 100km Foods to continue its current growth of 40% year over year, increasing sales of Ontario produce by $3.5M.

Ontario Ingredients for Success, Milton $60,000

GFS will embark on a one and a half year local food literacy initiative to make it easier for foodservice operators to promote and communicate the value of menu items containing Ontario ingredients. Project elements will include forum-workshops, promotional materials highlighting Ontario products for restaurants, and connecting local producers, processors, and grower associations with distributors and foodservice operators.

Local York, Aurora $10,000

York Region Food Network will develop a regional local food guide with information about where to buy local food, how to prepare local ingredients, and stories from the producers themselves.

Marketing Poultry to Ontarians, Scarborough $30,000

D&D Poultry will expand their reach to new market channels and the health care market, by improving labelling efficiency, improving food safety, and increasing their presence in the healthcare, wholesale, retail and corporate foodservice community. The project will address a gap in Ontario processed chicken products to increase Ontario food sales.

North Bay Value Added Chain, North Bay $15,000

Live Kitchen will undertake a market assessment to identify supply partners and retail customers for the development of a local food hub and distribution strategy to bring more local food to retailers, butcher shops, restaurants and other food outlets in North Bay.

Developing a Business Plan for a Local Food Hub in Georgina, Brock and East Gwillimbury, Aurora $35,000

Ontario Water Centre will develop a business plan for a local food hub in Georgina, Brock and East Gwillimbury, including the possibility of creating a mobile app to coordinate producer’s crop availability and status with food hub deliveries in real-time.

Organic Sector Check Off Feasibility Study and Implementation Plan, Guelph $15,000

Organic Council of Ontario will study the feasibility of a mandatory organic sector funding strategy, similar to those in place for other commodity groups in Ontario. OCO will work with decision makers and sector leaders to investigate the regulatory implications, develop a realistic governance and collection strategy, and create a sector-wide communications and engagement plan.

Ontario's Best Veal Parmigiana Sandwich, Guelph $35,000

Veal Farmers of Ontario will raise the profile of Ontario veal by organizing a contest for retailers, foodservice providers, and consumers in search of the best Veal Parmigiana sandwich. The campaign will share recipes, encouraging Ontarians to test out the recipes at home, and involve a competition event at the Gourmet Food and Wine Expo.

Food Business Innovation Centre, Peterborough $58,000

The Mount will launch a Food Business Innovation Centre with a commercial kitchen and on-site packing facility to provide space for burgeoning local food entrepreneurs to experiment with new products and develop recipes. This production space will give small-scale food businesses the capacity to produce small batches for retail and foodservice markets.

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.