Sap Tap - Maple Products in the North, Sault Ste. Marie $8,200

Sault Ste. Marie Innovation Centre will design and build an interactive exhibit at the Canadian Bushplane Heritage Centre that targets youth and the general public, educating them on the local maple syrup industry. An iOS based video game application for iPad will be developed and incorporated within the exhibit, and items showcasing the significance of this tradition to First Nations and Metis people. The project will connect people with local culinary experiences and farms, engaging over 205,000 visitors in the next five to seven years.

Growing Under Glass: Educational Info Sessions in the Produce Aisle, Leamington $66,750

Ontario Greenhouse Vegetable Growers (OGVG) will educate consumers on greenhouse vegetable growing practices and increase consumer confidence in Ontario greenhouse grown vegetables. OGVG plans to host 112 consumer engagement educational demos in 56 locations, including retail stores, farmers markets, culinary school campuses, and recreational facilities; create educational materials and incorporate a local food literacy game into their existing app to reach a wider audience.

Building Reciprocity through Social Media, Aurora $16,500

Ontario Farm Fresh Marketing Association (OFFMA) will work with their approximately 300 farmer members to increase their social media presence across multiple platforms, raising consumer awareness of local food products and purchases of local food at farm-gate. OFFMA will increase the local food literacy of influential food bloggers (minimum of 10,000 followers each), coordinating visits and experiences with on-farm markets and farm fresh food, while working with their members to undertake a comprehensive social media strategy.  

Celebrating Local and Indigenous Foods in Northwestern Ontario (Forest Meets Farm), Thunder Bay $25,000

Working with community partners and indigenous knowledge keepers, Roots to Harvest will deliver a series of four experiential learning modules to four high schools in Northern Ontario. The modules will build knowledge of local food and skills to prepare locally-sourced traditional indigenous foods. The project will include a culminating public event and a recipe book featuring local farmers and producers in Northern Ontario.

Ottawa Food Hub Expansion, Ottawa $25,000

Mountain Path and Just Food will expand the capacity of the Ottawa food hub by investing in refrigeration equipment upgrades and by implementing a customized online portal to their existing website in order to better connect the hub’s producers and customers.

Good For You Locally Grown-Phase 3, Oakville $38,500

Halton Healthcare will develop meals made with Ontario ingredients to increase local food purchases by 10% annually. Building on the success of their last two projects, phase III is to expand in-house scratch cooking primarily for i) sandwiches ii) desserts and iii) entrees. They will purchase a packaging machine for prepared sandwiches and host a Local Food Expo connecting local farmers, buyers, distributors, and hospital staff, in order to increase the amount of Ontario food in their institutions.

Investing in Packhouse/Food Hub Equipment, Wilsonville $105,000

Procyk Farms will invest in an automated packaging process for local bell peppers, zucchinis, and tomatoes. Procyk expects to work with seven new farmers and increase local food sales by more than $1 million through sales at major retailers, Loblaw's, Sobey's, and Metro.

Increasing Market Access for Ontario Tree Fruit and Fresh Grape Farmers, St. Catharines $250,000

The Tender Fruit Growers, Ontario Fresh Grape Growers and Ontario Apple Growers will work in partnership to help transition their farmers to plant new varieties that are of higher value, have higher disease tolerance and that can be planted closer together. This project will establish best practices and increase profitability for local fruit farmers; making growers more competitive.

Value Added Cider Products, Hampton $10,000

Geissberger Farmhouse Cider will work towards monetizing the pulp waste from Ontario cider by creating two new value added products, apple cider vinegar gummies for consumption, and pelletized pulp for use in feed and other purposes.

Growing the Good Food Machine, York $25,000

FoodShare Toronto has partnered with Loyalty One to scale-up The Good Food Machine - a local food literacy program that teaches children how to grow and cook healthy food using an indoor hydroponic tower garden and classroom kitchen/cooking kits. They will develop an online learning platform for teachers, as well as offer educator training and user on-boarding across the province and reaching 450+ organizations.