Developing a Local Food Procurement Training Program for Industry Professionals, Hamilton $30,000

Mohawk College will develop an online professional certification program in local food procurement through their Online Continuing Education division. The program will teach foodservice staff local food procurement skills, as well as how to create menus that celebrate and maximize the use of Ontario foods.

Taste Northern Ontario, Sault Ste. Marie $25,000

A partnership between RAIN and NOFIA, this project will recruit 8 agri-food businesses from northern Ontario to exhibit at the Ontario pavilion at the Restaurants Canada Show, with a view to establish new business contacts and customers for the participants.

Casa Bonita Market Access, North York $51,000

Casa Bonita will invest in new equipment to increase production capacity for their Mexican-style corn tortillas and tortilla chips, while shifting to increase use of Ontario flour and launching a new product line featuring the Foodland Ontario logo.

Micro Farms at Schools, Hillsburgh $25,000

Everdale will develop a comprehensive “Start a Micro Farm at Your School” teaching module for schools to help deliver practical farm-based food education. The project will pilot the micro-farm module at Erin Public School and Erin High School.

Increasing the Demand for Ontario Produce Ingredients in Prepared Jams, Sauces and Condiments, Guelph $25,000

Rootham’s Gourmet Preserves will develop new products such as jams, sauces, and salad dressings made from Ontario-grown ingredients. Partnering with Longo’s and Ravine Winery, Rootham’s will launch in-store promotions to distinguish its products as 100% local, farm-to-table products. Rootham’s presence in Longo’s will be a first in offering consumers a total line of condiments made from local fruits and vegetables.

Before Bloom! Producing Ontario Strawberries Year-Round, Langton $25,000

EZ Grow Farms will work with 9 new growers and 20 greenhouse operations to be one of the first producers to offer Ontario strawberry plants for commercial production to harvest during the winter season. The funding will allow EZ Grow Farms to invest in essential cold storage facilities to enable this production.

Increasing Access and Awareness of World Crops, Toronto $14,550

Youth Action Network will scale up its world crops production to provide culturally appropriate produce at local farmers’ markets, and provide entrepreneurship, farming and food literacy training for youth and food-insecure persons.

Customizing an Open Source E-commerce/Logistics Platform for Ontario Food Hubs $30,000

Open Food Network Canada will improve its online tools for food hubs and farmers by simplifying the user interface and making other improvements requested by users, including the creation of a community discussion board to foster communication, knowledge transfer and collaboration among farmers.

Increase Market Access through Development of a Meat Distribution Terminal, Markdale $25,000

Artisan Farms will develop a Meat Distribution Terminal to provide a centralized hub to aggregate meats for further distribution to grocery and foodservice sectors, much like the Ontario Food Terminal does for produce. Artisan Farms will conduct outreach to farm organizations to secure more product, and implement a product verification and traceability system. They will also develop a brand and marketing strategy to market the variety of Ontario meat offerings.

Incubator Kitchen and Improved Local Food Access at St. Luke’s Burlington $10,000

St. Luke’s Anglican Church will convert its commercial kitchen into an incubator kitchen, with outreach programming specifically targeting New Canadian entrepreneurs, and partner with Feed Halton to trial a pop-up market that provides fresh local produce at low-cost.