Choices for Ontario Food at University Health Network, Toronto $124,000

The University Health Network (UHN) will investigate the day-to-day barriers that prevent them from providing local food to their patients, staff, and visitors throughout their seven sites at Princess Margaret Cancer Centre, Toronto General and Toronto Western hospitals, and the four sites of Toronto Rehab. They will then create a strategy to increase their procurement of local food by 5 per cent by 2015, and 25 per cent by 2018.

Taking Action: Increasing the Purchase and Sale of Local Food on University Campuses, Toronto $75,000

Ryerson University’s Food Services Department, in partnership with Compass Canada, will create a market for local foods on campus by engaging the Ryerson community in their new food strategy. Student, faculty, and staff engagement activities include: menu/recipe development; community programs such as field trips, meals, and guest speakers; and social media campaigns and educational outreach. The project will also increase Ryerson’s ability to track and report on local food sales and evaluation and analysis of the project will yield lessons learned that will be shared with other postsecondary institutions.

Local Food Procurement Mentorship Program, Kitchener $105,000

My Sustainable Canada will partner with MEALsource to mentor four institutions to showcase the benefits of local food purchasing, and help them to implement buy-local programs. They will assist the four institutions to draw from, build upon, and share best practices and lessons learned, which will enable the broader public sector to better leverage its buying power.

Creating “WOW”: Ontario Local Food for Patients, Toronto $6,450

Marsan Foods Limited investigated the feasibility of creating local, ready-made entrees for healthcare. This included scoping out the cost and supply of local foods, and creating test recipes for products. Healthcare stakeholders were brought together to help Marsan Foods determine which value-added local foods are needed in healthcare.

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.