Product: Meat Regulations

To no one’s surprise, food service operations in the Broader Public Sector (BPS) purchase a lot of meat products. In fact, the category of meat products often constitutes the largest food spend within the BPS after dairy and value added entrées, such as shepherd’s pie, lasagna,  and macaroni and cheese. Given the amount of money that is spent on meat products in the BPS, it would seem that Ontario’s livestock farmers and independent meat processors would be keen to become a supplier for this market. However, to date it has been difficult for the province’s smaller processors to tap into it.

Guelph Community Health Centre’s Local Food Toolkit helps organizations overcome challenges in sourcing and serving more local food. The toolkit features stories from partners who were at various stages of their local programs, as well as a series of tools with more information about local food policies, seasonal purchasing, local wholesale suppliers and distributors, and worksheets to facilitate the transition of a BPS kitchen.

Read The Road to Local Food: increasing Local Food in Broader Public Sector Organizations

This report outlines the Corporation of Norfolk County’s experience with putting a system in place to increase the amount of Ontario food served in the Broader Public Sector. 

Norfolk County highlights four phases of the project: product of origin assessment; increased local foods; equipment; and communications, procedures, and policies.

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This discussion paper was developed by Food and Beverage Ontario and outlines common procurement processes in the BPS and provides guidance on specific business opportunities for the province’s food and beverage processors while acknowledging the unique challenges and needs of the BPS.

Read Ontario’s Broader Public Sector New Opportunities For Ontario’s Food and Beverage Processors

The Ontario Greenhouse Vegetable Growers (OGVG) provide a detailed outline of why consumers should choose greenhouse tomatoes, bell peppers, and cucumbers and how to optimize shelf life, prep tips, and culinary applications.

Read Taste The Difference Fresh & Vine Ripened Makes!

The Role of Co-operatives in Local Food Systems Development – United States Department of Agriculture, Rural Development

Product: Food Safety and Local Food

Food safety often comes up in conversations about local food, and for many, proving that food is safe is a pre-requisite to doing business with the Broader Public Sector (BPS). 

The Greenbelt Fund and Ontariofresh.ca, in collaboration with 100km Foods Inc., CanadaGap, GS1 Canada, NSF-GFTC, OSCIA, and OMAFRA brought together farmers with professionals from different sectors and institutions dealing with food safety at the Introduction to Food Safety and Certification Workshop on April 3 and 4 2014.

Institutions of the broader public sector (BPS) have become motivated to introduce more locally grown and processed foods in their menus to better serve their customers, be they students, hospital patients, or residents of long-term care facilities (LTCs).

This report provides an introduction to the various actors involved in the foodservice supply chain, as well as an overview of how foodservice works in universities and colleges, school boards, hospitals, municipal LTCs and child care centres. It is not intended to capture the deeper complexities of foodservice in the BPS.

Read Connecting the Links: Foodservice in the Broader Public Sector

Why buy Canadian? Canadian farmers and food processors bring some amazing food products to your table. Whether it's a sizzling steak on your barbeque, pork chops oozing with apple sauce or succulent fresh fish with wild rice for dinner, there is a huge variety of Canadian food to explore!

Now, the Government of Canada has developed a labeling program to help consumers understand claims that labels make about Canadian content in our food products. When consumers see the Canada brand logo on a product label, they can be sure it contains Canadian ingredients or was made in Canada.