Local Food, Beyond the Market 3 of 6: Menu Planning – Guelph Community Health Centre

Local Food, Beyond the Market 2 of 6: Where to Begin – Guelph Community Health Centre

Developed by the Guelph Community Health Centre, this video features knowledgeable local experts who share their experiences to inspire the Broader Public Sector to infuse more local food onto menus.

This Local Food Procurement Policy was put in place by the Independent Order of Odd Fellows (IOOF) Seniors Home Inc. in Barrie, to ensure residents are provided with fresh seasonal foods purchased from local vendors. IOOF Seniors Home Inc. developed local food menus to help make sure that purchasing practices take into consideration seasonal availability of produce while managing cost impacts of local procurement. 

Read IOOF Seniors Home Inc. Local Food Procurement Policy

In this case study, Ross Memorial Hospital, in the City of Kawartha Lake, dispels some of the myths associated with local food procurement. This article originally appeared in the Canadian Coalition for Green Health Care.

Read Ross Memorial Hospital Decreases Ecological Footprint With Wholesome, Nutritious Local Food

This report is the third deliverable for Food for Health Project 200218 - “Exploring the Feasibility and Benefits of Incorporating Local Foods into Ontario’s Healthcare System”

The project objectives are to:

1. Establish the current state of food provision in Ontario's healthcare system.
2. Gain an in-depth understanding of the opportunities and constraints impacting food provision decisions in Ontario's healthcare system.
3. Provide alternative perspectives on healthcare food provision and the potential for changing these practices.
4. Understand implementation details for making changes at the individual facility level.

Read Local Food Provision in Ontario’s Hospitals and Long-Term Care Facilities: Recommendations for Stakeholders

Created in collaboration with Health Care Without Harm as part of their Healthy Food in Health Care Initiative, and The Canadian Coalition for Green Health Care, the Healthy Food in Health Care Pledge is a framework that outlines steps to be taken by the health care industry to improve the health of patients, communities and the environment.

Eating locally is an important idea that has gained lots of momentum in the last few years, and our ReFRESHing our Menu project to improve inpatient food here at TSH is evidence of these ideas really starting to take root outside of people’s home kitchens.  In an effort to measure the depth of our current investment in local eating, we’ve done a local food audit of our kitchen.  Essentially, what we were looking for is the source, or point of origin, for the products we purchase for the inpatient menu.