Co-operative Local Food Marketing Program, Warren $35,910

Local Food and Farm Co-ops will develop and provide marketing guidance, support and new materials to their 23 member Co-operatives to better market the benefits of local food directly at point of purchase. Leveraging existing practices from market leaders, the education materials will communicate the stories of Ontario farmers and the value of their products. 

Processing and Distribution Hub, Bradford $72,500

Cohn Farms will be scaling up capacity at its processing and distribution hub to meet growing demand for local food, which is outpacing supply. The project is expected to double the number of farms supplying Cohn Farms to 25-30, create over 15 full-time equivalent jobs, and increase sales of local food by over $4m per year.

Season-Extension, Value-Adding Processing and Services, Lyndhurst $71,538

Wendy’s Country Market will retrofit a cow barn into a local food processing and storage facility to offer season-extending and value-added processing to local farmers. The facility will create new processed products including jams, jellies, preserves, dried fruit, and frozen entrees.

Northern Ontario Mobile Growing Facility, Lively $52,283

Greenhouses Canada will purchase a mobile “grow truck” to serve as an indoor demonstration and training site, and allow for transportation of fresh produce to remote northern communities (including on seasonal ice roads). The project is expected to increase local food sales by $117,000.

Homegrown – Local Food Project, Kitchener $42,840

Flanagan Foodservice is Canada’s largest family-owned foodservice distributor and will increase sales of Ontario foods by increasing its local food offerings, improving traceability, and investing in a promotional campaign to improve awareness of Ontario food available to its customers. The project is expected to increase local food sales by $1 million in 2017.

Grow West Carleton – Food Hub, Ottawa $48,500

Deep Roots Food Hub will increase access to local produce by investing in a new co-packing approach for its root cellar, providing storage, distribution and marketing opportunities to area farmers. In addition, the project will expand the Good Food Box program and include an “Eat West Carleton” promotional campaign.

Implementation of New Cooking Line to Increase Production Capabilities and Access the Ontario Market, North York $75,000

Select Food Products has made a significant investment in a new cooking and production line in order to deliver a made-in-Ontario with Ontario ingredients French’s Ketchup. The project will nearly triple production capacity for Select and help French’s to execute on its commitment to make and source ketchup in Canada.

Microgreens for Pastured Eggs, Walkerton $38,100

To supply the growing consumer demand for humane eggs, Poechman Family Farms will invest in significant changes to enhance the quality of life for their hens. The project will involve the introduction of open coops and added egg-laying privacy, installation of a stable cleaner to reduce ammonia levels, freshly grown greenhouse microgreens to augment the hens’ diet, and a “play” area for the hens to take dust baths, scratch the soil for worms and gravel, and fly to perches for observing all the activity. These improvements may also contribute to more flavourful eggs. And it will provide experience for the Poechmans to share innovations with other egg farmers in the Ont. Organic Farmers’ Co-Operative and the Yorkshire Valley Farms distribution group.

Growing Opportunities for Local Poultry, Pembroke $14,550

Reiche Meat Products will meet a significant gap in the agricultural system in Renfrew County by establishing poultry processing facilities, which are currently not available in the county. The availability of an abattoir in the county will allow existing small-scale poultry farms to scale up and meet growing demand for local poultry at farmers’ markets and in stores. The project is expected to increase local food sales by $100,000 and bring 20 new farmers to market.

Local Line Food Hub Project, Kitchener $28,316

Local Line will build custom local food hub software for Ontario food hubs, based on a market assessment of the needs of Ontario’s existing food hubs. The platform will leverage existing Local Line marketplace and reporting software to create easy-to-use software for new and established local food hubs.