Connecting Farmers & Purchasers: Trade Fare, Toronto $13,750

The Rhizome Institute will facilitate three events and tours of Ontario farms to better connect GTA food entrepreneurs to farmers before the start of the next growing season - an opportunity to increase orders between buyers and suppliers; and assess the demand for niche products like organic barley for a brewery or heritage corn for tortillas.The project is anticipated to create 40 FTE jobs.

Stop at Subway for Ontario Grown, Province-Wide $90,000

Burnac Produce will bring Ontario tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers, and onions to Subway restaurants during the local harvest season. Burnac will work with Subway to promote local produce, creating increased awareness of local food. The project will increase local produce in Subways during harvest season by at least 30-50% permanently.

Packaging Equipment Adoption to Increase Market Access of Prince Edward County Foods, Belleville $79,000

Sprague Foods will invest in a new automated packaging machine to increase the sale of locally produced soups and beans. Sprague will be able to double production and its facility, develop seven new products for sale in grocery stores, and provide farmers with new opportunities to bring their products to market. 

2016 Production Opportunities Program, Toronto $45,000

FoodShare Toronto will help up to 25 farmers to enhance their ability to meet demand at farmers’ markets by providing microgrants. The grants will allow farmers to introduce new products, scale up, extend the growing season, and improve quality and value. The project is expected to increase sales at farmers’ markets by $200,000 over two years.

Marketing and Selling Fresh, Naturally Grown (Never Frozen) Shrimp in Ontario, Aylmer $45,000

Planet Shrimp is an indoor closed containment shrimp farm using proprietary technology to grow fresh shrimp in a sustainable, ethically responsible facility. This investment will enable Planet Shrimp to undertake a comprehensive market assessment and establish a distribution system for this innovative product.

Market Assessment of "Label Rouge" Chickens in Ontario $15,000

Pollo Gardens is participating in the Chicken Farmers of Ontario’s new Artisinal Chicken Program, for farmers growing small numbers of chickens for select target markets. Pollo Gardens will raise “slow growth” chickens raised in low density housing and pastured from dusk to dawn. This pilot will allow Pollo Gardens to raise 150 chickens and distribute them free of charge to potential customers to assess demand.  

Local Food Processing and Packaging Facility, Toronto $100,000

Fresh City Farms will invest in increasing its capacity to process and package local vegetables, fruit, grains and other food to create value-added products. The project is expected to increase sales by 500% from $2.5 million to $14.5 million annually by 2020 and create 45 new urban agricultural jobs. 

Sourcing the World in Ontario, Toronto $28,255

Burnac Produce Ltd. will look into how foodservice providers can substitute the imported produce they use with fresh Ontario-grown products. They will work with Vineland Research and Innovation Centre and the Ontario Greenhouse Vegetable Growers to try to identify and test an Ontario tomato variety that can replace or offset dependence on the “gas-green” tomato currently being imported from the United States. The project partners will also work with Ontario farmers to increase the production of okra, Chinese long bean, eggplant, bittermelon, karella, specialty tomatoes, and opa squash for Fortino’s and other retailers for the 2015 growing season.

For more information about Burnac Produce Ltd., visit their website and their Ontariofresh.ca profile. 

Feeding Halton, Burlington $25,000

Halton Fresh Food Box aims to increase access to fresh local food with a number of social service organizations and agricultural partners collaborating under the name Feeding Halton. They will assess the opportunities available within the Region of Halton for creating a local food hub to increase market access for local farmers, while providing their constituents with equitable access to healthy local food. They will also consider the capacity of local food companies and community kitchens to assist in the further processing of local products.

Eat Local Sudbury Food Hub Business Plan, Sudbury $17,200

Eat Local Sudbury will create a business plan for an expansion of their local food hub, which currently only serves the Sudbury area, to include LaCloche-Manitoulin, North Bay, Temiskaming, Muskoka, and parts of Algoma. Support for this project will help Eat Local Sudbury coordinate their research and planning as they seek to understand how much food is produced within these regions, and determine the demand for local food.