Plan to Grow is a research-based initiative of the NFU’s New Farm Project, designed to gather information from farmers, processors, retailers, buyers, and food security advocates in the Kingston area, with the goal of assisting the New Farm Project chart a path toward a sustainable local food system for Kingston and its countryside. Perspectives were gathered from over 40 food system participants about the assets, challenges and opportunities within our local food system, in order to develop priorities for action that will stimulate both the supply and demand for local food.

Engagement with participants identified the need for active coordination across many food and farm initiatives in order to better influence policy, generate funding support, and be strategic with the resources available to us. Active coordination can be achieved by working with the existing initiatives identified through our outreach, by taking advantage of existing data and studies currently being carried out, and by partnering with future studies and initiatives.

Read Plan to Grow: Scaling up Local Food in Kingston & Countryside

Last February a day of programming at the Food Summit was capped with a lively debate, held at Glenn Gould Studio at CBC’s Toronto headquarters. The question foisted upon the panel of experts was, local food: for, or against? 

The Locavore herself Sarah Elton and New York food writer Mark Bittman squared off with their “for” arguments as Brit author of “Panic on a Plate” Mark Lyons stood beside Andrea Mandell-Campbell with their reasons against. As polarizing as the movement is, the discussion remained fairly light, swaying here and there into the territory of the economic impacts of buying (or not buying) locally.

The Erie Innovation Centre worked collaboratively with the Ontario Fruit and Vegetable Growers’ Association to provide a business plan for accessing Broader Public Sector institutions.

The business plan includes: a market assessment; challenges; and how to determine the best option for a regionally based local food distribution system.

Read Accessing the Broader Public Sector Marketplace: Local Food Hub Business Plan and Implementation Strategy

Cochrane District in Northeastern Ontario has a long history of agriculture which continues to have an important presence in the area. However, this sector faces several obstacles, such as aging farm operators with limited succession planning. Therefore, action must be taken in order to ensure the sustainability of current farming operations as well as take advantage of the vast agricultural opportunities present in the area. With this in mind, this study undertook to identify the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats inherent for agriculture in this part of Cochrane District as well as present strategic actions which could be undertaken in order to expand agriculture in the area.

Cochrane District in Northeastern Ontario has a long history of agriculture which continues to have an important presence in the area. However, this sector faces several obstacles, such as aging farm operators with limited succession planning. Therefore, action must be taken in order to ensure the sustainability of current farming operations as well as take advantage of the vast agricultural opportunities present in the area. With this in mind, this study undertook to identify the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats inherent for agriculture in this part of Cochrane District as well as present strategic actions which could be undertaken in order to expand agriculture in the area.

The growth of Ontario food in our public institutions is inspiring. Today we celebrate those who change the food on plates in hospitals, long-term care facilities, and educational institutions. The Ontario’s Local Food Champions report recognizes five organizations from across the food value chains that exemplify leadership and provide solutions to incorporate more Ontario food on their menus.

“In just under a year we have seen outstanding growth in sales and volumes of Ontario food served in public institutions,“ said Burkhard Mausberg, CEO, Friends of the Greenbelt Foundation. “This report recognizes a few of the many champions working to make local food the standard at our hospitals, schools and daycares.”

This year’s Ontario’s Local Food Champions represent the dynamic changes happening across foodservice.

Read Ontario's Local Food Champions 2012: Cultivating Change in the Broader Public Sector

It has been said that in food retailing 50 per cent of the time that a product is taken off the shelf, the shopper will buy it. This means that on-product labels are a very important component of success. But how do you make a label pretty enough to attract a shopper, considering how much information must be included, from product details to corporate information?

Watch webinars and videos on success stories and the benefits of buying local.

This document is intended to help universities, colleges, hospitals, and other institutions – as well as those advocating for food system change – create, promote and implement practical sustainable food purchasing policies. 

It draws from the successes and lessons learned by a variety of institutions from within the United States, and from the experience of for-profit and nonprofit partners that have worked with institutions in this arena. This document does not promote any particular policy positions, but rather offers a framework to help you develop policies that will be meaningful and achievable for your institution. This document is a product of the Sustainable Food Policy Project, which was initiated in 2006 to support efforts by educational, healthcare and other institutions to have a positive impact on the food system through purchasing. 

Read A Guide To Developing A Sustainable Food Purchasing Policy

This report presents a community food system plan developed through community consultation to guide action for the creation of a healthy food system for Sarnia-Lambton. 

The "food system" includes all of the activities and relationships related to every aspect of the food cycle, including growing, harvesting, transporting, processing, distributing, marketing, selling, preparing, consuming, and disposing of food. A healthy community food system integrates all of the pieces of the food system to enhance the environmental, economic, social and nutritional health of a community.

Read Creating a Food Revolution: A Healthy Community Food System Plan for Sarnia-Lambton