Economy

The building and strengthening of our local economy, from food to tourism to nurturing a working landscape that sustains jobs is a vital part of creating a strong and successful Greenbelt, and thus a healthy and prosperous Ontario. The Foundation has invested significantly in our local economy including:

  • Investing millions of dollars in building a local food economy from developing new markets to enhancing distribution channels
  • Creating Greenbeltfresh.ca, the leading electronic marketplace to find local, Greenbelt foods from over 600 producers
  • Funding the Holland Marsh Growers’ transition from an export, commodity focus to one that serves the local market with value- added products
  • Enhancing Farmers’ Markets, increasing sales for farmers in the Greenbelt and beyond
  • Supporting development of action plans for a variety of agricultural areas and commodities
  • Hosting the successful Tour de Greenbelt to promote Ontario’s Greenbelt as a tourism destination
  • Supporting tourism initiatives including in the Niagara and Caledon areas
  • Identifying barriers to opening markets for Greenbelt farmers and proposing solutions
  • Reaching over 75 million through 220 highway and regional road signs and 12 million via the Harbourfront Greenbelt photography exhibit

 

It’s less expensive to preserve the natural environment and the benefits it provides us, than to replace it with man-made infrastructure.

 

The David Suzuki Foundation Report

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Romancing in the Greenbelt

Economy  |  February 10, 2012

Ontario's Greenbelt stretches across 1.8 million acres and offers many options for romantic getaways. From enchanting winery experiences along the Niagara Escarpment, to the exploration of Rouge Park in Markham, one can find the romance in the nature all around the Greater Golden Horseshoe area. It is all about the birds and the bees after all, isn't it?  As many people are... Continue reading

 

Three favourite picks from the Greenbelt Holiday Gift Guide

Economy  |  December 16, 2011

Researching for our Greenbelt Holiday Gift Guide confirmed one thing for us: there is so much to see and do in the Greenbelt, our Gift Guide could be a mile long (or 1.8 million acres wide.) We chose to highlight a range of products and activities that represent the diversity of this broad region. Here are three of our favourites: Continue reading

 

Issue Fact Sheet

 

Download a copy of our Economy Fact Sheet (PDF)

Ontario’s Greenbelt is the largest and most diverse greenbelt in the world. It protects 1.8 million acres of green space, prime agricultural lands and rural communities.

 
 

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George Morris Centre

Local Food Distribution Mechanisms in Niagara and Hamilton

As a Canadian not-for-profit independent think tank, the George Morris Centre fosters excellence in the agri-products sector by provoking informed dialogue and providing industry decision makers with analyses of critical issues affecting this sector. Continue reading

Grants Made:

$67,000 - June 8, 2009

 

The Greenbelt Foundation is

  • Successfully merging social welfare initiatives with environmental concerns

  • Identifying barriers to opening markets for Greenbelt farmers and proposing solutions

  • Supporting the Credit Valley Conservation Authority to protect and restore wetlands

  • Supporting the Ontario Greenbelt Alliance to foster strong Greenbelt Plan implementation at the municipal level

  • Supporting the creation of an award-winning Greenbelt granola bar

  • Funding research and analysis on greenbelts around the globe which concluded that Ontario’s Greenbelt is the most robust in the world, with a strong legal and policy framework

  • Building a local food economy from developing new markets to enhancing distribution channels

  • Contributing $2.65 million to Greenbelt farmers to improve their operations (leveraging millions of dollars from federal sources), and to employ the opportunities of the Green Energy Act

  • Supporting changing the City of Toronto policy to adopt a local food purchasing bylaw for city facilities

  • Increasing amount of Greenbelt food in food share program 140%

  • Securing local food procurement commitments for Peel schools, City of Toronto, City of Markham and others

  • Contributing to greater sales of Greenbelt wines at the LCBO

  • Hosting the successful Tour de Greenbelt to promote Ontario’s Greenbelt as a tourism destination

  • Assisting in designing new policies to protect Lake Simcoe through timely research

  • Partnering with Harbourfront Centre to tell the story of Ontario’s Greenbelt to 12 million people via a year-long, outdoor photography exhibit

  • Developing a successful culinary tourism platform for Niagara

  • Supporting the development of multi-cultural crops and training new Canadian Farmers

  • Engaged Hamilton schools to switch to Greenbelt food for their students

  • Creating a network of Farmer’s Markets to help improve our local food economy

  • Reaching over 75 million by placing 220 permanent highway and regional road signs to ensure Ontarians and visitors know about this valuable protected area

  • Hosted the first ever Global Greenbelts Conference in Toronto in March 2011 with speakers and delegates from over nine countries

  • Convincing Peel school boards to buy Greenbelt food for students

  • Funding visionary planning processes such as the new Cootes to Escarpment Park Management Plan, and a massive reforestation plan in Rouge Park

  • Funding policy changes to encourage more local food to be sold in Durham

  • Engaging with over 170 million Ontarians directly through our marketing, events and communications activities

  • Enhancing Farmers’ Markets, increasing sales for farmers in the Greenbelt and beyond

  • Supporting the creation of new multi-cultural crops and development of ethnic local food guides in Toronto and York Region

  • Securing local food procurement commitments for Peel, U of T. City of Toronto Facilities and Markham

  • Providing grants and support to significantly increase sales at farmers’ markets

  • Bridging farming and hiking interests to acknowledge environmental progress by farmers

  • Supporting tourism initiatives including in the Niagara and Caledon areas

  • Supporting food policy council in Durham to create food charter

  • Funding the Holland Marsh Growers’ transition from an export, commodity focus to one that serves the local market with value- added products

  • Supporting interested Greenbelt Farmers to Go Organic

  • Participating strategically in growing the Greenbelt by working with Toronto, Peel, Halton, and Guelph

  • Bringing thousands of Ontarians out into the Greenbelt each year through grantee activities and the Annual Tour de Greenbelt cycling event

  • Creating Greenbeltfresh.ca, the leading electronic marketplace to source local, Greenbelt foods from over 600 producers

  • Supporting development of action plans for a variety of agricultural areas and commodities

 
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The Greenbelt Blog

Romancing in the Greenbelt

Ontario’s Greenbelt stretches across 1.8 million acres and offers many options for romantic getaways. We’ve selected a few of our favourites that suit any budget. Share the beauty and nature...

Read more from our Blog »