Food & Farming

Food and farming in the Greenbelt is a vital part of Ontario’s heritage and future prosperity. With an abundance of food grown and raised locally, there is tremendous potential to build a regional local food system that supports Greenbelt farmers and agricultural innovation, provides food security for Ontarians, and helps to minimize environmental impacts. The Foundation leads on key agricultural issues including:

  • Investing in building a local food economy from developing new markets to enhancing food 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
  • Creating Greenbeltfresh.ca, the leading electronic marketplace to source 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
  • Securing local food procurement commitments for Peel schools, City of Toronto, City of Markham and others
  • Supporting the creation of new multi-cultural crops and development of ethnic local food guides in Toronto and York Region

 

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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New Employment Opportunity with Ontariofresh.ca

Do you love local food? Are you always on the search for a restaurant that serves of local? Do you pine for the first tomato of the season? This job may just be what you have been looking for. Come immerse yourself in local and help in building a robust fresh local food value chain with the innovative new site, Ontariofresh.ca.  Continue reading

 

Ontario’s Local Food Champions Report Recognizes Innovative Leaders

(Toronto, Ontario) – 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... 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.

 
 

Featured Grants

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Grape Growers of Ontario

Promoting the Grape Growing Industry through the Niagara Wine Festival

The Grape Growers of Ontario works towards sustainable growth of Ontario’s grape industry, and hosts an annual wine festival to celebrate their fruits of labour. Continue reading

Grants Made:

$20,000 - June 8, 2010

 

The Greenbelt Foundation is

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

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

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

  • Developing a successful culinary tourism platform for Niagara

  • 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 schools, City of Toronto, City of Markham and others

  • Convincing Peel school boards to buy Greenbelt food for students

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

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

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

  • Contributing to greater sales of Greenbelt wines at the LCBO

  • Supporting tourism initiatives including in the Niagara and Caledon areas

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

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

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

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

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

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

  • Successfully merging social welfare initiatives with environmental concerns

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

  • Supporting food policy council in Durham to create food charter

  • 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

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

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

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

  • Supporting interested Greenbelt Farmers to Go Organic

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

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

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

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

  • 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

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

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

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

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

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

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

 
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The Greenbelt Blog

Walls Come Alive in York Region Elementary Schools

This is my first blog about my exciting journey of painting Greenbelt murals in York Region elementary schools. I will start with how all began. I was one of 40...

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