Ontario's Local Food Champions 2012
This year’s Ontario’s Local Food Champions represent the dynamic changes happening across foodservice. Here are the highlights:
School Food Action Coalition: Peel District School Board, Compass Group Canada (Chartwells), Peel Public Health and EcoSource
- Achieved designation as the first school board in Canada to implement a local food buying policy for secondary schools
- Educated students about benefits of Ontario food by inviting farmers’ to visit schools
- Hosted a culinary competition for students with the winning recipe used by Peel District School Board
- Created material with Compass Group Canada to identify locally sourced menu items at 200 schools
Nutrition Group at St. Joseph’s Health System, Group Purchasing Organization and My Sustainable Canada
- Sourced Ontario food for St. Joseph’s Health System, Group Purchasing Organization’s 28 health care facilities by including local food language in their Requests for Proposals
- Led to a 15 per cent increase in local food purchased, representing $670,000 in sales
- Created a guide to conducting origin of food audits with other health care facilities
Gordon Food Service Ontario
- Recognized as one of the largest broad line distributors in Canada, GFS assigned a team to implement a local food strategy
- Produced over 800 local products, all suitable for large institutions
- Expanded the availability of local products resulting in a 10 per cent sales boost in one year
- Established relationships with local farmers to help them adopt food safety practices and meet the packaging expectations of public institutions
Don’s Produce
- Provided local produce to eight hospitals, 22 long-term care facilities, 17 universities and schools and five child care centres across southwestern Ontario
- Developed a program to help chefs and foodservice buyers increase their purchase of local produce and monitor quarterly progress
- Provided a seasonal availability chart to help chefs and foodservice managers efficiently plan their menus to incorporate local produce
University of Guelph, Hospitality Services
- Created a department-wide Sustainability Plan to support local farmers and educate consumers on and off campus about the benefits of buying local
- Supported the local economy and the 75 farmers who sell at the Elmira Auction Co-operative by purchasing products for the University of Guelph
- Succeeded in elevating local produce purchases to 45 per cent
- Identified processing and preserving methods to ensure local stays on the menu beyond harvest
Ontario’s Local Food Champions is available for download below and upon request by emailing info@greenbelt.ca.
