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George Morris Centre Study

The agri-food industry is becoming increasingly competitive and global.  Simultaneously, changing attitudes toward the environment, health and wellness, as well as viewing food as an experience rather than simply sustenance, are motivating consumers to reconnect with the source of the food they choose to consume, in order to verify its authenticity and overall value.  A result of this trend is consumers’ increasing interest in local food. 

 

The purpose of this project was to assess whether sufficient industry support exists to establish a sustainable local and regional food and agri-product distribution initiative (LFDI) in the Niagara and Hamilton areas.  This included examining whether the preferred approach is formal or informal and, given the demographics of the immediate area and surrounding region, market requirements and supply base.  It also sought to identify attitudinal and cultural factors that could impact the LFDI’s long-term viability.

 

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The Greenbelt Foundation is

  • Supporting interested Greenbelt Farmers to Go Organic

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

  • 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

  • Supporting food policy council in Durham to create food charter

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

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

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

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

  • Supporting tourism initiatives including in the Niagara and Caledon areas

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

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

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

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

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

  • Contributing to greater sales of Greenbelt wines at the LCBO

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

  • Convincing Peel school boards to buy Greenbelt food for students

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

  • Developing a successful culinary tourism platform for Niagara

  • 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

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

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

  • Successfully merging social welfare initiatives with environmental concerns

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

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

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

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

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

  • 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

 
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