YOUR LOCAL FOOD GUIDE:

• The public sector in Ontario purchases $745,000,000 worth of food per year. This figure is significant enough to influence the market by increasing the demand for local food.

• Procurement of local food supports Ontario’s economy by prioritizing local farmers, producers, and food processors.

While these suppliers often do not have food safety certifications like HACCP (Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points), they do not necessarily sell unsafe food. Rather, they may not have the certifications required by most purchasers in institutional food service organizations.

POTENTIAL SOLUTIONS:

• Connect with suppliers and other stakeholders to find local food products that have the proper certifications.

• Help local suppliers to obtain the necessary food safety certifications by forging long-term relationships.

• Some institutions have addressed this issue by working with local chefs who lend out their kitchens for food preparation and cleansing for urban farms with yield for community and school use.

POTENTIAL SOLUTIONS:

• Communicate to suppliers that local food is a priority, and work with them to determine ways to identify local products.

• Work with your suppliers to embed minimum local food requirements into 3rd party contracts.

• Distributors already have local food items available. Talk to your account representative to find out what local items they stock.

• If your organization is unable to get the local items you want from larger distributors, seek out local suppliers, such as the Elmira Produce Auction Co-Op. This will shorten the supply chain and guarantee access to the products you want.

POTENTIAL SOLUTIONS:

• Dairy, eggs, and most meat are available year round.

• Certain produce, such as apples and potatoes, are also available from local suppliers for all or most of the year.

• Finally, some local vegetables, like tomatoes and peppers, are grown year round in greenhouses.

This factsheet uses the Foodland Ontario definition of local food. Under this definition, most ingredients grown or produced in Ontario qualify as local food.

• Ontario is losing farmland at an unsustainable rate. Between 1976 and 2011, Ontario lost 18% of its farmland.

• In 2003, the Ontario government established the Greenbelt, to protect 1.8 million acres of green space surrounding the Greater Toronto and Hamilton area.

• Investment in local food is important in order to preserve the Greenbelt and to maintaining viable local food production in the Greater Toronto Area.

• The Greenbelt is one of Ontario’s most important sources of food, and is some of the best agricultural land in Canada. The Greenbelt accounts for 6.8% of Ontario’s agricultural output, and 56% of Ontario’s production of fruit.

• Protecting this land is a critical first step.

• Local food benefits the regional economy and supports local farmers, creating additional jobs in industries

like food processing and food distribution.

• Most Canadians support local food, and believe that local food is beneficial to the environment and the local economy as a whole. Consumers also consider local food better tasting and of higher quality than imported products.

• Approximately $65,000,000 worth of food was sold at Ontario’s 24 colleges in 2015. Colleges can use this purchasing power to drive change and be a reliable and secure market for local food producers. They are in a unique position and have a responsibility to raise awareness and hold a leading position in responsible procurement.

ONTARIO

A guide describing when and whyto buy local food

V E G E T A B L E A V A I L A B I L I T YJ F M A M Jn Jl Au S O N D

Artichoke

AsianVegetables

Asparagus

Bok Choy

Broccoli

Brussels Sprouts

Cabbage

Cauliflower

Celery

Coriander

Corn

Cucumber

GreenhouseCucumber

Eggplant

Garlic

Green Beans

Kale

Leeks

Lentils

Lettuce

GreenhouseLettuce

Mushrooms

Parsley

Parsnip

Peas

Peppers

GreenhousePeppers

Pumpkin

Rhubarb

Radicchio

Rapini

Onions, Cooking

Onions,Green

Onions, Red

V E G E T A B L E A V A I L A B I L I T Y - C O N T I N U E DJ F M A M Jn Jl Au S O N D

Soy Beans

Spinach

Sprouts

Summer Squash

Swiss Chard

Tomatoes

Tomatoes,Grape

GreenhouseTomatoes

Winter Squash

Zucchini

R O O T V E G E T A B L E A V A I L A B I L I T Y J F M A M Jn Jl Au S O N D

Beets

Carrots

Golden Beets

Potatoes

Radish

Rutabega

SweetPotatoes

Turnips

F R U I T A V A I L A B I L I T Y J F M A M Jn Jl Au S O N D

Apples

Apricots

Blackberries

Cantaloupe

Cherries

Strawberries

Gooseberries

Grapes

Muskmelon

Nectarines

Peaches

Pears

F R U I T A V A I L A B I L I T Y - C O N T I N U E DJ F M A M Jn Jl Au S O N D

Plums

Raspberries

Watermelon

M E A T & D A I R Y A V A I L A B I L I T Y

Beef

Availableyear round.

Lamb

Availableyear round.

Chicken Pork

Duck Turkey

Goose Veal

Bison Rabbit

Boar Venison

Cheese Milk

Eggs Cream

WINTER SUMMERSPRING FALLK E Y:

This Local Food Reference Guide is Supported By:

SOURCES:

▪ Carter-Whitney, M. (2010). Ontario’s Greenbelt in an International Context. Toronto: Canadian Institute for Environmental Law and Policy.▪ Chinnakonda, D., & Telford, L. (2007). Local and Regional Food Economies in Canada: Status Report. Ottawa: Agriculture and Agri-food Canada.▪ Edge, J. (2013). Cultivating Opportunities. Canada’s Growing Appetite for Local Food. Ottawa: Conference Board of Canada.▪ Martinez, S., Hand, M., Da Pra, M., Pollack, S., Ralston, K., Smith, T., . . . Newman, C. (2010). Local Food Systems - Concepts, Impacts, and Issues. Washington: United States Department of Agriculture.▪ Metcalf Foundation. (2008). Food Connects Us All: Sustainable Local Food in Southern Ontario. Toronto: Metcalf Foundation.▪ Mohawk College. (2017). Increashing Local Food Procurement at Ontario’s 24 Colleges. Hamil-ton: Mohawk College.▪ Morley, A., Sonnino, R., & Smith, A. (2012). Leading by Procuring, the Power of Public Sector Purchasing. In D. Gallagher (Ed.), Environmental Leadership: A Reference Handbook (pp. 113-121). Los Angeles: SAGE Publications.▪ Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food, and Rural Affairs. (2015). Ontario’s Local Food Report - 2015/16 Edition. Toronto: Government of Ontario.▪ Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food, and Rural Affairs. (2017). Ontario Foods Definitions. Retrieved from Foodland Ontario.

LOCAL FOOD REFERENCE GUIDEONTARIO