Ontario is supporting the growth of local food.
That’s coming from John Yakabuski, MPP for Renfrew-Nipissing-Pembroke after Ontario’s Government for the People announced that it is taking steps towards establishing a new goal in the Local Food Act, 2013. This comes after Minister of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, Ernie Hardeman announced the news earlier today.
Yakabuski says that their goal is to make local food more accessible in certain institutions (hospitals, municipalities and colleges) and to increase farmers’ bottom line.
The Government says they’ll be creating an interactive “local food hubs” map that will connect local food businesses to potential new markets. They will also be launching a series of new case study videos featuring best practice advice from different organizations.
When asked about the use of technology in their plan, Yakabuski says that in this day and age, using technology is a must in order to better their programs “if you’re not using technology to make your programs better, you’re missing out on opportunity”.
The Province also says that the new goal of the Local Food Act, 2013 is also about celebrating and recognizing public sector organizations that do use local foods to serve their patients, students and employees.
