GUELPH – The Ontario Federation of Agriculture (OFA) has announced the provincial and federal government is supporting OFA’s project, Always in Season: A Practitioner’s Guide to Local Food.
Through Canadian Agricultural Partnership funding, OFA, its partners, and Wilton Consulting Group developed a toolkit for communities to guide them through potential activities, key performance metrics, funding opportunities, and ways to collaborate to support the agri-food sector.
The project aims to increase local food sales, provide new opportunities for local producers for value-added agriculture, enhance agri-tourism and culinary tourism opportunities, and elevate the brand of local agricultural products.
The Always in Season Toolkit can be used nationwide. It includes many tips, templates, and innovative ideas for communities to initiate, particularly during events such as Local Food Week, Ontario Agriculture Week, Canadian Agricultural Literacy Month, Canada’s Ag Day, and Food Day Canada. Through interviews with stakeholders across the province, OFA learned of many innovative approaches to supporting the agri-food sector, and ways communities are helping their producers sell more local products and encourage agri-tourism.
“There are so many great initiatives already happening across Ontario and Canada to support agriculture and food,” said OFA president Keith Currie.
“We know there are communities that support farmers and want to help. We hope this toolkit sparks new ideas and a new way of thinking about agriculture, food and agri-tourism as an economic driver,” Currie added.
Supporting agriculture, local food and local beverage processors has never been more important, OFA officials state. Community organizations and municipalities have a vital role to play in fostering an environment where agricultural producers and processors can thrive.
To learn more and access the toolkit, visit ofa.on.ca/AlwaysinSeason.
The project was funded by the Canadian Agriculture Partnership, a five-year federal-provincial-territorial initiative.
