Ontario ag ministry announces goals to foster local food literacy among consumers

Thursday, January 29, 2015

by SUSAN MANN

Ontario’s agriculture ministry plans to develop baseline statistics for three goals it will be using to track Ontarians’ knowledge and use of local food with an aim to increasing awareness of provincial food products.

Bryan Bossin, senior press and communications adviser to Agriculture Minister Jeff Leal, says by email they already have some information on the first goal, which is to increase the number of Ontarians who know what local foods are available. A recent Foodland Ontario study showed six in 10 shoppers could identify half or more of the produce grown seasonally in Ontario, Bossin says.

The second goal set by the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs and announced in a press release Wednesday, is to increase the number of Ontarians who know how and where to obtain local foods. The third goal is to increase the number of Ontarians who prepare local food meals for family and friends and make local food more available through food service providers.

The three goals are called the food literacy goals, and Leal will be reporting on them annually. The Local Food Act, passed in 2013, requires the minister to prepare a local food report each year. The ministry didn’t say when the first report would be released.

Bossin says to track progress “towards all food literacy goals we will develop baseline statistics and measures going forward.”

The Local Food Act is part of a broader strategy intended to increase the demand for Ontario food creating more jobs and boosting the agri-food industry’s contribution to the provincial economy, the release says.

The food literacy goals were developed in consultation with industry stakeholders. The government’s aim in establishing the goals is to increase food literacy among Ontarians and encourage increased collaboration along with an ongoing food literacy conversation between government, industry and the public. BF