What a year! Looking back, 2015 is bursting with good food news! Bring Food Home ventured North for an unforgettable conference, a national food policy is on the government’s agenda, new quota options plan to make pastured and organic chicken more viable for small farmers, and our members are leading work that is transforming Ontario’s local food systems. We’ve been hard at work coordinating municipal food policy resource-sharing and sector-wide program evaluation (not to mention becoming an independent not-for-profit) that will carry on to 2016 and beyond!

None of this work would have been possible without dedicated members, supporters, and volunteers rooted in communities across Canada, and a collective belief that good food has the power to make change. Help us continue this year’s success into 2016 by becoming a supporter or member, and inviting family and friends to join you in this step towards a brighter food future.

Wishing you good food and fun for the holidays.

- Phil, Jenn, Alice, Samjhana & Nicole

This November, Bring Food Home went North to Sudbury for three days of local tours, panel discussions, workshops, farmer training and action planning that energized over 270 participants from across the province representing remote fly-in communities, dense urban centers and everything in between.

And with that size of gathering, there has to be a Feast - a Feast of Local Flavours featuring ten delicious dishes prepared by local chefs partnered with local producers.  Enjoy presentations and photos and access media coverage from the event.

Find out more about attendee's take-home lessons in our conference recap.

We are very grateful for our 30 sponsors and partners who contributed generously to Bring Food Home’s success.  Special shout out to our Sustaining Partners and Sponsors, Eat Local Sudbury, Land Food People Foundation, Northern Ontario Heritage Fund Corporation; and our Growing Sponsor, the Greenbelt Fund.

A National Food Policy is on the Agenda

In November, Prime Minister Trudeau publicly released the mandate letter to the Minister of Agriculture with promising language on a national food policy that promotes healthy living and Canadian-grown foods. As a part of the national coalition in the Eat Think Vote Campaign led by Food Secure Canada, we are celebrating this inclusion on the federal government’s agenda, as well as the participation of over 4460 individuals in the campaign!

Sustain Ontario and numerous alliance members were among the 192 organizations that hosted 68 Eat Think Vote events across the country. Of the 164 candidates that attended events, 40 candidates were elected including 5 appointed Ministers!  We celebrate the newly elected MPs grounded in diverse communities and are eager to build on this work with them in 2016!

Photo: We invited educators leading innovative local food literacy programs to join us at the Evergreen Brickworks in October during a Market Intervention Talk, where we talked about the importance of student nutrition programs.

New Toolkit to Initiate Sustainable Food Procurement Policies in your Region

On December 2, we released a new toolkit on Local Sustainable Food Procurement for Municipalities and the Broader Public Sector - go to this blog post to access the PDFs. It is accompanied by a workbook with a selection of tool excerpts to guide users through the procurement process.

We are eager to hear your feedback, especially as we develop our next tools and resource-sharing platform in 2016. Together, these tools will support the accelerated implementation of policies and initiatives that advance Ontario’s local food systems!

An Evaluations Framework for Community Food Programs

Sustain Ontario, in partnership with FoodShare Toronto, is working with Eco-Ethonomics Inc. on Financial Mobilization Scan and Collective Impact Mapping to assess the local food funding and evaluation landscapes in Ontario and to develop evaluation tools and resources to enhance the capacity of food organizations in Ontario.

Eco-Ethonomics Inc. conducted a broad scan to identify evaluation tools and resources relevant to food system projects and initiatives. Further collaboration on evaluation happened in the Sharpening the Tools for Change session at Bring Food Home.  Participants identified key outcome areas and indicators for the food sector.  A second co-design session is planned for February 3, 2016!  If you are interested in participating, save the date and watch for details in the new year!

Thank you to all the partners who completed the survey designed to assess food funding in Ontario and to gather information about food project evaluation.  If you'd like to complete the survey and haven't had the opportunity yet, please click here!

On August 21, Sustain Ontario officially became an independent not-for-profit organization! Our members and supporters are as important as ever, and we are very grateful to everyone who has been a part of the organization’s development over the past 7 years.

This new organization allows us to work together in new ways to continue shaping policies and initiatives across Ontario that promote a healthy future for all, with good food at its core.

Thank You to all of our Members and Supporters that have made 2015 possible.

Visit the Members Directory to learn more about current members.

As of October, Sustain Ontario is in a new office location with new contact information. Please update your address books!

301 - 253 Danforth Avenue
Toronto, ON   M4K 1N2
Tel: 416-461-3444
Fax: 416-461-3666

Thank you to the kind, inspiring staff and volunteers at FoodShare Toronto and at Meal Exchange for sharing office spaces with us during 2015!

Sustain Ontario’s office will be closed for holidays from:

December 24th at 12:30pm to December 29th at 9:00am

December 31st at 12:30pm to January 4th at 9:00am

We look forward to making even more good food news together in the new year!