Celebrating Farmers During Local Food Week

MISSISSAUGA – Rudy Cuzzetto, MPP for Mississauga–Lakeshore, invites residents to join him in recognizing hardworking farmers as well as food processors and everyone across the local food supply chain during Local Food Week.

“Local Food Week is an opportunity to celebrate all the good things grown, harvested, and produced in Ontario,” said Cuzzetto.

This year’s Local Food Report , released this week by the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, features some of the people behind the products and recognizes the incredible contribution farmers make to the province. The Local Food Report includes stories about:

  • A business that applies innovative solutions that allow us to enjoy fresh, Ontario-grown strawberries that taste like summer, throughout the year.
  • A teacher who designed an urban farming class that helps students learn about agriculture and food production.
  • Conestoga College’s Food Research and Innovation Lab which is helping chart the future for Ontario grown and produced foods.
  • The Fresh from the Farm fundraising program which allows students to sell Ontario fruits and vegetables.

“This year during Local Food Week we are celebrating the people who are responsible for ensuring we have a bounty of locally grown food across the province ,” said Lisa Thompson, Minister of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs. “In Ontario we are blessed to have more than 48,000 farms where 200 different crops are grown so Ontarians can enjoy fresh and delicious food grown close to home. We need to support farmers, food processors, workers and communities across the province, this week and every week.”

Local Food Week, which begins the first Monday in June, is an annual reminder to support local when you shop whether that is at grocery stores, at farmers’ markets, on-farm markets, or online, and while you’re eating at restaurants. To ensure you are buying the good things that grow in Ontario, look for the Foodland Ontario logo in grocery stores. Foodland Ontario has been a trusted brand that helps consumers recognize Ontario grown and produced foods for more than 45 years.

Ontario’s agriculture and food industry employees more than 836,000 people across the province and contributes $48.8 billion to the provincial economy. In Mississauga–Lakeshore this includes businesses such as Sure Good Foods, Ying Ying Soy Food, and Meaty Meats.