On 1 October 2013, the Golden Horseshoe Food and Farming Alliance submitted a letter to the Legislative Committee on Social Policy as it prepares for hearings regarding Bill 36, the Local Food Act in the coming week. Access the PDF of the letter.
The letter highlights the Food and Farming Action Plan, as well as Golden Horseshoe food and farming cluster’s unique and substantial contributions to the provincial economy. Peter Lambrick, a founding members of the Alliance and author of the letter, briefly outlines recommendations for the Committee to address with the intention of strengthening the Local Food Act’s potential to support Ontario’s farmers, food processors, and their related value chains in the provincial food system. The recommendations include:
- Reviewing the feasibility and measurability of targets in respect to public sector procurement.
- Encouraging the concept of charitable receipts for farmer donations of local food.
- Funding community-level initiatives related to local food promotion, with particular attention to youth engagement programming to increase food literacy and awareness.
The letter concludes with a caution to carefully consider program implementation, as well as a request to attend the hearings to speak to these suggestions in greater depth:
“We have a great opportunity here to further enhance the local food movement in the Province of Ontario. It’s important that the provincial government carefully consider their role in local food advancement and not enter into a legislative approach without much forethought and contemplation of the spirit of local food concepts and the details for implementation of the programming.”