[getsmart-l] Fw: Tory pledge: schools, hospitals to buy local

[John O'Gorman]

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/LAC.20070919.LONTFOOD19/TPStory/?query=homegrown
RURAL VOTE: HOMEGROWN ATTITUDE

Tory pledge: schools, hospitals to buy local
GLORIA GALLOWAY AND DAVID ANDREATTA 

September 19, 2007 Globe and Mail

Hospital patients, school children, civil servants and provincial prisoners would eat Ontario broccoli, apples, pork and everything else grown and raised on the rich farmland of the province where John Tory would be premier.

Shifting his campaign into agricultural mode yesterday with a stop at a dairy farm and an annual plowing match, the Conservative leader pledged to develop guidelines requiring provincially funded institutions to purchase Ontario meat, produce and wine.

The announcement included scant details about how such a program would be implemented, whether it would employ financial incentives or mandates that Ontario food products be chosen over those from outside the province. 

But Mr. Tory, speaking at a farm near Brockville, said the program could require the institutions to meet benchmarks for increasing the amount of Ontario food they offer over a period of five years.

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"We want to make sure when you go to the cafeteria of a hospital or another public building that you are getting food ... that's been produced right here in the province of Ontario," he said. "We won't be able to achieve 100 per cent Ontario, I don't think. ... But I think we can certainly do better."

Farmers and organizations representing them welcomed the news, but some cautioned that implementation of such a program could be difficult in terms of connecting provincially funded institutions and local farmers.

"It's always good for farmers, it's good for the community, it's good for everybody," said Doreen Henderson, a farmer from Brinston in eastern Ontario who attended the plowing match.

Jack Riley, a beef producer from Bruce County northwest of Toronto, said it is important to remember that consumers don't generally get their food products direct from the farm.

"We produce a raw product so it needs a lot of processing before it gets to the individual in the marketplace," he said. 

"It changes a lot of hands there. Sure, we'd like to see you buy Ontario products, especially Canadian beef. But we are still a producer of raw materials."

Sue McLarty, manager of the Fresh Vegetable Growers of Ontario, applauded the proposal but said one major hurdle would be persuading schools and hospitals to broaden their supply chain beyond a single distributor that may or may not supply Ontario food.

"Those places like to have one supplier," she said. 

"It's easier to deal with a broker that can get your products year-round."

Incentives encouraging schools and hospitals to buy local have been around in the United States for several years. 

Across the country, nearly 11,000 schools in more than 700 districts have farm-to-school programs that link schools with local farmers.

The programs are funded indirectly through federal grants and other state subsidies that help schools overcome implementation challenges.

Connecticut, for instance, employs a farm-to-school co-ordinator. 

Vermont offers funding to help schools train their food-service staffs to handle direct-from-the farm produce and buy small food-processing equipment not found in most school cafeterias.

" 'Where do I find farmers?' is a very common question in schools," said Anupama Joshi, director of the National Farm to School Program. 

"It definitely takes a lot of work on the part of the school district and if the district is not on board it's probably not going to be sustainable." 
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