Food Forward Opinion Piece on Job Creation in Ontario’s Good Food Sector
Posted: January 7, 2013
Categories: economic development / Food in the News / News from Sustain Members
Darcy Higgins of Food Forward has published an op-ed piece discussing job creation in Ontario’s ‘good food’ sector. The article is a call-to-action for more effective government support of local procurement, capacity-building for sustainable food ventures, and community funding.
Below is an excerpt from the blog post:
“A stronger Local Food Act that puts job creation at the forefront could go a long way. In the United States, the Local Farms, Food, and Jobs Act has been proposed and co-sponsored by dozens of congressman and senators, and would provide policies and funding for good food jobs.
We need that in Ontario too. Many ideas to do it have already been proposed, and we now need them supported by better legislation, regulations, funding, and programs.
The Local Food Act must be strengthened to create further goals, targets, research, and support for hospitals, universities, and all other public institutions, to increase the amount of fresh, local, and ecologically produced food, as suggested by Sustain Ontario. The NDP’s Buy Local Food Act contained targets for local and organic food. The City of Markham’s local food policy has brought procurement of local sustainable food to 30%.
The Province should also work with businesses, municipal governments, public health and economic development departments, and other agencies to build the capacity needed to bring local food infrastructure back to Ontario.
A review of regulations that hamper small food enterprise could also lead to the creation of new jobs in Ontario. In rural, suburban, and urban parts of the province, entrepreneurs are finding unclear and outdated, intelligence-challenging regulations that don’t affect health, safety, or the environment, but hamper their ability to undertake a business venture.
PC MPP Ernie Hardeman has launched a survey of food processors, asking what regulations are causing headaches and to determine how the sector can be better supported. Some regulations don’t work for small-scale local enterprises and have resulted in closures. Governments need to be leading or supporting, not hindering the local economy.”
Read the full article is available on the Push Food Forward blog. Darcy Higgins, Executive Director at Food Forward, can be contacted at darcy@pushfoodforward.com