Upcoming Webinar: Funding and Financial Tools for Local Food and Farming Businesses

Things looking a bit different?

Nope, you're not on the wrong site – we're updating our look and content! Keep your eyes peeled for more changes!

Author: Sustain Ontario

Posted: January 6, 2026

Categories: GoodFoodBites / News from Sustain Ontario / Opportunities

Join Sustain for a one-hour lunch webinar on Wednesday, January 28, focused on funding supports and financial tools available to local food and farming businesses across Ontario and Indigenous territories.

This session will feature presentations from the Fair Finance Fund and First Nations Agriculture & Finance Ontario (FNAFO), highlighting loan programs, financial supports, and resources available to farmers, food businesses, and organizations working to strengthen local food economies.

The webinar will include:

A brief welcome and framing from Sustain Ontario
A presentation from First Nations Agriculture & Finance Ontario
A presentation from Fair Finance Fund
A facilitated question and answer period

Speaker bios:

Johanna Mercedes, Fair Finance Fund, Loan Officer & Social Finance Coordinator
(“yo-ha-nah”) is passionate about empowering entrepreneurs and enterprises with the resources and access to the capital they need to start, grow, and thrive in the local food and farm sector. She was born in northern Ontario, and raised between northern Ontario, the Gulf Islands, and Sea To Sky in BC. Johanna’s professional experience includes northern value chain coordination, remote community capacity building, and business technical assistance for BIPOC youth. Johanna has a degree in Environment & Business, where her studies focused on combining environmental and social impact metrics with profitability and economic growth. Johanna is also the author of a childrens’ book, Goodnight Moonlight!
Stay tuned for the speaker from First Nations Agriculture & Finance Ontario
FNAFO offers exclusive financing and support to First Nations farmers and agribusinesses in Ontario.

Date: Wednesday, January 28, 2026
Time: 12 – 1 p.m.
Location: Online via Zoom

Zoom registration link:
https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/uMUE59IaTtKx6DmPU3sgHA

Only the presentations will be recorded to support a welcoming space for questions, with the recording shared afterward for those unable to attend live.

This webinar is part of Sustain’s Buy Local Food Network and New Farmers Network, supported through an OMAFA funded project.

Comments are closed.