Best Practices in Local Food: A Guide for Municipalities Kawartha Lakes Local Food Forum June 1, 2015 Presentation by OMAFRA 1

Presentation Objectives To provide an overview of the: Government of Ontario’s Local Food Strategy; and Ontario Municipal Knowledge Network’s Best Practices in Local Food – A Guide for Municipalities. 2

Ontario : A Champion of Local Food 3 $160M+ Invested Since 2003/04 Business Advisory Services Marketing and Promotion Funding Programs Research/ Knowledge Transfer Industry Capacity Building Value Chain Development

Ontario’s Local Food Strategy VISION: Ontario consumers enjoy local food more often – and in more places. MISSION: Increasing the consumption of local food in Ontario. GOALS: Ontario consumers are aware of, value and choose more local foods. Local food is identifiable and widely available through a range of distribution channels. Ontario’s agri-food sector is competitive, productive and responsive to consumer demand. 4

Local Food Act, 2013 Defines local food as food produced or harvested in Ontario, including forest and freshwater food, and food and beverages made in Ontario if they include ingredients produced or harvested in Ontario. Requires the Minister to set voluntary/aspirational goals and targets around food literacy, access to local food and increased use of local food by public sector organizations – in consultation with stakeholders; Requires the province to consult with public sector organizations on goals and targets, and share information on progress and results; Requires the government to produce an annual local food report; Proclaims a “Local Food Week”, beginning the first Monday in June; Creates a tax credit of 25 per cent for farmers for donations of agricultural products to eligible community food programs. 5

Background: Best Practices Guide for Municipalities Building resilient local food systems requires local leadership, and many municipalities are doing exciting things. Municipalities are well positioned to understand the capacity, challenges and opportunities of their local food economies. In 2013, the Association of Municipalities of Ontario (AMO) and the Ontario Municipal Knowledge Network (OMKN) supported by the Ontario government, hired Deloitte to develop a guide to support municipalities in adopting best practices related to local food initiatives. 6

Key Barriers and Challenges 7 Limited economies of scale Limited coordination Prov. Regs. Limited funding Lack of expertise Lack of support from staff & council Fed. Regs. These barriers and challenges make it more difficult for municipalities to maximize their support for local food.

Overarching Success Factors In looking across jurisdictions, several key success factors were identified for municipal local food initiatives: understanding what activities are available to municipal council; understanding the challenges facing the local food industry (considering the whole supply chain from farm to fork); understanding the unique situation of the municipality; finding a municipal champion; and engaging key stakeholders. 8

Local Food Tools and Tactics Strategy and Macro-Policy Food Charter and/or Strategy to confirm municipal priorities, objectives and goals Official Plan to guide zoning by-laws PoliciesPlanning policies and zoning by-laws to protect agricultural land Planning policies and zoning bylaws to support value-added processing on ag. land Procurement policy to encourage local food purchases Permitting process for farmers’ markets Signage for markets/on-farm sales Disposal rules and guidelines ProgramsCommunity Gardens Incubator kitchens Food hubsMobile vendorsRegional branding and agri-tourism Composting Partnerships and Governance Regional partnerships between municipalities to achieve economies of scale Partnerships with non-governmental organizations to organize and deliver community programming Food Policy Council Producing Processing/ Preparing DistributingRetailingConsumption Waste Management Municipalities have a number of policy and program tools at their disposal to support local food activities across the agri-food supply chain. This table provides a few examples. 9

Choosing the Best Tools The Guide provides guidance on how to identify the right tools for your municipality based on your unique opportunities and challenges. 10 Size & type of municipality -small/large -rural/urban Municipal resources -funding -staff Agriculture base -strong/weak -diverse/ homogenous Proximity to urban centres -close -distance Agri-food sector -# of businesses -active/inactive Five Criteria to Assist with Selecting the Best Tools *Note: all activities would need to comply with applicable legal and trade obligations

Measuring Success Measurement is critical to assess progress and impacts, and to justify investments of staff time and resources. 11 High value useful as a measure of local food sector health Low complexity easy to collect and low cost of collecting the data High level of municipal control municipality has a high level of influence in the outcomes Sweet spot Looking for performance measures or indicators that provide:

Thank You! The Guide is available on the Ontario Municipal Knowledge Network website: Jaya James, Policy Advisor Economic Development Policy Branch Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs 12