good food jobs

Join food celebrities in calling for food jobs

Join good food heros, farmers, entrepreneurs, and community leaders from Amherstburg to Toronto to Ottawa who've signed our petition to Premier Kathleen Wynne on the need to create good food jobs through a stronger Local Food Act!

Click here to see who's just signed, read, sign, and email the petition to your friends and colleagues.

Good food jobs can grow in Ontario

If Toronto and Ontario want to be successful economically and socially over the next few years, we must create more jobs.

This has been on the mind of the public, businesses, and politicians lately, but hasn’t been prioritized in the way it needs to be. If we create new jobs in a good food sector, we have more work that is meaningful, and that improves the health of our communities and environment, while giving a leg up to newcomers, young people, and others looking to have a job and make a difference.

The GTA alone already has 110,000 direct food jobs, with those in processing being more resilient and higher paying than those of many other sectors. Most food grown in Ontario is also processed in Ontario.

However, the vast majority of food consumed in Ontario is imported. Farmers are suffering with an income crisis, while our food is being subsidized by off-farm incomes, cheap farm labour, environmental pollution, poor treatment of animals, and processed foods. So our health, environment, and work standards are affected. It doesn’t need to be that way. The solutions are complex, but there are some things we could be doing right away to make a change.

Quality grown foods sold to local markets can often yield farmers a better price while bringing good food through bakeries, dairies, and restaurants to consumers. The GTA Food and Farming Action Plan, endorsed by all area municipalities, champions a quite notable goal of creating the greatest food and farming cluster in the world. Working towards that goal would quickly bring good new jobs to Ontario. Political leadership in 2013 would support the sector in making it happen.

The Liberal Party leadership race has been talking jobs and entrepreneurship. You’ve heard it from Glen Murray, Charles Sousa and others.  Eric Hoskins mentioned growing food sector jobs specifically in a leadership debate, while Kathleen Wynne has vowed to bring back the Local Food Act and become Minister of Agriculture, Food, and Rural Affairs if she becomes premier.

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.

Finally, the government can create jobs by investing in our communities, as has been proposed by the Green Party. Community food solutions from social entrepreneurs and non-profit organizations are forming healthier communities through community development programs, food literacy, and local economic development. Their work is often high-impact but low-budget. Governments have been largely missing in action, and must engage more closely with this on the ground work.

Providing stable community grants and funding to this work would be money well spent in creating good food sector jobs. Shifting a relatively small funding pool through in any of a number of ministries could be used by organizations to implement preventative health solutions while creating multiplier social and economic effects. Young people are ready with the skills and passion to work in this area and to show results.

By focusing on strong good food procurement and capacity, better regulations, and community funding, we can create healthier urban centres alongside more vibrant rural communities. The quicker we act, the sooner we see more people employed in this most critical sector.

Contact Darcy Higgins, Executive Director, at darcy@pushfoodforward.com

Entrepreneur trainings

As part of Food Forward's Food Entrepreneur Training Program, we are letting participants know about additional training & networking sessions on offer in the City for entrepreneurs who are looking to make great food more available to Torontonians. We want to make info on these coming sessions available to everyone - it's a busy a few days...

Monday December 3rd

9:30am-12pm How to Start a Food Business from the City of Toronto Economic Development Division in partnership with Enterprise Toronto at North York Civic Centre, Lower Level, Committee Room 3, 5100 Yonge Street, Toronto

Got an idea about starting a food business? Want to learn more before you "venture" into a food business? Looking to find out how to search for a licensed industrial kitchen in Toronto, that can help you get your venture off the ground? Or just got a delicious recipe you eventually want to cook up into a money- making business? Then be sure to attend this valuable morning workshop on "How to Start a Food Business"

To Register Contact: Mr. Michael Wolfson at 416-392-3830 or email at mwolfso@toronto.ca. Online Registration: http://www.eventbrite.com/event/2349260702

10-11:30am: Your Ideal Client: Who They Are, And How to Attract Them, Enterprise Toronto, Toronto City Hall 100 Queen St. West, 2nd Floor Committee Room 3
Do you know which of your clients get the most value out of your services? Why do some keep coming back while others complain and ask for a discount? If you don’t know who your ideal client is, you chase after the clients who are not the right fit for you, and neither you nor they will get the best value out of the relationship. In this informative and interactive seminar, you will learn how to recognize your ideal client and create an environment that attracts and retains them.
Presented by: Olga Brouckova, OB4innovation Inc
Register online: www.enterprisetoronto.com OR please leave us a message at (416) 395-7416
*Note we will not be returning calls unless there are cancellations
** Please check our website 24 hours before your seminar date for any room changes

6-8PM: Growing Business the Food Way - Innovating Start-ups from Across the Food System, Wilson Lounge at New College U of T, 40 Wilcocks St.

Join us for the next joint Toronto Youth Food Policy Council/TFPC Community Meeting and Panel on Food Startups in Toronto. When: December 3rd, 2012 at 6-8pm (with snacks starting at 5:30pm) Starting at 6 pm: Bryan Gilvesy of YU Ranch, keynote presentation, and time for a Q&A We have some great panelists involved in food businesses in Toronto that will be joining us for this event, like Matt Basile from Fidel Gastro, Seema Pabari from Tiffinday, Erica Lemieux from City Seed Farms, and Leila Timmins of GathererTO!

We hope you can join us! Facebook event: https://www.fac​ebook.com/event​s/1301187571416​98

Tuesday December 4th

7PM-9PM: Foodie Drinks - Etobicoke edition! at The Longest Yard, 313 Bloor St West

t's been a little while since our last Foodie Drinks and we're coming back strong with a great event highlighting ward 5 (Etobicoke-Lake​shore) at a local restaurant/bar that has great local, organic foods & local brews. Everyone from the area and beyond are welcome to come learn, brainstorm, and connect at our first event in Etobicoke! Foodie Drinks is our monthly chance to mingle, network and build new relationships around good food in Toronto.Whether you work or volunteer in community food security, or are interested in growing vegetables or starting a businesses, this is a great place to see friends and make new ones. This month will feature special guest Julia Graham of Stonegate Community Health Centre who coordinates their community food programs including the Stonegate Food Access Committee: http://www.ston​egatechc.org/pr​ograms-services​/food-programs.​html We'll be at The Longest Yard mingling with a good selection of drinks and appetizers for purchase, check out: http://thelonge​styardrestauran​t.com/ (Just 3 blocks east of Islington Station!) They've got a long history of good food & political discussion.

Let people know you're coming on Twitter with #FoodieDrinks Thanks to the Toronto Live Green Animators for their partnership in this event * Free entrance. But we encourage you to grab a Food Forward membership to get involved to advocate for a better food system. Or join now online at http://pushfood​forward.com/joi​n Facebook rsvp: https://www.fac​ebook.com/event​s/2243116977019​04/?fref=ts

Wednesday December 5th

10-11:30am: Managing Your Cash Flow, Enterprise Toronto, North York Civic Centre 5100 Yonge St. Lower Level Committee Room 3  
One of the main challenges for any small business owner is managing cash flow. Many businesses are actually profitable but poor cash flow chokes their ability to operate. In this "hands on" workshop we will walk you through real world examples and practical tips that will help you maximize your cash flow, minimize the need to borrow and ensure you are taking full advantage of the cash flow cycle.
Presented By: Sera, Schipani, TD Canada Trust, Small Business Banking
Register online: www.enterprisetoronto.com OR please leave us a message at (416) 395-7416
*Note we will not be returning calls unless there are cancellations
** Please check our website 24 hours before your seminar date for any room changes
 

World Food Day Toronto: creating a vibrant local food system that works for everyone

Join us for an exciting World Food Day, hosted by the Regent Park community, to learn more about some of the food problems in our neighbourhoods, and how we can create a just and sustainable food system in Toronto.