Local Food on Campus

“Given the unique challenges our northern sites face in regard to local food procurement, is excited to be conducting a food origin audit as part of the local food procurement initiative led by Mohawk College. We are grateful for the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs and the contributions from the Greenbelt Fund, and hope our project helps us to identify ways to better support our regional economies, ensure our practices are more sustainable and improve our student experience. We also have the expertise to help address some of our unique challenges and hope the audit identifies opportunities for future applied research projects.”

“Algonquin College is proud to be working with Mohawk College on this outstanding initiative. We are committed to the triple bottom line of sustainability and this program helps us honour that mandate by providing our students with healthy choices while supporting our local community, businesses and entrepreneurs at the same time.”

“Fleming understands the importance of using local ingredients in seasonal menus and fully supports the Office of Sustainability and the Mohawk-led Greenbelt project in developing a pilot program focusing on this initiative, and providing education to our faculty, staff and students.”

“This research will serve to educate future generations on the availability and benefits of purchasing locally-sourced products. By helping to shape our own tendencies with greater information, we as a school can impact life-long behavior in the students we teach and serve in our classes and businesses.”

“Our four college partners have strong track records of success in sustainability. We’re excited to build on the momentum of this project by testing solutions in a broad range of food service environments. The local food pilot projects will help build a transferable and scalable framework for bringing even more Ontario-grown food to campuses across the province.”

“As a major partner with colleges and universities across the country, working with Mohawk College and our other partners on this important initiative is an incredible opportunity for Chartwells. Through our Sustainability and Wellness platform, we recognize the importance of locally sourced products and this initiative will help us identify new and innovative ways to create industry-leading sourcing best practices that will benefit not only the schools and their students but local farmers and producers.”

“This initiative will bring exciting benefits to the province and its students. It will provide students with healthy options, support the regional economy, and improve the sustainability of college foodservices.”

"With support from the Government Ontario through the Local Food Investment Fund, Mohawk College is leading the way in making it easier for college students across Ontario to choose fresh, local food. When public institutions embrace local, they are strengthening their communities and supporting the powerhouse agri-food sector in Ontario”

"We're pleased to see Mohawk College move to the next phase of their local food project and launch a pilot project at 5 Ontario colleges to get more Ontario food onto students' plates. This project has the opportunity to make significant change to how colleges source food and increase local food sales in Ontario."