National survey shows institutions are buying into local foods

According to a new report, activity to bring healthy, local and sustainable foods into public agencies is gearing up in almost every province and territory in Canada – and there is a hunger for more.

Local Foods: Canadian schools, campuses, and health care facilities speak up surveys 239 food and nutrition specialists working within schools, campuses, and healthcare facilities about efforts to bring local food into their institutions. It is the first-ever pan-Canadian survey of its kind.

Some findings:

• The schools and campuses in the survey are more likely to provide local food than their healthcare counterparts (76% and 92%, respectively, versus 66% for healthcare facilities).
• The schools and campuses are also more likely to provide educational activities regarding local food (90% and 86%, respectively, versus 38% for healthcare facilities).
• Campuses and healthcare facilities are more likely to have local procurement policies or contracts with local providers (33% and 29%, respectively, versus 14% for schools).

Why are public agencies embracing the local food movement? According to the survey, a key motivational factor is “improved quality, freshness, taste or nutrition of the food.”

“Greenhouses, gardens and farms are sprouting up in schoolyards and on campus and hospital grounds. New food supply chains are being developed resulting in the purchase and delivery of local foods from non-traditional sources such as farmer’s markets and food cooperatives. These foods – from salmon to strawberries – are finding their way to canteens, dining halls, and to the patient’s bedside,” says Joanne Bays, National Manager of Farm to Cafeteria Canada.

This is a step in the right direction. But, as Isabelle St-Germain, Deputy Director of Equiterre, explains, there is still work to be done: “To encourage local procurement in our public institutions, we need more provinces to bring in food policies like the one Quebec brought in this spring. But such policies must have clear incremental targets. If the government sends a clear message to institutions to buy local, producers will organize to offer competitive prices.”