Are Local Food Diets In Ontario Feasible Or Just Loco?

Voices across Ontario encourage eating locally and supporting neighbourhood farmers. The local food movement, or 100 mile diet, has the best of intentions; quality food, food awareness, environmental protection, and investing in the local economy.

As I rolled my cart into my neighbourhood grocery store yesterday, I scanned the room excited to do my part in support of local Ontario farmers. But lest I forget, it is a snowy January in Ontario leaving me disgruntled with the bleak array of root vegetables, onions, and some greenhouse cucumbers.

Foodland Ontario is a provincial brand created by the government to promote local food consumption.

Continuing along the aisles, my inner cynic questioned whether local diets are only meant for hip Californians whose strawberries always grow, but leave Ontarians sentenced to bland winter diets. Is the local food movement really feasible and attractive in Ontario?

In 1977, the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs (OMAFRA) established Foodland Ontario to promote and maximize consumption of Ontario foods. Foodland Ontario is the ideal helper for Ontarians conquering the challenge of an attractive local diet all year long.

Its best resource for everyday local food consumers is the availability guide. Using the availability guide I discovered a multitude of January in season produce: apples, beets, cabbage, carrots, cucumbers, garlic, leeks, lettuce, mushrooms, cooking onions, parsnips, potatoes, rhubarb, sprouts, squash, tomatoes, and sweet potatoes.

If Ontarians complement in season produce with out of season produce (frozen, canned, or preserved), local eating’s broader goals are in reach. Foodland Ontario fills shopping carts with the tools to achieve high quality local diets all year long. They help you buy it, cook it, and love it.

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