Overall Rating Gold - expired
Overall Score 67.48
Liaison Allison Maxted
Submission Date Jan. 22, 2019
Executive Letter Download

STARS v2.1

Mohawk College
IN-25: Innovation B

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 1.00 / 1.00
"---" indicates that no data was submitted for this field

Name or title of the innovative policy, practice, program, or outcome:
Increasing Local Food Procurement at Ontario's 24 Colleges: The Evolution of Campus Foodservices

A brief description of the innovative policy, practice, program, or outcome that outlines how credit criteria are met and any positive measurable outcomes associated with the innovation:

In an effort to help increase the amount of Ontario-grown food served at colleges across the province, Mohawk College's sustainability team applied for a grant in 2016 to lead a two-year research-based pilot projected aimed at increasing local food served by Ontario college food services. Mohawk saw an opportunity to bring more local food to campus and support the regional economy, healthy students, the Greenbelt, and enhance the sustainability of college food service operations.

Increasing Local Food Procurement at Ontario’s 24 Colleges is a multi-stakeholder project led by Mohawk College in partnership with the Greenbelt Fund and the Government of Ontario. The project aims to develop a scalable and transferable local food procurement framework for all 24 Ontario colleges.

The local food procurement framework for Ontario colleges is informed by:

Research
The project team identified barriers and opportunities to local food procurement through 48 interviews with supply chain stakeholders, an extensive literature review, and a survey of over 4,000 college students. The resulting report is available here.

Pilot Projects
Four colleges: Algonquin College, Collège Boreal, Fleming College and Humber College are piloting solutions identified in the research. The results of these pilot projects were shared at the Summit and in the Framework.

The Summit
The draft procurement framework was presented at the Summit to 85 supply chain stakeholders to get feedback. Together, we found ways to overcome barriers to local food on college campuses.

The Framework
A step-by-step guide to increasing local food procurement at Ontario's 24 colleges. The Framework is available here.

Mohawk Sustainability used this research and project to work with the Ontario Provincial government to help shape the final pillar of the Local Food Act, which sets aspirational goals to support local and sustainable food systems in Ontario. The summary of the consultation with the Minister is available here: http://www.omafra.gov.on.ca/english/about/localfoodpsgoal.htm


Which of the following impact areas does the innovation most closely relate to? (select up to three):
Research
Food & Dining
Purchasing

A letter of affirmation from an individual with relevant expertise or a press release or publication featuring the innovation :
The website URL where information about the programs or initiatives is available:
Additional documentation to support the submission:
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Data source(s) and notes about the submission:
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