Fresh, Healthy, Local Food Coming to Toronto Hospital Thanks to George Brown College.

An innovative collaboration between George Brown College and St. Michael�s Hospital means more fresh, healthy meals made from local food will be on the plates of patients, staff, and visitors.

With support from the Greenbelt Fund, and funding from the Ontario government, George Brown College, has partnered with St. Michael�s Hospital to develop a certification course for hospital foodservice staff.

?George Brown College is a trailblazer in local food education,A�and St. Michael�s Hospital is an industry leader in preparing fresh, delicious patient food in-house. This cutting-edge initiative and partnership willA�demonstrate the possibilities for incorporating more Ontario-grown ingredients intoA�high quality, home-cooked meals within health care facilities. The result�more local food for Ontarians and a happier and healthier patient, staff, and visitor experience,? says Burkhard Mausberg, CEO of the Greenbelt Fund.

The College�s project, Cultivating Change: Local Food Within the Healthcare Sector ($120,000), will see St. Michael�s staff experiment with ?from scratch? local food recipes to reveal skill gaps, while George Brown students test recipes to understand how the healthcare kitchen operates.

St. Michael�s will offer internship placements where George Brown students work alongside hospital staff to assist with ongoing menu creation featuring local food.

This project supports farmers, families, students, hospital staffA�and the economy.

Additional Greenbelt Fund grant recipients announced today are:

• 100km Foods Inc.
• Aramark Canada
• Local Food Plus
• Sustain Ontario
• The Hospital for Sick Children

 

For a detailed description of projects visit Ontariofresh.ca.

A�About the Greenbelt Fund

The Greenbelt Fund, a non-profit organization, supports and enhances the viability, integrity, and sustainability of agriculture in the Greenbelt and Ontario.

The Fund delivers support to farmers and local food leaders to ensure more of the good things that grow in Ontario are being served and distributed through our public institutions, retail, and foodservice markets. Helping to overcome challenges and support economic growth, the Fund�s goal is to create systemic change to permanently increase the amount of local food consumed in the province through grants, education, policy, and networking initiatives. The Fund is supported by public and private sources. For more information about the program and grants visitA�Ontariofresh.ca. For more information on local food visitA�foodlandontario.ca.

For more information about the Ontario government�s new Local Food Act and broader local food strategy, visit ontario.ca/localfood.