December 2017
INSPIRING CHANGE IN HEALTH CARE (WITH A NEW VIDEO!)
DECEMBER 10, 2017
Since its inception seven years ago, the Therapeutic Garden at Hôpital Glengarry Memorial Hospital in Alexandria, Ontario has been a leader in the field. The brainchild of Louise Quenneville, Project Manager at HGMH, the garden has grown steadily by maximizing resources, including a three-year partnership with Project SOIL. The garden has brought well-deserved attention to HGMH and Louise, now recognized as one of Canada’s health care innovators.
In 2017, HGMH brought in a graduate of l’Institut de formation et de recherche agroalimentaire (IFRA) de La Cité in nearby Alfred, to implement SPIn farming techniques. Now the garden not only benefits stroke rehab patients through exercise engaging fine motor skills and memory, it also produces a bounty of vegetables for patients, staff and visitors—over 800 lbs. this year!
Check out this new video of the Therapeutic Garden at HGMH, an inspiration to all who’ve visited.
May 2017
GROWING GREEN
MAY 23, 2017
Developing an Institutional Garden for The Ottawa Hospital
Five grad students from the Health: Science, Technology, Policy 
interdisciplinary program at Carleton University have compiled an extraordinary resource capturing the diverse benefits and designs of institutional gardens, while developing a model to support the development of a therapeutic garden (short-term) and institutional food production (long-term) at The Ottawa Hospital.
Under the direct supervision of HSTP faculty member Edana Cassol and Project SOIL co-lead Irena Knezevic, the five students—Vanessa Handley, Dania Koudieh, Alex Marshall, Fatimah Mirza and Charles Ozzoude—compiled a comprehensive report (1.1 MB pdf) for their capstone project, as well as a Summary Report (640 kB pdf), an Executive Summary, and an infographic. 
For more details, please visit their report page here.
January 2017
JANUARY 4, 2017
For three years, Project SOIL has used case studies, pilot projects and visioning sessions to investigate the viability of on-site food production at public institutions, through collaborative arrangements with local food producers.
Check out our final report!
Over that time, interest in food production on public land has continued to grow, with schools and universities, health care institutions and seniors residences, community food centres and food banks, as well as public agencies—from conservation authorities to crown corporations—making land available for food production.
Are you an engaged staff member, or an administrator at a public institution, who is interested in the idea of establishing food production or food gardens on-site? This research has established a baseline of preconditions, useful practices, potential barriers and positive adaptations—for a diverse set of institutional and community settings—that will allow project leads to envision how their idea would come to fruition, and build a compelling case.
Maybe you’re part of a community where public institutions control a significant amount of land, and you would like to develop a strategic vision that includes food production? Community groups, farmers, and organizations supporting urban agriculture, food security and food justice can use the information contained in the research report to identify what has worked in a situation similar to their own, and present this evidence to build a compelling proposal for their institutional partner.
Or maybe you’re a policy-shaper—working with new and young farmer training organizations, or advocates of sustainable health care reform, sustainable urban agriculture practices, or community resilience in the face of climate change—to illustrate the potential of positive alternative strategies to build new collaborative partnerships with multiple, and often unanticipated, synergies and benefits.
Project SOIL has built strong relationships with community and institutional leaders that will continue to innovate and collaborate in the pursuit of the beneficial synergies that spring up when you grow food on public land.
Our final report, “Ontario Public Institutions and On-site Food Production: Visualizing the Future for Health Care“, is available now. Please share widely!
October 2016
OCTOBER 25, 2016
The Harvest Health database, compiled by the students of Carleton University’s Health: Science, Technology, Policy program, is now online and easily accessible. Thanks to Kyle Dwyer, Marie-Claire Flores-Pajot, Jodie Lawlor, Jillian McGivern and Emma Pagotto, and to Agnes Malkinson for making this online database possible.
July 2016
JULY 18, 2016
Three interesting Ottawa Citizen articles this week on changes to the food at Ottawa-area hospitals:
Ottawa Hospital CEO Dr. Jack Kitts recently ate hospital food, and you won’t believe what happened next. Well, if you have ever eaten hospital food, you probably will. (Read more…)
It might not be the next Beckta, but the Queensway Carleton Hospital is proving that hospital food doesn’t have to taste like hospital food. (Read more…)
That everyone understands the term, “hospital food” to be one of derision rather than praise is a problem. (Read more…)
June 2016
JUNE 2, 2016
The Green Team at Toronto Rehab, Bickle Center has teamed up with Greenest City to open their first wheelchair accessible garden! During the spring and summer, Greenest City will lead 3 gardening workshops open to staff and patients. Read more…
April 2016
APRIL 22, 2016
From Ag Innovation Ontario, the story of the Spruits, local producers who turn grains into superfoods:
…Last year, they grew 26 acres of heritage grains and are especially excited about two of them. The first is a hull-less barley, developed in Canada, which has half of the gluten found in wheat and high levels of beta-glucan fibre, vitamins and minerals.
The second is a non-GMO purple corn with origins in ancient Peru. When ground, it produces whole grain flour that is both a gluten-free alternative to wheat and has double the antioxidants found in blueberries. Too often, she said, people with gluten allergies will turn to substitutions that have little nutritional value.
And just as unfortunate, she noted that “so many of the superfoods that people are buying are imported from other countries”. The grains that the Spruits produce solve both issues – superfoods with high nutritional values that are grown “right here at home”.
Four products – Purple Corn Flour, Purple Corn Meal, Beta-Glucan Barley Flour and Barley Berries – are available commercially. Spruit has been promoting the line within culinary and health networks, and many restaurants and bakeries in the Ottawa area are now incorporating the flour and corn meal into their products.
Read more…
APRIL 19, 2016
On April 18, 2016 @ Hôpital Glengarry Memorial Hospital, an interdisciplinary team of grad students in the Health: Science, Technology and Policy program at Carleton University presented their report reviewing the health benefits of gardens, and providing an inventory of tools that can be used to track such benefits. Harvesting Health: Investigating the Therapeutic Effects of Gardens is their capstone project, and available on our website. The tools will be coming soon!
For questions or further information please contact irena.knezevic@carleton.ca
March 2016
MARCH 17, 2016
Insights on systems thinking, pedagogy covering the basics of the program, videos from the inmates, and documented research and results—this is a must-read for those interested in the power of food production as rehabilitation and therapy, from the inside out, from the soil to the cell. This chapter is part of Beyond Prison—a large, freely accessible online volume that captures important new approaches to rehabilitation in a system that has mastered incarceration.
Over the last decade the garden program has become a fixture in San Quentin’s rehabilitation courses and has proven to be a successful measure to reduce recidivism. A 2011 tally of 117 garden program participants who were paroled between 2003 and 2009 found that less than 10% returned to prison or jail. Waitkus estimates that this saved California taxpayers around $54M. In California—the state with the most incarcerated individuals in the country—the rate of re-offense is remarkably high. Currently, there are 112,300 inmates doing time, with 13,500 released every month. But 61% of these former inmates return to prison within three years.
“The guys in the program have so many Aha! moments when they learn how growing food and creating gardens can be a solution for healing many systems: social systems, food systems and environmental systems.”
Read more…
February 2016
FEBRUARY 24, 2016
A group of Carleton University graduate students in the “Health: Science, Technology & Policy” program are investigating the health benefits of institutional gardens as their group capstone project. Master’s students Kyle Dwyer, Jodie Lawlor, Jillian McGivern, Emma Pagotto, and Marie-Claire Flores Pajot have spent the last six months developing an extensive literature review and environmental scan of institutional gardens and potential health benefits they may bring. The project was developed with input from three Ontario institutions with active gardens – Hôpital Glengarry Memorial Hospital in Alexandria (Horticultural Therapy Garden), KW Habilitation in Kitchener-Waterloo (Our Farm), and Lakehead Psychiatric Hospital in Thunder Bay (GreenWerks Garden). Supervised by Drs. Susan Aitken, Edana Cassol and Irena Knezevic, and in collaboration with Project SOIL (led by Dr. Phil Mount of the Laurier Centre for Sustainable Food Systems), the students will deliver a report on their findings this coming April. The report will be accompanied by an inventory of evaluation tools and measurements that can help health care institutions document the benefits of their gardens and programs that use the gardens for therapeutic purposes. The official April launch is being planned at Hôpital Glengarry Memorial Hospital in Alexandria. Read more…
FEBRUARY 15, 2016
The Eden Alternative
…for Thomas and his staff, it was a revelation. Caring for the plants and animals restored residents’ spirits and autonomy; many started dressing themselves, leaving their rooms and eating again. The number of prescriptions fell to half of that of a control nursing home, particularly for drugs that treat agitation. Medication costs plummeted, and so did the death rate.
He named the approach the Eden Alternative — based on the idea that a nursing home should be less like a hospital and more like a garden — and it was replicated in hundreds of institutions in Canada, Europe, Japan and Australia as well as in all 50 U.S. states.
Read more from the Washington Post story…
Related Stories
The Green House Effect: Homes for the Elderly to Thrive (NYTimes)
Move Over Nursing Homes — There’s Something Different (NPR)
The Green House Project—Caring Homes for Meaningful Lives
The Green House Project: The Next Big Thing in Long-Term Care?
Financial Implications of the Green House Model (Seniors Housing and Care Journal — Free Access)
Sharkey, S. S., Hudak, S., Horn, S. D., James, B., & Howes, J. (2011). Frontline caregiver daily practices: A comparison study of traditional nursing homes and The Green House Project sites. Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, 59(1), 126-131.
(free access)
FEBRUARY 8, 2016
Exploring the therapeutic benefits of food gardens at Hôpital Glengarry Memorial Hospital, in Alexandria, Ontario
As a leading innovator in the delivery of hospital rehab services, Hôpital Glengarry Memorial Hospital (HGMH) is home to an expansive therapeutic garden, established as an extension of the Stroke Rehabilitation department. The garden has been expanding slowly since 2011, and this past year—in collaboration with Project SOIL—the growing area almost doubled in size. In 2015, the garden team produced over fifty varieties of fruits, vegetables, herbs and edible flowers, using SPIn techniques and organic practices.
While they are consistently imagining ways to expand production and in-house use of fresh food, the team at HGMH is also looking to future projects — including working with researchers at Carleton University to develop tools to assess the preventative and therapeutic benefits of edible gardens.
You can find the full case study here!
September 2015
SEPTEMBER 30, 2015
*NEW REPORT*
Ontario Public Institutions and On-site Food Production: Current Capacities and Constraints
Phil Mount and Irena Knezevic
Released September 30, 2015
August 2015
AUGUST 18, 2015
We’re happy to share brand new pilot project case studies from four graduate student PAR on-site food growing projects! Each is available in html and print [pdf] form.
http://projectsoil.ca/project-overview/pilots/
Students were enriched and tested by their experiences—and each was instrumental in advancing a pilot project with one of our institutional partners: the GreenWerks Garden at Lakehead Psychiatric Hospital (Lauren Turner); the Food School Farm at Centre Wellington District High School (Tim O’Brien); the Victorian Kitchen Gardens at Homewood Health Centre (Emily French); and the Our Farm Project at KW Habilitation (Elena Christy).
This year’s pilot at Hôpital Glengarry Memorial Hospital’s Therapeutic Garden is in full swing, with a weekly market and an Open Househeld August 7. Further news to come!
July 2015
JULY 21, 2015
Friday, August 7, 2015
2:00pm – 6:00pm
Come visit the expanded therapeutic gardens at Glengarry Memorial Hospital in Alexandria, ON and see what we have growing. Guided tours of the garden will be given throughout the open house, along with a brief introduction to the background and future outlook for the garden project.
ARE HOSPITAL FARMS THE NEXT BIG THING IN HEALTHCARE REFORM?
JULY 21, 2015
… from Civil Eats, July 21, 2015
When it comes to improving the food on today’s hospital trays, some medical institutions are finding that onsite farms are the next logical step
This summer, St. Luke’s Hospital started sending all new moms home from the hospital with a basket of fresh produce, recipes and literature about the importance of a healthy diet.
All of the produce in the basket was grown on an organic farm on the hospital’s Anderson campus in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. The hospital—part of a six-campus network—has been running a farm on the 500-acre grounds since 2014.
“Our mission is to provide great healthcare and part of that is educating patients about the benefits of a plant-based, organic diet,” explains Ed Nawrocki, president of the Anderson campus. “One of the best ways to do that is to lead by example and show them how delicious produce grown on our farm tastes.
Read more…
CHAMPLAIN LHIN AND THE HEALTHY FOODS INITIATIVE
JULY 16, 2015
Seaway News, July 15, 2015
When it comes to providing better food choices, it seems Winchester District Memorial Hospital is the picture of good health. WDMH became the second hospital in eastern Ontario to reach the bronze level in the regional ‘Healthy Foods in Champlain Hospitals’ initiative. The initiative aims to reduce unhealthy food and beverage choices in the hospital’s cafeteria, vending machines and gift shop. Read more…
Daily Observer, May 14, 2015
The Pembroke Regional Hospital (PRH) has voluntarily signed on as one of fifteen participating hospitals in the Healthy Foods in Champlain Hospitals program and is well on its way to completing the program’s first level of requirements and achieving a Bronze designation.
The Healthy Foods initiative was developed to create a supportive, healthy food environment for patients, visitors, staff, physicians and volunteers by providing better food options in hospital retail settings. Read more…
Inside Ottawa Valley, March 19, 2015
Arnprior Regional Hospital (ARH) has become the first of 15 hospitals participating in the Champlain Healthy Foods in Hospitals program to reach the Bronze designation – a full year ahead of the target date. “Congratulations to the team at Arnprior Regional Health for its commitment to improving the health of our community,” said Champlain LHIN CEO Chantale LeClerc in a news release. “I am extremely proud that hospitals in our region are modeling healthy eating to the thousands of patients, visitors, staff, physicians, and volunteers they serve. The Healthy Foods in Hospitals initiative will go a long way to helping a very large number of people stay healthy and avoid disease and the Champlain LHIN is pleased to support its implementation.”
The Healthy Foods initiative is about creating a supportive, healthy food environment for staff, physicians, visitors, patients and volunteers. Read more…
TAKING ‘FOOD AS MEDICINE’ TO HEART
MARCH 31, 2015
St. Joseph’s Hospital in Ann Arbor, Michigan, hosts a farmers market every Wednesday in its main lobby featuring produce gown on the hospital’s 25-acre farm. The land used for the farm was a hospital lawn until 2010 when a horse-drawn plow broke ground on the first 4 acres. The farm, now known as “The Farm at St. Joe’s,” has since expanded to include three large “hoop houses,” greenhouse-like structures that provide seasonal produce for the market — as well as patient meals, the hospital’s cafeteria and local food banks — all year long.
Across the country in Long Island, New York, Stony Brook Medicine has also embraced the idea of “farm to bedside.” Iman Marghoob, a registered dietician and horticultural specialist in charge of the hospital’s 4,000-square-foot rooftop garden, said the project is just as important for educating staff, patients and students as it is for providing seasonal vegetables and herbs.
Read more…
DEVELOPMENT IN GARDENING
MARCH 19, 2015
Growing Food at Health Care Facilities
Development In Gardening (DIG) empowers communities to develop sustainable community gardens improving the nutrition and quality of life for people living with HIV/AIDS, orphans, pregnant women and other vulnerable populations in Africa.
Acknowledged as an international leader in HIV/AIDS treatment and research as well as maternal and child health care, cervical cancer, malaria and tuberculosis treatment and research, the Center for Infectious Disease Research in Zambia (CIDRZ) remains rooted in approaching global health concerns on the community level first.
After being approached by leaders of their international team, DIG began to effectively address the nutritional and drug compliance needs of their HIV positive patients. Four gardens were established at designated clinics in and around Kafue, Zambia with a specific focus on HIV positive mothers. Additionally, over 25 home gardens have been developed and will hopefully continually expand to reach more households.
Read more…
THERAPEUTIC GARDEN SUMMER STUDENT RESEARCH PROJECT
FEBRUARY 24, 2015
Hôpital Glengarry Memorial Hospital
On-site food production will increase this year at the Hôpital Glengarry Memorial Hospital in Alexandria, with the intent of testing and improving the therapeutic benefits of participation in food production, while increasing access to healthy, local, seasonal food for staff and patients. This project will build from an existing garden project, with the intent of adding SPIn production in the near future, relying on the techniques and design of Jean-Martin Fortier, as laid out in The Market Gardener; A Successful Growers’ Handbook for Small-Scale Organic Farming.
Project SOIL is looking for a motivated Master’s or senior-level student to participate in and fully document the development of this pilot project over the course of 400-520 hours, between May 1 and August 31.
The student will work 30 hours per week. Start / completion dates are flexible, as are days per week. Pay rate dependent upon experience. The student will be expected to participate in the production on-site, as well as planning for future on-site SPIn production. The student will produce a complete case study which will be part of a joint academic publication. This position will require a successful police check.
For more information or to apply, please contact Phil Mount (pmount@wlu.ca) or Irena Knezevic (Irena.Knezevic@carleton.ca).
For more details of the site and Hospital, contact:
Louise Quenneville
Emergency Preparedness Coordinator & Project Management
Hôpital Glengarry Memorial Hospital
20260 County Road 43/ Chemin de comté 43
Alexandria, Ontario
K0C 1A0
Å: (613) 525-2222 ext 4112
lquenneville@hgmh.on.ca
INTEGRATED HEALTHCARE PRACTITIONERS (COVER STORY—FEB 2015)
FEBRUARY 7, 2015
Story by Philip Rouchotas, MSc, ND
Photography By Christine Kufske
… While a major goal of Project SOIL is to determine the feasibility
of large- scale food production in public institutions, the benefits of gardening —well known to every garden enthusiast— go far beyond the simple calculation of kilos of produce harvested. The impacts of garden projects are far-reaching: it is difficult to describe the level of gratitude and satisfaction that derives from consuming a product you yourself grew. Gardens bring people and communities together, and impart a deep knowledge and respect for nature to every participant. The therapeutic impact of spending time in greenspace and working with plants —a topic recently reviewed in this journal—is supported by an impressive body of science…
Read more…
Download the print version [with additional photos]…
Rouchotas, P. (Dec 2014) “Project Soil – Food Production at Health Care Institutions”. Integrated Healthcare Practitioners, 38-43. Available at: http://ihpmagazine.com/project-soil-food-production-at-health-care-institutions/
GROWING PUBLIC FOOD — *NEW* CASE STUDIES
DECEMBER 16, 2014
Project SOIL is a feasibility study that explores the potential of on-site food production for public institutions through arrangements with local producers, particularly where access to farmland is limited and expensive. By encouraging and facilitating these partnerships, we aim to test the potential for growing mutually beneficial relationships, while increasing the production and consumption of fresh food.
With funding from the New Directions program of the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, we have started five pilot initiatives, producing food on-site at health care, social service and educational institutions. There is significant interest in the project, and many institutions across the province are contemplating or starting their own food production pilots. However, the pathway from pilot to viable core program can seem lengthy and fraught with challenges. To support these initiatives, and provide useful examples from which to learn, we have produced four in-depth case studies of existing models that have achieved significant annual production:
- FoodShare’s School Grown Market Gardens, with 2014 sales of over $17,000 from two high school sites;
- The Community Harvest food growing project at the Black Family Farm, where the Ottawa Food Bank’s staff farmer produced over 70,000 lbs. of vegetables in 2014;
- McGill Feeding McGill, where the foodservice department spends $45,000 per year on produce grown on a University owned-and-operated 25 acre farm, and;
- the Kingston Prison Farms, which included the largest urban farm in Canada (900 acres), and which housed beef, dairy, egg, fruit and vegetable production operations and an abattoir serving the local region.
These case studies represent food production models that developed over years, and required time, resources and commitment to achieve significant scale. In each case study, we document the history, resources, partnerships and lessons that enabled each to grow and prosper in their own way.
For more information, and to download pdf versions, please visit our Case Studies page, or contact Phil Mount (pmount@wlu.ca) or Irena Knezevic (Irena.Knezevic@carleton.ca).
GROWING FOOD ON PUBLIC LAND
DECEMBER 7, 2014
From ChangeLab Solutions comes Dig, Eat, and Be Healthy: A Guide to Growing Food on Public Property (pdf)
Growing food on public property – from vacant fields, to schoolyards, parks, utility rights-of-way, and even the rooftops of public buildings – can yield a diverse crop of community benefits. Fresh, healthy food is just the beginning: growing food on public property can also promote civic participation, public safety, food literacy, job skills, and urban greening – in short, healthier, more vibrant places. This guide provides users with the tools they need to access public land for growing food. Read more…
GROWING FOOD WITH PURPOSE: THREE WEBINARS
OCTOBER 20, 2014
Webinar 1
Tuesday, 21 October, 2014 – 13:00 EDT
Emma’s Acres — L.I.N.C.
Emma’s Acres is an agricultural social enterprise that 1) provides offenders with employment skills and reintegration supports as they are transitioning out of prison, 2) assists survivors of serious crime through the outreach worker funded in part by selling produce that is grown on site and 3) enhances the food security in the District of Mission by creating a year round local source of non- spray vegetables, herbs and flowers. “Inspiring hope… Helping victims one squash at a time.”
Sherry Edmunds-Flett, executive director of L.I.N.C., will be talking about digital storytelling and how it helps in project evaluation and getting the message out. A developmental evaluation of the Society’s activities was the result of a collaboration between the University of BC’s Research in Health and Healthcare Inequities and L.I.N.C.
For more details, please visit: http://foodsecurecanada.org/resources-news/webinars-podcasts/webinar-emmas-acres-linc
Webinar 2
Tuesday, 21 October, 2014 – 14:00 EDT
Lessons from the Farm at St. Joe’s
Leaders from Saint Joseph Mercy Health System will share their story, which includes The Farm at St. Joe’s, a 364-acre farm and educational experience on the grounds of St. Joseph Mercy in Ann Arbor, Michigan, where organic planting methods provide patients, staff, volunteers and visitors an experiential way to understand the link between fresh air, exercise, fresh food, good nutrition and good health. In this presentation, the staff behind the creation and management of the farm will share some of the lessons they’ve learned and insights into how other health care organizations can take what they’ve learned and adapt it for their own organization, how to generate support for environmental projects, how to find community partners and more.
For more details please visit: https://academy.practicegreenhealth.org/products/sustainable-operations-series-lessons-from-the-farm-at-st-joes
Webinar 3
Wednesday, October 22, 15:00 EDT
Project SOIL webinar
In Ontario, several institutions are already producing food on their properties as a way to generate revenue; supply nutritious fresh food for consumption (by staff, patients, students, etc.); provide skills training and therapeutic benefits; and build social enterprises.
Project SOIL is a three-year feasibility study that explores the potential of on-site food production at public health care and educational institutions in Ontario. This webinar will share how project partners at health care, social service and educational institutions went about getting gardens off the ground at their institutions, as well as some of the lessons we learned in the first year of working with pilot projects across the province.
For more details, please visit: http://projectsoil.ca/2014/09/23/project-soil-webinar/
CHANGING HOSPITAL FOOD
OCTOBER 9, 2014
from TheStar.com
Michele Henry
It may look and taste like a roti from any one of this city’s many Caribbean takeout joints: firm, flavourful chicken, well-spiced potatoes, a hearty wrap and throat-tickling mango chutney.
But this $7.65 lunch comes with a few surprises.
First, it’s hospital food. Second, it’s fresh, not processed. Third, the ingredients are all local. The chicken’s from a farm near Bradford, Ont. The bread was made by Norman Sue Bakery in Scarborough. As was the mango chutney. And the potatoes come from Essex Country in southwestern Ontario.
“They weren’t ripening on a truck somewhere,” says Shawn Studholme, executive chef at Sick Kids hospital, of the raw ingredients used daily in the hospital atrium’s Terrace Café kitchen. “If it was picked yesterday, I’ll probably have it today.”
How ’bout them apples?
Since last year, when it received its first $50,000 Greenbelt Foundation grant, the hospital has upped the cafeteria’s quotient of fresh, local food to a whopping 70 per cent. That’s impressive, considering other large institutions, such as Ryerson University, strive to buy 25 per cent of their food from nearby sources.
Read more…
CELEBRITY CHEF EVENT – WELLINGTON CENTRE FOR SUSTAINABLE AGRICULTURE
SEPTEMBER 30, 2014
A beautiful four course meal with one of Canada’s most celebrated chefs – all in support of the Wellington Centre for Sustainable Agriculture‘s primary mandate of supporting the next generation of new young, ecological farmers.
Thursday, October 2, 2014
from 6:30 p.m. to 10:00 p.m. (EDT)
Elora, ON
Featuring the students from the Food School helping Roary MacPherson, Executive chef at the Sheraton Hotel Newfoundland since 2003. Read more…
PROJECT SOIL WEBINAR
SEPTEMBER 23, 2014
Shared Opportunities on Institutional Lands
Challenges and opportunities of on-site food production
WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 22, 3:00 – 4:30 p.m. EDT
In Ontario, several institutions are already producing food on their properties as a way to generate revenue; supply nutritious fresh food for consumption (by staff, patients, students, etc.); provide skills training and therapeutic benefits; and build social enterprises.
Project SOIL is a three-year feasibility study that explores the potential of on-site food production at public health care and educational institutions in Ontario. This webinar will share how project partners at health care, social service and educational institutions went about getting gardens off the ground at their institutions, as well as some of the lessons we learned in the first year of working with pilot projects across the province.
Webinar participants will include:
- Chef Christopher Jess, high school culinary arts instructor in Fergus Ontario, and the guiding force behind the Food School Farm(Centre Wellington District High School);
- Doug Dowhos, Supervisor of Employment Options for St. Joseph’s Care Group and creator of the GreenWerks Garden social enterprise (Lakehead Psychiatric Hospital);
- Tami Proctor, Registered Horticultural Therapist leading the Victorian Garden project at Homewood Health Centre;
- Louise Quenneville, Emergency Preparedness Coordinator and Project Manager at Hôpital Glengarry Memorial Hospital; and
- Jenny Weickert, Our Farm coordinator at KW Habilitation.
For more information and to register, please contact Irena Knezevic at irena.knezevic@carleton.ca
5 CHEFS, 5 PIGS AND A BLUES BAND
AUGUST 31, 2014
1st Annual Fergus Whole Hog BBQ
Fergus, Ontario
On Sunday, September 7, the Wellington Centre for Sustainable Agriculture (WCSA) will host a live blues band and a competition for the title of Fergus’ elite pig roaster, at the 1st Annual Fergus Whole Hog BBQ. Among the jurors for the competition is Zane Caplansky, owner of Caplansky’s deli and the Thunderin’ Thelma food truck. This Food School Farm event will provide an opportunity to talk to the chefs, savour the flavours of their craft and take a walk through the newly transformed grounds of the historic farmhouse.
Tickets can be purchased online through the WCSA website or at Scotiabank Fergus.
$35 for adults; Children 12 and under free.
When & Where:
Sunday, September 7 from 3:00 – 7:00 PM (EDT)
570 Belsyde Road
Fergus, ON
Canada
The event will also be the first opportunity for many residents to see the pilot of a newly formed partnership exploring on-site food production. In collaboration with the WCSA and Centre Wellington District High School, the Food School Farm offers the students a unique learning opportunity where alternative farming techniques can be explored, while growing quality produce for the school-run culinary program.
SOIL INITIATIVE AT HOSPITAL KEEPS GROWING
AUGUST 31, 2014
Scott Carmichael
The Glengarry News,
Alexandria, ON
Wednesday, August 13, 2014
A hands-on “green” program is flourishing at the local hospital. Hôpital Glengarry Memorial Hospital (HGMH) is participating in one of five pilot projects across the province to study how public institutions can also become food producers.
Linda Morrow, HGMH CEO, said the Alexandria hospital was chosen to participate in the Project SOIL (Shared Opportunities for Institutional Land) initiative in October. The program is investigating the feasibility of using institutional land to grow organic produce by examining on-site food production systems already in place at Ontario institutions.
The hospital foundation received $2,000 from the study organizers to expand the hospital’s garden, which was started following reception of a $25,000 Healthy Communities Fund grant from the province in 2011.
Rehab patients, primarily those recovering from strokes, have, along with staff, tended the garden located behind the hospital. Given patient mobility and access concerns, the outdoor garden consists of ground-level and raised beds which contain a wide range of produce, including cabbage, cucumbers, peppers, shallots, squash and tomatoes, as well as various herbs.
Produce grown in the garden is incorporated into patient and staff meals.
Ms. Morrow said the hospital is using the grant to build another aisleway in the garden to allow for easier access for wheelchair-bound patients. She added that the hospital is also looking into other related initiatives.
“Eventually what we want to do is engage our local farmers to participate with us and combine the hospital-grown produce with a current supplier,” Ms. Morrow explained.
“Having a positive impact on clinical outcomes in the rehab program, being recognized as a leader in green health-care initiatives, and demonstrating that we’re a key player in the buy local movement” were other possible off-shoots of growing the garden initiative through Project SOIL.
Chantal Mageau-Pinard, the hospital’s manager of physiotherapy and rehabilitation services, said that many rehab patients feel right at home amongst the veggies and herbs. “Most of these people have been farmers, or are used to working in gardens four or five times larger than this one,” she said recently. “So it’s familiar territory for them.”
Besides HGMH, others participating in Project SOIL are KW Habilitation in Kitchener-Waterloo and GreenWerks Garden at Lakehead Psychiatric Hospital in Thunder Bay; Homewood Health Centre in Guelph and the Food School Farm at Centre Wellington District High School in Fergus.
The joint research team will study the skills that people can gain from participating in on-site food production, as well as the impact of channelling fresh local produce into institutional food supplies, at KW Habilitation and GreenWerks Garden.
At HGMH and Homewood Health Centre, the team will study mostly therapeutic benefits, while the Food School Farm is participating in an agro-ecological program.
SOIL is sponsored by Carleton University, University of Guelph and Wilfrid Laurier University and is supported by My Sustainable Canada.
A NEW WAY TO FARM
AUGUST 31, 2014
OCTOBER 2 – 4, 2014 – TWO EVENTS
“Farming with Nature profitably” with Mark Shepard
(Author and Polyculture Expert)
Public Seminar—Steckle Heritage Farm
Kitchener ON
Thurs. October 2nd, 6:30pm-9:00pm
Mark Shepard (pdf 380 kB)
Registration: $10 An evening sharing session where Mark will give an overview of his design concepts and facilitate a lively question and answer period. Books will be available for purchase.
To Register visit: http://shepardworkshop.eventbrite.ca or http://shepardpublictalk.eventbrite.ca
Questions email Leanne at Our Farm : leannebaer@gmail.com
Open Consultation Workshop
2-Day Hands-On Experience at Waterloo North Mennonite Church, Waterloo Ontario
Fri. October 3rd, 9:00am-4pm – Principles
Sat. October 4th, 9:00am-2pm- Field Day
Farmer, engineer, ecologist and author Mark Shepard will be providing a 2 day, in the field open consultation in Waterloo, courtesy of Our Farm, project partner at our KW Hab pilot sites.
Mark will explain how to transition from a purely annual production to a perennial system that integrates nut and fruit trees, fruiting bushes and vines, alley crops and pastured livestock. Keyline design, a water management technique, will be included and demonstrated in the field.
Mark joins us from Wisconsin where he has been farming 100+ acres using these design principles for the past 18 years.
Registration: $195
Registration fee includes refreshments and lunch, entry to the Public Talk and the two-day workshop. Limited scholarships are available upon request. Books available for purchase.
Register here:
Perennial polyculture workshop: October 3-4, 2014
http://www.eventbrite.ca/e/mark-shepard-workshop-tickets-1565353013
THEY GROW INCLUSION AT URBAN MICROFARM
AUGUST 14, 2014
KW Hab story from The Record, August 14, 2014
With the help of eager student volunteers and KW Hab residents, the farm on University Avenue has become a powerhouse of engagement and fresh food. The harvest is taken to headquarters every Wednesday where residence co-ordinators can pick out what they need for the week. More than 50 kilograms of snow peas, onions, kale, garlic and more have been harvested between the two farms this summer. On Tuesday, staff and volunteers bottled 35 jars of pesto made from the garden’s fresh basil.
Some activity groups and day programs visit the farm on a weekly basis. Franks said some love it so much they want to visit more often. On Wednesday an activity group peeled and ground cherries that will be processed into jam. Others walked around in the pleasant weather or enjoyed the sensory garden. Read more…
TALKIN’ LOCAL FOOD WITH UNIVERSITY HEALTH NETWORK
JULY 28, 2014
The University Health Network in Toronto received funding from the Greenbelt Fund to investigate short and long-term opportunities to provide more local food for in-patients in their hospital network. From interviews and an advisory panel, they have identified 3 long term challenges that they would like to submit to the community for input. They have launched an idea crowdsourcing platform where you can vote on the existing ideas, or add your own ideas for review.
Do you eat food? Then you have an opinion! Join in and unleash your ideas to better connect local Ontario food to the hospitals at University Health Network. Read more…
HOMEWOOD GARDEN IN THE NEWS
JULY 21, 2014
The Project SOIL pilot at Homewood has been in the news lately, with coverage on radio and in print, including this fine article in the Guelph Mercury.
After constructing a Victorian-styled, replicable garden, Homewood is just starting to use their fresh produce in the kitchen, to great response.
“When you think about it, we have a number of rural hospitals and long-term care facilities in this province that actually have a significant amount of land as part of their property,” he said. “Certainly the ones in urban settings may have less land to work with, but in the case of Homewood, their property is 42 acres large.”
In bygone times, Homewood had a full 80-acre farm on site, situated across Delhi Street. It produced enough food to feed its patients and supply the broader community with fresh vegetables, fruit and eggs.
Read more…
TELUS CORPORATE COMMUNITY GARDEN
JULY 4, 2014
Last month we went to the grand opening of the Telus Corporate Community Garden, on the roof terrace at 25 York Street, the Telus Toronto head office.
The Telus Garden Rationale
“It is one of the first of its kind to involve employees of a corporation in a community garden setting. We really feel there is great value in this project to inspire other corporations to install community gardens for their employees. Like the gyms and the wellness centres now common in the corporate culture the garden is a natural extension toward living sustainably, preventative health practices and connection with community. ”
The garden, on the 5th floor patio at Telus House, has impressive views but also holds some unique challenges for the garden curator, who has to worry about not only an excess of sun -both direct and reflected off the glass building- but also the wind, which can pick up in the afternoon. Planting delicate veg at floor level will hopefully protect the plants from the buffeting.
If all goes well on the 5th floor in 2014, a much larger space on the 4th floor patio is available, and growing food on this scale could really generate some momentum in the building, and in the community.
KW HAB ‘MICRO-FARM’
JUNE 11, 2014
By Anam Latif
The Record
WATERLOO — California-style tomatoes, rhubarb and basil are just a few of the vegetables KW Habilitation will be growing at their new urban micro farm in Waterloo.
After a successful community garden project in 2011, KW Habilitation turned their backyard into a farm they hope will feed and engage their residents.
KW Habilitation provides services for adults and children living with developmental disabilities. Their largest program is the 23 residential facilities across the region.
“It’s very therapeutic to get people involved in gardening,” said Tracy Franks, director of community participation at KW Habilitation. “And we are looking at reducing some of our food costs for the people that we support residentially.”
The farm is also a way to teach skills like planting and watering, skills that Franks said can be employable after people leave KW Habilitation programs.
Rows have been staked and planted, waiting for the farm’s first crop to bloom. They also built three raised beds Monday night for people with mobility issues to be able to farm comfortably. They are also planning a narrower bed that is raised even higher for people in wheelchairs to be able to reach.
“We will be able to cater to all physical abilities,” Franks added.
Read more…
IS THAT ALL THERE IS… TO DEBATE?
JUNE 9, 2014
Many have commented since the June 3 Ontario leaders’ debate that little attention was paid to health care, which makes up about 40% of the provincial budget. Food and farming faced the same lack of attention – hardly surprising, given the six ‘representative’ questions that the media selected to guide the debate: ethics, energy, jobs, debt, transit and education.
It’s a shame that the agriculture and food debate –organized by OFA and the Alliance of Ontario Food Processors– was cancelled. This debate might have given some insight into party platforms that don’t get a lot of prime time exposure.
It’s also a shame that there wasn’t a seventh question in the televised debate, asking the leaders to explain how their earlier positions would affect the development of agriculture and food in the province – forcing them to make clear the links between education, jobs, investment, (health!) and agriculture and food policies.
On May 23rd, Sustain Ontario’s Vote on Food and Farming campaign attempted to do just that, by asking party leaders to reflect on questions covering topics as diverse as health promotion, training and cross-ministerial cooperation – as they relate to agriculture and food issues. I went through their answers with interest, looking for points of consensus as well some of the details in their proposed solutions to issues that shape our food systems.
Three parties –the Liberals, NDP and Green Party– submitted thorough responses, while the PC leader sent a form letter with three brief paragraphs about the Million Jobs Plan. As a result, the Vote on Food and Farming Report Card was full of question marks in the PC column. I hunted down the PC white papers (which can’t be accessed from their own website!) in order to fill in that picture.
And what these white papers show is that the PC Party’s agri-food platform is largely silent on many of the issues captured in the Vote on Food and Farming. This is hardly surprising for issues that the party’s current election platform prevents them from acknowledging – such as increasing social assistance to cover the cost of a nutritious food basket, or increasing the reach of the Student Nutrition Program. In other areas, the white papers’ silence reflects low priorities (at least at the time of writing) for the promotion of healthy eating; encouraging ecologically regenerative agricultural practices; protecting pollinators and their habitat; and protecting farmland.
It is also hardly surprising that, on many of these same issues, the other three parties are all pointed in the same direction, differ only in degree, and could therefore –in theory– work with each other. For example, while the Greens advocate universal approaches in student nutrition programming, guaranteed annual income, protection of class 1 farmland and neonicotinoid controls, they would be unlikely to reject Liberal or NDP policy suggestions which move in the same directions.
One set of solutions highlights interesting differences between the parties: how to get beyond the Ministry-level ‘silos’ that often discourage cross-ministerial cooperation and coordination on food issues.
- The NDP would “develop a coordinated approach that makes sense”;
- The PCs would “create one-window access to government for farmers and agribusinesses so they can obtain information efficiently and get one straight answer from government”;
- The Liberals would “convene an inter-ministerial committee to engage stakeholders such as Sustain on an integrated government approach to agriculture, food, nutrition, health, and environment issues”; and
- The Greens would convene “an Ontario Food Policy Council with stakeholders and members of the public that is ingrained within OMAF, including a representative from each party and the Premier’s Office”
While I don’t want to overstate the significance of a single statement, these replies suggest some fundamental differences in their approaches to governance.
However, differences were not the rule. In fact, all four parties agree on two issues: setting targets for public procurement purchases of local food, and realizing the Community Food Program Donation Tax Credit, which are both sections of the Local Food Act, but are not yet proclaimed. Of course, even universal agreement doesn’t guarantee action in the current legislature: all parties promised to ease the regulatory burden on small and mid-scale processors in the 2011 campaign, and are repeating that promise in this campaign – since nothing was accomplished in the interim.
Often, the reason for lack of action can be found in the details. For example, only the Greens acknowledged that setting targets for procurement of local foods would be unhelpful without also increasing the funding to hospitals and other institutions. It is often such details that turn what appears to be consensus on the campaign trail into division in the legislature.
Another example: while there is a general consensus that the province needs more regionally-based infrastructure to move local food, the Liberals are investigating whether this can be done by giving money to mainstream distributors, and the PCs are suggesting that another food terminal will do the trick. These approaches reflect a fundamental misreading of both the historical lessons of regional food processing, distribution and marketing in the province, as well as the necessary components of a sustainable, regional-scale food infrastructure.
The leaders’ debate could have provided some much-needed details on the factors that shape their parties’ food and farming policies. Before you make your decision on voting day, be sure to take a look at the Vote on Food and Farming Report Card, which provides some of those details.
IMPROVING THE QUALITY OF HOSPITAL FOOD IN ONTARIO
JUNE 3, 2014
Health Sciences North should serve as an example to other Ontario hospitals with its recent efforts to purchase more local food, said Louis Rodrigues, regional vice-president of the Ontario Council of Hospital Unions.
… Alex Jackson, co-ordinator of the Campaign for Better Hospital Food in England, joined Rodrigues on his tour of Ontario communities. Jackson said he worries Ontario hospitals could follow the same path as those in his home country, where the quality of the food has declined steadily.
Read more…
NEWS FROM AROUND
MAY 30, 2014
“The nutritional benefits of serving fresh food could have a significant impact on a patient’s well-being, helping them to heal faster,” said Shannon Lambie, Communications Coordinator, the UBC Farm. “Local food is more sustainable and, because it tastes better, it could also help hospitals reduce their high rate of food waste. We’re hoping that, through the Farm to Hospital project, we can find a way to get healthy, local food onto patients’ plates.” Read more…
Chef Golob reached out to the UBC Farm, and to his surprise, all it took was a phone call and as he puts it an “adaptable, flexible attitude”.
However, enthusiasm for the farm fresh produce was not immediate in the kitchen. “The initial reaction from the cooks was, why isn’t this pre-cut and fully cleaned? What do you mean I have to wash it?”
It wasn’t long though before the food began selling out and the compliments started to roll in from students. Soon the cooks were taking pride in their food and asking for more and more, preferring the colour and flavour of the fresh produce from the pre-frozen produce they were used to, and from there, Chef Golob notes, “it really took off, and now we are receiving produce deliveries [from the UBC Farm] into late November”. Read more…
THIS IS THE LOCAL FOOD ELECTION!
MAY 10, 2014
Guest Post: Phil Mount,
Guelph-Wellington Food Round Table member
Organize your own all-candidates meeting on Food
With the fall of the minority government and a provincial election in full swing, there is a brief window of time before election day —June 12, 2014— to get candidates to state their positions on the record.
One positive way to engage candidates, communities and the media is to provide a forum where constituents can ask burning, relevant questions, the responses to which provide voters with practical information but also a broader sense of the candidates’ philosophies, vision and style. And there is no better frame for this forum than food —which brings together a set of issues as diverse as urban expansion, minimum wage, supply management, bee health, farmland and water protection, institutional procurement, public health, renewable energy, rural development, trade deals, real estate prices, taxation policy, the Greenbelt… the list goes on!
The previous government invested a lot of political capital in advancing the ‘local food’ file, including targeting a pool of provincial money specifically at local food initiatives through the Local Food Fund. There was also lots of media hype (both positive and negative) surrounding the passage of the Local Food Act late last year, with all parties scrambling to show how they were the most supportive of Ontario’s local food scene, farmers, food access programs, etc.
But as Sustain Ontario’s latest assessment makes clear, only pieces of the Act have been ‘proclaimed’ —and therefore legally binding.
The sections [of the Local Food Act] that have not yet been proclaimed are:
- the creation of a tax credit for farmers who donate to community food programs and food banks
- setting goals or targets to aspire to with respect to
– public procurement of local food
– increasing access to local food
I think this would come as a surprise to many who are active in the food access and local food scene —let alone the broader public. But in a way, this delay presents an opportunity: now it’s possible to get a clear sense of where your candidates stand on the many provisions of this Act, and some of the pieces that were left out.
It’s time to take the measure of our candidates for public office, time to understand where their philosophies, policies and governance style would take the province — and no better way to do that than to get them to lay out their vision for the future of our food system.
A NEW SPIN ON FARMING
FEBRUARY 14, 2014
Jean-Martin Fortier and Maude-Helene Desroches are co-proprietors of des Jardins de la Grelinette, one of the finest examples of Small Plot Intensive (SPIn) organic farming in Canada.
They run a Community Supported Agriculture operation, supplying 150 families from their bio-intensive ‘micro-farm’ in Saint-Armand, Québec. They also sell mesclun to retail outlets locally, and can be found weekly at the Knowlton farmers market (near Brome Lake).
They run a website and facebook page for the farm, and Jean-Martin travels extensively, spreading the word about organic SPIn farming techniques. After a successful crowdsourcing campaign by FarmStart, Jean-Martin’s book le Jardinier-Maraîcher has been translated into english: The Market Gardener; A Successful Growers’ Handbook for Small-Scale Organic Farming is now available for order, online!
THE SOIL SURVEY
FEBRUARY 11, 2014
Are you an administrator in a hospital, long-term care facility, university, college or school?
Do you grow fresh food on the property of your institution?
Have you considered the idea?
Please let us know, with a quick trip to our brief online survey only for administrators like you.
You can find more information on our new Survey page, on the FAQand Lit pages, or by contacting:
Dr. Irena Knezevic, Coordinator, Centre for Sustainable Food Systems, Wilfrid Laurier University at iknezevic@wlu.ca
OR
Dr. Phil Mount, Postdoctoral Fellow, Department of Geography and Environmental Studies, Wilfrid Laurier University, at pmount@wlu.ca
A FRESH APPROACH
JANUARY 21, 2014
From Canadian Healthcare Manager Dec 18, 2013
Hospitals and foodservice providers are making great strides in improving patients’ food experience by incorporating ingredients that are healthy, fresh and local
WRITTEN BY DON DOULOFF ON DECEMBER 18, 2013
Cue the stereotype. Hospital food is notoriously bad.
Horror stories abound, as an Internet search quickly reveals. In one incident, a vegetarian was served a dinner of cold carrots—and nothing else. Another woman encountered overcooked, bland and mushy food so bad it was “beyond cliché.” Her husband, a former chef, began preparing food at home and bringing it to her bedside.
Hospitals, government, non-profit organizations and foodservice providers are working to improve patients’ culinary experience with healthier meal options incorporating local foods
But things are changing. Hospitals, government, non-profit organizations and foodservice providers are working to improve patients’ culinary experience with healthier meal options incorporating local foods. Result: Improved patient satisfaction and along with it, cost savings realized through reduced waste.
Local, fresh, sustainable
On the foodservice side, there’s Steamplicity. Developed by Compass Group in the U.K. and brought to Canada in 2009 by the company’s Canadian division, Steamplicity uses hospitals’ onsite microwave ovens to steam food using ingredients’ natural moisture. At the company’s Cuisine Centre, in Mississauga, Ont., entrees are prepared on a microwave-safe plate, sealed with a recyclable plastic polymer and chilled.
Ten hospitals in Ontario and B.C. use Steamplicity, according to Sharon McDonald, president of Compass Group Canada’s Morrison Healthcare division. The two B.C. hospitals, Royal Jubilee and Victoria General, prepare Steamplicity meals onsite in mini-Cuisine Centres.
Steamplicity offers 60 meal options—for example, wild Pacific salmon and steamed rice with fresh broccoli florets— developed by Morrison’s executive chef and dietitians. Wherever possible, Compass purchases ingredients that are local, fresh and sustainable, said McDonald.
Royal Jubilee and Victoria General introduced Steamplicity in January, 2012, and since then, patient satisfaction levels have risen dramatically, said Joe Murphy, vice-president, operations and support services at Vancouver Island Health Authority. Organic food waste has fallen to an average of 9,450 kg per month, down from an average of 15,400 kg per month, he said.
Providing healthy patient-menu options is The Fresh and Local Cookbook Developed for Healthcare Foodservices, published in mid-November by Burlodge Canada, a Brampton, Ont.-based manufacturer of retherm systems used to reheat chilled or frozen prepared foods. The cookbook features 79 retherm-friendly recipes for hot dishes and cold items such as salads, sandwiches and desserts tailored to hospitals’ nutritional requirements.
Ethnic flavour added
St. Michael’s Hospital, in Toronto, will be adding a Burlodge recipe—Mexican lasagna—to its patient menus. The lasagna is “unique” and will “add some ethnic flavour,” said Heather Fletcher, interim director of foodservice and patient transport at the 450-bed facility.
During the past two and a half years, the hospital has incorporated healthier foods and now, the “majority” of fruits and vegetables on patient menus are fresh, in-season “when we can get them” and sourced from Ontario, Fletcher said.
In addition, St. Michael’s offers healthier desserts such as fruit, yogurt, mixed-berry crisps and low-fat pudding. “We’ve seen a noted improvement in the amount of food consumed and in food waste,” said Fletcher.
Can order what they want
Also seeing increased patient satisfaction is Capital Health, which services 10 Nova Scotia hospitals.
The menu at Capital Health’s acute-care facilities offers up to eight options for each appetizer, salad, entrée and dessert category, said Jane Pryor, director of operations support. Everything is made from scratch and “all food contracts give preference to local suppliers, where available,” she said. Local foods include meats and in-season fruits, vegetables and lobster.
“There’s less waste because people can now order what they want,” she said.
Baked and grilled over fried
Out west, Alberta Health Services (AHS) has made great strides in recent years to patient menus at its 107 facilities, where food is made on-site.
AHS removed deep fryers in favour of baked and grilled foods, said Heather Truber, director, food safety, menu and supply, nutrition and foodservices. In 2012, AHS introduced Closer to Home, a program allowing facilities to make site-specific changes to dishes to satisfy patients’ tastes, while still adhering to master menus and dietary restrictions, said Truber. AHS is continually working to enhance their menu items by, for example, introducing lemon-dill sauce for fish and offering dried cranberries, which patients can add to hot or cold cereals.
During the past year, AHS has focused on sourcing more Alberta products, which now account for 29 per cent of its food offering (not including produce), up from 24 per cent in 2012, said Truber. Alberta producers supply greenhouse and field peppers, tomatoes, cucumbers and potatoes, grains, in-season fruits and all of AHS’s eggs and beef as part of the organization’s $55-million annual food buy. Truber said the new menu items are generating “positive patient feedback.”
Local product percentage boost
Local products have become a bigger part of the food buy in the St. Joseph’s Health System Group Purchasing Organization following a $65,000 pilot project, bankrolled by the Green Belt Fund, a privately and publicly funded non-profit organization working to increase the amount of Ontario foods in hospitals.
Undertaken between January 2011 and March 2012, the pilot project invited local food vendors to participate in the request for proposal (RFP) process. Now, Ontario products account for $1.5-million of the group purchasing organization’s annual food buy, up from “well under $1-million before the project,” said Wendy Smith, material management analyst in the MEALsource division, which aggregates volumes and facilitates the contract process for its 26 member patient-foodservice operations.
“Our success would not have been possible without the hard work of our partners for this project at My Sustainable Canada.” Smith added. “They first determined the origin of the products originally on contract, aided with reaching out to local vendors who could meet these needs and made the appropriate introductions so that MEALsource could proceed with the necessary vendor education to enable these folks to begin bidding on our business.
“We found that the RFP process was very daunting for local vendors and many did not know that it existed. As well, there was much work involved in ensuring that the products quoted met the safety and inspection standards necessary for healthcare procurement. This project has done much to increase the level of competition in our contract process and through that, everyone wins.”
Chef-driven, right from scratch
In 2010, foodservice provider Sodexo Canada, headquartered in Burlington, Ont., introduced chef-driven, scratch-made food at 491-bed Mackenzie Health hospital, in Richmond Hill, Ont., north of Toronto. Making everything from scratch gives the 10-chef team flexibility to alter recipes “literally overnight” to meet dietitians’ requests, says Gay Magrath, a Sodexo employee who works onsite at Mackenzie Health as director of foodservices.
Complementing the food is “high-touch” customer service whereby a Mackenzie Health staff member visits patients right before mealtimes to display the menu on a hand-held device. Patients then make their choices, restaurant-style.
Magrath said that since 2010, food waste has decreased “significantly” and fell by more than 8 per cent during the past year.
Healthy Food in Health Care Pledge
More healthy and local food initiatives are underway. In late 2012, the Coalition for Green Health Care, comprising some of Canada’s largest healthcare associations and environmental groups, introduced its Healthy Food in Health Care Pledge, a framework that outlines steps the healthcare industry can take to improve the health of patients, communities and the environment.
In March, 2013, the Greenbelt Fund launched the Local Food Challenge, which helps eight public institutions (including four hospitals) buy more local food for their menus. They will create new recipes, work with local farmers on education and liaise with distributors on local food suppliers. Supporting the program is the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture and Food and Ministry of Rural Affairs.
Those two provincial ministries, as part of their New Directions Research Program, are funding a three-year, $200,000 pilot project exploring the possibility of growing food on publicly owned institutional land. Developed in partnership with the Coalition for Green Health Care and My Sustainable Canada, a national non-profit group dedicated to helping organizations make sustainable choices, the project launched in September, 2013, at two healthcare facilities, Homewood Health Centre, in Guelph, Ont., and Glengarry Memorial Hospital, in Alexandria, Ont.
So much for stereotypes.
Don Douloff is a freelance writer living in Toronto.
