Greenbelt Fund
661 Yonge Street, 5th Floor
Toronto, Ontario M4Y 1Z9
(416) 960-0001
Ontariofresh.ca
info@greenbeltfund.ca
CALL FOR PROPOSALS
We are now calling for Letters of Intent for the next round of funding for the Regional Food
Grant Program: Broader Public Sector stream. Please submit all letters to
info@greenbeltfund.ca. Reviews will be happening on an on-going basis. The last day to submit
a Letter of Intent is Sept 06, 2013. Successful applicants will be invited to submit a full proposal
which will be reviewed by our Board of Directors for final approvals. If approved by the Board,
projects will commence this fall. All projects must be completed by February 2015.
Project proposals will be judged against the following criteria: Economic Impact, Innovation,
Systemic Change, Leadership, and Knowledge Transfer.
Template:
Letters of Intent that are longer than two pages in length (excluding budget summary) will not be
accepted.
Introduction:
Lead applicant name, organization and brief description of the organization or company its role
in this project. (¼ page)
Project Partners:
Organization or company names and a description of the role they will be playing and their
specific contributions to the project. (¼ page)
Project Overview:
This section should address:
 Why your project is necessary
 The major goals of the project
 The benefits of the project to the BPS foodservice value chain
 The expected results of the project, with particular focus on the economic impact/local
food sales.
Describe the main program elements and the activities that the applicant would like to carry out.
Be sure to estimate how the project will increase the amount of Ontario foods purchased in the
Broader Public Sector (BPS). For example, if a food processor is applying for funding to support
local food product development, the Letter of Intent should outline which BPS markets are
appropriate for the new product, and how much of that product could be purchased in the shortterm (eg: sales realized by the end of the project) and long-term (eg: sales realized by the end
of the first, second, and/or third fiscal year after project completion). (1-1½ pages)
Greenbelt Fund
661 Yonge Street, 5th Floor
Toronto, Ontario M4Y 1Z9
(416) 960-0001
Ontariofresh.ca
info@greenbeltfund.ca
Budget:
Using the table below, please provide a budget estimate for your project with as much detail as
possible. The budget should outline how much funding you are requesting and what the funding
will be spent on. While we are not expecting the final proposed budget, we are looking for the
type of expenses that you are anticipating in order to accomplish your goals.
Expenses
Personnel Costs
Communication Costs
Travel
Materials, Supplies and
Equipment
Consultants
Other (Please Explain)
TOTAL EXPENDITURES
Total Project Costs
Requested from the
Greenbelt Fund
Greenbelt Fund
661 Yonge Street, 5th Floor
Toronto, Ontario M4Y 1Z9
(416) 960-0001
Ontariofresh.ca
info@greenbeltfund.ca
BPS PROGRAM GOALS
1. To increase the amount of Ontario food products purchased by Ontario’s broader public
sector, specifically municipal, university, school and health care food services.
2. To enhance the capacity of the agri-food sector (farms, processors, distributors and
others) to access broader public sector food services.
AREAS OF FOCUS
Commodity Associations
Increasing purchases of local foods by public institutions requires industry involvement in
increasing the supply and availability of local foods to meet the industry’s needs. Most industry
associations have a focus on the retail market and do not fully realize the market potential of the
foodservice industry. This project aims to help commodity organizations build relationships
within the foodservice community in order to better understand its unique challenges, and to
help their members navigate their way through it.
We are interested in projects that:




Establish relationships between commodity organizations and foodservice distributors,
contract caterers, group purchasing organizations and public institutions.
Measure the size of the foodservice market for their specific commodity and assess
opportunities to grow market share within the public sector.
Analyze the current buying habits of the industry and determine how their members can
fill the needs and increase their share of the market.
Assist the members of the value chain to promote and market Ontario foods with a goal
of increasing the tracking, reporting and increased purchases of Ontario foods.
Food Processing
The public sector uses a large proportion of products that are further processed. Many food
processors currently do not offer products differentiated on place of origin. This focus aims to
encourage food processors to produce processed and prepared foods with ingredients from
Ontario origin. The aim is to create products of value, that offer a point of difference for public
institutions with a focus of creating higher quality, food safe, healthy food options.
We are interested in projects that:

Use a value chain approach of working with the end users to develop value added
products that meet their needs including price, quality, and value and meet the food
safety requirements of the industry.
Greenbelt Fund
661 Yonge Street, 5th Floor
Toronto, Ontario M4Y 1Z9
(416) 960-0001
Ontariofresh.ca
info@greenbeltfund.ca


Develop and test products made with from Ontario ingredients to create menu options
that will be available all year round.
Have partners in the broader public sector who are interested in purchasing from the
supplier and the supplier has access to their distribution channel.
Food Service Distribution
Foodservice operators in the food value chain rely on distributors for the supply of their
products. It is important that the distributors offer identified Ontario products in their
offerings. Food distributors can use this opportunity to develop an offering of products that meet
their customer’s needs. The focus on purchasing products based on point of origin (Ontario
foods) is relatively new for distributors, therefore they need to train internal staff to identify and
increase the amount of local foods available to their customers.
We are interested in projects that:




Work with existing suppliers to identify and increase the amount local foods available.
Use internal IT sources to create a tracking system that make it easy for their customers
to order and track the amount of local foods they purchase.
Provide resources (such as time to build new relationships, workshops on how to find
Ontario suppliers, time to meet with industry associations, attend local food
meetings/symposiums) for their buyers and sales teams to learn more about Ontario
products.
Produce promotional and marketing campaigns with strong elements of education for
internal staff which outline the benefits of local foods, highlight key potential customers
and relay critical information about the people that produce the products they are selling.
Broader Public Sector Food Services
We seek to fund broader public sector institutions and their foodservice operating partners that
are committed to finding ways to maximize their purchase of local food and are able to stand as
leaders in their sector. Projects should involve making changes in food service operations,
finding creative and innovative solutions to allow for greater use of local foods in menus,
tracking changes in Ontario food purchases, and motivating employees and value chain
partners to be adaptive and supportive of the project goals.
We are interested in projects that:




Thoroughly analyze and track food service purchases.
Work with chefs, staff, food service operators, producers and distributors to cooperate to
find creative and new ways to maximize local food purchases in their operations.
Go beyond product substitution within existing menus and other changes in order to
maximize local food purchases.
Develop clear and comprehensive local food procurement policies to ensure systemic
change within the institution.
Greenbelt Fund
661 Yonge Street, 5th Floor
Toronto, Ontario M4Y 1Z9
(416) 960-0001
Ontariofresh.ca
info@greenbeltfund.ca

Develop and deliver training for staff if necessary to incorporate local food into daily
menus.
Regional Aggregation of Products
Projects seeking funding for the regional aggregation of local foods should apply to the Market
Access stream of the Regional Food Grant Program. Details on the Market Access stream can
be found at Ontariofresh.ca.
Some final questions to consider as you prepare your LOI:
 How will your project increase the amount of local foods purchased or sold to public
Institutions?
 What is the targeted sales increase for the project?
 How will your project change the way the industry responds to local food requests?
 How is your project innovative? What makes it special?
 What are your demonstrated leadership capabilities?
 How will your project benefit the industry? What are the elements of your project that can
be duplicated by others? What can you share to help reduce the amount of time and
money other organizations or companies spend in order to help them purchase more
local, Ontario foods?
For any questions about this guide or preparing a Letter of Intent, contact:
Brendan Wylie-Toal
Grants Specialist
P: 519-722-5245
E: bwylie-toal@greenbeltfund.ca.