Market Access Grant

Description

The Market Access Grant Stream focuses on increasing market access for farmers and processors in order to increase local food choices. Its goals are: to increase the amount of Ontario food products purchased by Ontario’s retailers, wholesalers, foodservice operators via local food aggregators and local processors; to increase farmers’ and processors’ access to new market channels through increased knowledge of supply chain requirements, enhanced access to aggregation services, and value added local food processing.

• There are three areas of focus, outlined below: Regional Aggregation and Food Hubs - Assist in the development and growth of food hubs and regional aggregators, increasing the number of farmers that have access to retail, wholesale, foodservice, and farmers’ markets; Value Added Local Food Processing - Encourage the development and growth of products made with Ontario ingredients, strengthen value chain relationships, and enhance the competitiveness of Ontario’s food processing sector: support the acceleration of growth of food processors by strengthening organizations that provide food incubation, acceleration, and commercialization services; New and Emerging Markets - Assist with business intelligence, networking, and relationship building tools to assist new and emerging markets scale up and access multiple market channels; Regional and Rural Economic Development - Support NGOs, municipalities, and their institutional and food value chain partners build the regional agri-food economy by undertaking priority impactful actions.