Cornwall Ontario – With the help of a not-for-profit organization, local food is becoming easier and easier to access, with local food shelves now in place at St. Lawrence College, and the launching of a Local to SDG foodshelf with Foodland in Winchester on December 10th.

Kozroots Community Empowerment Projects (KCEP), the Cornwall and SDG-based not-for-profit organization responsible for the inception of the yearly Eastern Ontario Garlic Festival held in Cornwall since 2015, has partnered with Brown’s Dining Solutions browns.ca to bring more local products to students and staff of St. Lawrence College a unique source of local food.

Under the name “Taste of SLC”, the shelf features unique products grown and produced locally. Local honey, maple syrup, preserves, and snack foods are the first to be featured on the shelf. The initiative strives to introduce the students and staff of the College to wholesome, local foods, which may be more challenging to access than traditional cafeteria foods.

Gloria Dolan Tri-Campus Director of Food Services at St. Lawrence College shared

“Supporting environmentally friendly local food sources is one of the pillars Brown’s believes in and continues to build on. This initiative meets our sustainability model by providing locally produced alternative snacks and whole food products to our students, staff and visitors at all three campuses, the interest has been great. We plan to have a launch in the new year once we have procured a variety of products from all three surrounding regions with the help of KCEP.”

With the first local food shelves up and running at SLC, KCEP was invited by Dan Pettigrew, owner of Foodland in Winchester, to feature a Local to SDG food shelf in his new store. Dan explained “Bringing local products to the consumer while giving the producers to the area a place to feature their wares over the winter months while farmers’ markets are for the most part closed is a way of giving back to the community. My team and I at Foodland could not be happier than to take the lead on this initiative.” The launch of the Local to SDG shelf will take place on Saturday, December 10th, at 10:00 am at the store located at 12015 Main Street Winchester, Ontario featuring over a dozen SDG producers wares.

Along with individual items that will make great stocking stuffer and for your everyday meal preparation, KCEP will be taking orders for Local to SDG gift baskets.

“Both Brown’s and Foodland’s lead in carrying the Taste of SLC and Local to SDG campaigns makes them catalyst in the local food movement” said Brenda Norman, President of KCEP. “Our main focus is to develop projects and initiatives that support local agri-food initiatives, so we are thrilled to be the liaison between our local producers and St. Lawrence College and Foodland Winchester,” “We hope that this will just be the first step, and that future steps will include local products being carried in more locations across the region of SDG and beyond”.

If you are a local food producer or artisan and would like to be featured in the Taste of SLC shelf, or our Local to SDG Foodland shelf, please contact Sylvie Paquette, KCEP Vice-President and Communications Officer at(613) 525-5555 or sylviesonrisa@gmail.com.