L’ORIGINAL, Ontario, June 22, 2022 – The Eastern Ontario Agri-Food Network (EOAN) is proud to share its newest video promotion campaign to celebrate local food and the wonderful entrepreneurs who make it happen. Members of the media, along with supporters of local food, are welcome to share the video profiles.

The EOAN’s mission is to support the success of producers of local food, beverage and original agricultural products in Eastern Ontario. To that end, each video tells the story of a producer, their business, and their passion for good food and community engagement.

In these two accompanying images, Nadia Carrier of M Quenneville Greenhouses in Plantagenet shares her pride in helping gardeners start the season with their own home-grown food. Robert Poirier of Fruits du Poirier in St-Eugène boasts of the power of super fruits on his organic mixed berry and fruit farm, which includes an inspected kitchen and retail store.

Michel Villeneuve, President of the EOAN, explains the strategy: “When buying locally, consumers also want the story behind the food that connects the consumer with the producer, business, family, values, and production methods.“

Tom Manley, Executive Director of the EOAN, elaborates: “An image is worth a thousand words; a video, multiply that by another thousand. Video marketing increases engagement and educates the audience. Online posts reach more people and garner more responses when there is a captivating photo or video with a short, attractive message. A brief video presentation breaks through the communications noise and attracts public attention.”

The EOAN will produce eight video profiles in a cost-sharing formula with producers, and the production expertise of video reporter André Dumont. Two videos are now available on the EOAN’s website and the EOAN’s YouTube channel, while more video profiles will be released over the summer and fall seasons. EOAN members can learn more about the program and apply to participate.

The Eastern Ontario Agri-Food Network was created in 2010 and serves Eastern Ontario starting with Akwesasne, the City of Cornwall, the United Counties of Stormont, Dundas and Glengarry and the United Counties of Prescott and Russell. Its bi-weekly newsletter is sent out to over 1,100 recipients, among them farmers, food producers, institutions, agri-food experts, and consumers. In both 2021 and 2022, the EOAN received core funding from the United Counties of SDG, the City of Cornwall, and the United Counties of Prescott-Russell. The EOAN’s marketing programs receive financial support from the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food, and Rural Affairs.