Local Food Wholesale Project

The Kawartha Region Local Food Wholesale Project 

Project Timeline:

1. Interested producers and buyers signed up to participate in the project (December 2023).

2. Discovery discussions with the trainer/coach to obtain a better understanding of each business. (January 2024). Following this discussion, individual interviews were held to discuss how to best assist each business throughout the project.

3. The team of trainers/coaches used the information obtained to create specialized Guidelines and Toolkit content (October 2023 to January 2024).

4. A number of weekly group training sessions were held to work with the trainers/coaches. The sessions were formatted using the Guidelines and Toolkit (February to March 2024).

5. One-on-one coaching is available to participating producers and buyers at no cost for the duration of the project (April 2024 through December 2025).

6. The project will conclude with the establishment of a local food aggregation and distribution pilot. This was organized with guidance from participating producers and buyers (June 2024 to December 2025).

Benefits of Participation:

• Participating local food producers and food buyers built mutual understanding, lasting relationships and identified wholesale models that worked for both sides of the relationship. By doing this together, with the assistance of a team of trainers/coaches, the group can expand access to networks that offer collaboration and support and create greater availability and use of locally produced foods obtained through local wholesale channels.

• The trainers/coaches have decades of experience working with producers and buyers of local food, providing them with extensive knowledge regarding effectively marketing local food. 

• One-on-one coaching that offers practical tools to establish or expand the local food wholesale of participating business operations. 

• Participating businesses have an active role in shaping the facilitation of the project, allowing the provided services to fit each business’ unique needs.

To inquire about joining this project, contact your economic development team. Tell us why you are interested in this project and what you hope to achieve by participating. The preliminary training and evaluation is complete, but new participants are welcome to apply. 

For additional project information contact:

Erika Inglis, Project Coordinator, Kawartha Local Food Wholesale Project
einglis@kawarthalakes.ca

Or