VON’s Ontario Student Nutrition Program (OSNP), Southwest Region, defines local as ingredients and products that are grown, produced, or manufactured in Ontario. We intentionally track each category to better understand and strengthen our local purchasing practices.
While not every product can come from the immediate community surrounding each school, our approach prioritizes sourcing as close to home as possible, using a regional and bulk purchasing model that supports scale without compromising values. The Southwest Region includes some of the most agriculturally rich counties in Canada, giving us access to a diverse and abundant supply of Ontario-grown food.
Every sourcing decision balances proximity, quality, seasonality, and availability at the volumes required to reliably support school food programs. This ensures that students receive fresh, nutritious food while local farmers and producers benefit from consistent, meaningful demand.
Our distributor, Produce Express, plays a key role in this work, connecting us directly with Ontario farmers and helping expand access to greenhouse-grown produce during winter months. In the 2024–25 school year, we launched ‘Harvest of the Month’, pairing local food offerings with food literacy resources and farm spotlights to help students better understand where their food comes from.
Raising the Benchmark and Exceeding it
In 2026, OSNP Southwest increased its local purchasing benchmark to 30%, after surpassing our previous 20% target year after year. The results speak for themselves.
Within a 14-week period of the 2025–26 school year:
- Produce: 38% of produce purchased and delivered through our School Food Delivery program was grown in Ontario
- Non-Produce: 78% of non-produce items purchased and delivered through our School Food Delivery program was produced in Ontario.
- 39% locally sourced protein products, including milk, eggs, and cheese
- 39% locally sourced grain items
Altogether, local food makes up 51% of total food purchased to support student nutrition programs through OSNPs School Food Delivery Program.
Why It Matters
Local purchasing strengthens our food system, supports Ontario farmers and producers, and ensures students have access to fresh, high-quality food. By continuing to raise our benchmarks and refine our sourcing practices, OSNP Southwest is committed to building a resilient, transparent, community-focused school food system, one that reflects both the richness of our region and the needs of the students we serve.