Good Meals are Here to Stay

Residents at Pioneer Ridge Enjoy Locally Produced Food

If we’ve learned anything from the past couple of years, it’s how vulnerable we are to the volatility of global supply chains. When manufacturers were forced to shut down through the pandemic, many goods became very difficult to access even after production resumed—ask anyone who tried to purchase furniture or appliances. Prices of other goods, such as lumber, soared out of sight. A labour disruption at a west coast port suddenly made many imported goods unavailable. One ship ran aground in the Panama Canal, and it seemed like all shipping came to a standstill.

But here in Northwestern Ontario, farmers were still farming, anglers were still fishing, growers still growing. At the Pioneer Ridge long-term care home, visitations were curtailed, but the caregivers kept on caring, and the kitchen continued putting out meals.

In a world where most institutions purchase almost all their foods through multinational distributors, the City of Thunder Bay began buying direct from area farmers several years ago. Meals at Pioneer Ridge, the city’s 150-bed long-term care home, began to include juicy homegrown tomatoes from DeBruin’s, heritage carrots from Belluz Farms, and a variety of other fresh produce. The city’s innovative forward-buying contracts with local producers attracted attention across

Canada. The award-winning initiative grew out of the city’s involvement with the Thunder Bay & Area Food Strategy and its commitment to supporting local food production, and was primarily driven by two key champions: manager of supply management Dan Munshaw, and food services manager at Pioneer Ridge, Chris Borutski.

Early successes included more than doubling the city’s annual spend on local food, an award from the Greenbelt Foundation, and national recognition from Nourish Leadership. But now the big question is how to maintain and grow this progressive purchasing practice. “We’ve been working to operationalize our purchasing processes within our policies,” Munshaw says. “That means making this commitment to local foods internalized at every level of operations within this institution.”

Consistently reinforcing the commitment throughout the structure and governance will ensure that it carries on when Munshaw and Borutski eventually retire. Already, local food purchases have grown to include flour, pork, beef, and fish. New products are being tried and developed, such as bison burgers and bran muffin mix with locally produced wheat.

Not only does this purchasing policy bring fresh, nutritious, culturally appropriate food to the table, it also helps insulate the budget from a volatile marketplace where product shortages and steep price increases are becoming the norm. It helps support the local economy and develops strong relationships between the institution and its suppliers. Ongoing efforts to strengthen these relationships include annual producer tours where Pioneer Ridge staff get to meet the growers, walk the farm, ask questions, and discuss ideas for more ways to use the products.

“Next steps will include a reverse tour,” says Borutski. “We want to bring those farmers and producers behind the scenes here at

Pioneer Ridge so they can see how we work with their products, try some of our recipe creations and hear from residents how much they appreciate this local food.”

The city’s purchasing model has built in criteria that considers more than just price, assigning value to diversity, inclusion, social justice and sustainability. Forward contracting helps suppliers plan production, reduce risk and stabilize costs.

“When you realize that the average food calorie in northwestern Ontario travels 3,200 kilometres,” says Munshaw, “we know that can, and must, be reduced. We’ve made a good start, but there is still much work to be done.”