Article contentHe said this summer’s drought was one of the toughest growing seasons many of the province’s producers have faced in decades. With a changing climate and Nova Scotia experiencing more extreme weather events, “we have to find alternatives to traditional sales paths,” he said.Article content“We need to diversify markets for local food to create more opportunities. Institutional procurement helps create those new opportunities,” Morrow said.Article contentHe said becoming less reliant on imported produce starts with the province’s institutions. The plan is to displace some products from other countries, including apples, so that local growers can capitalize on this market.Article contentMorrow thanked Perennia Food and Agriculture Inc. for working with the provincial government to make the IDEA program a reality.Article contentThe program is a partnership between the Department of Agriculture and the Nova Scotia Loyal team at the Department of Growth and Development. It helps build on other institutional procurement efforts that currently support more than a dozen projects across the province and is part of a broader government effort to build a sustainable, robust food system.Article contentArticle contentThe IDEA program has already engaged several major partners. These include Nova Scotia Health, the IWK Health Centre, Dalhousie University, and food service distributors Gordon Food Service, OH Armstrong Food Service, Sysco, Agri Growers, and H&E Keddy Brothers Ltd.Article contentThe program supports the provincial government’s mandate to encourage local food consumption, with a goal of having 20 per cent of all food spending by Nova Scotians directed toward locally produced food by 2030.Article contentIt also aligns with the institutional procurement target of sourcing more than 20 per cent of food used in provincial government institutions from Nova Scotia suppliers.Article content Nova Scotia Growth and Development Minister Colton LeBlanc says the Institutional Development Expansion and Advancement (IDEA) Program is an example of government working across departments to support Nova Scotia’s producers and processors. Photo by KIRK STARRATT /PostmediaArticle contentSupporting producers, processorsArticle contentGrowth and Development Minister Colton LeBlanc said Nova Scotians have always taken pride in their own products “and we have so much to be proud of.” He said the IDEA program is an example of government working across departments to support Nova Scotia’s producers and processors.Article contentArticle contentHe said they want to make it easier for the province’s producers, especially considering the difficult growing season. LeBlanc said this is their duty as a provincial government and is a goal that programs like IDEA and Nova Scotia Loyal are working to achieve.Article contentHe said getting more Nova Scotia food products into the province’s institutions is very important, and the IDEA program is based on feedback the government received from producers and sector associations.Article contentOther initiatives include the Nova Scotia Loyal Producer Labelling Program that makes it easier for consumers to identify Nova Scotia products. LeBlanc said the Nova Scotia Loyal movement is growing and now has more than 1,765 businesses, producers, harvesters, manufacturers, crafters, and growers that have signed up to be part of the program.Article contentLeBlanc said the Local Supplier Food Safety Support Pilot Program also helps food and beverage producers overcome some of the regulatory challenges that have been identified. It helps ensure that they have the means to continue to grow and perhaps scale up in the market. They can then “look at broadening their horizons beyond the Nova Scotia market.”Article content“We want to do everything that we can to ensure that our producers, that produce some of the best products if not the best products in the world, have the support of government to do just that and even go beyond,” LeBlanc said.Article content
IDEA program bringing more local food to Nova Scotias public institutions
