Business Resources

Collective Marketing Programs

The EOAN offers a full suite of regional marketing programs to suite your needs:

• The Local Food Portal to enable consumers to shop for local food in one place.
• The Sample the East program to bring local and distant visitors to our local food assets.
• Our local food asset map, with a free listing for members of the EOAN.
• The >Local Food Discovery booklet, a fun way to find local food and earn discounts and deals through repeated purchases.
• A wide range of farmers' markets and multivendor markets in Eastern Ontario.
• The opportunity to work with a local food hub, with is a farm or retail operation that focuses on distributing local foods.
• The >local food display counters located at three local food retailers (Metro Casselman, St-Albert Cheese, and L'Orignal Packing).

Business Stamps

EOAN members Sylviane and Emeric from Ferme Butte & Bine in Williamstown launched their on-farm bakery business with paper bags and boxes. That begs the question: how can you afford the large orders of custom-printed bags and boxes? Their answer was to buy plain bags and boxes and use an ink stamp. 

You have to admit that their packaging looks very nice, with a simple black stamp placed at variable locations on the bags and boxes. Many other producers have asked about the source of the stamps, so they are happy to share the information.

Emily is from Hammond/Bourget and she started her own business. "We are very satisfied! She was less expensive than others, and she has personal relations in the local farm sector. Bram D'Hoest Wood Work produces a professionally cut stamp, often for larger models. He's a local artist and woodworker based in Smith Falls.

Nutritional Labels

Emeric Delage from Ferme Butte & Bine shares his experience with nutrition labels on his food products. “Having a kitchen approved by the Eastern Ontario Health Unit and selling some of our products to businesses, we very quickly needed nutrition labels."

“After doing some research, the website https://labelify.ca seemed like the most affordable and easiest to use. The monthly fee is $50 and there is the possibility of cancellation at any time."

"Following the creation of the account, which is instantaneous, you only need to enter your recipes. The service has a large database of ingredients, and it is also possible to add more, then the nutritional values are immediately calculated. You can even have a bilingual label and add the list of ingredients below the nutrition table, which avoids having multiple labels."

"To minimize our costs, we simply print these labels on an Avery blank adhesive page, but we are currently trying to find a local printer for a more professional result. There you have it, and it’s easier than you could imagine."

Inspected Kitchens

Farms may sell many of their own products, especially fruits and vegetables, directly to the public at any location. Meat, dairy, and eggs have special regulations and procedures. Prepared and processed foods may only be sold to the public if they are prepared in an inspected kitchen, except that they may be sold without inspection at an accredited farmers market. Read more at the Eastern Ontario Health Unit.  

Online Business Tools

There are lots of tools are available to food operators over the Internet.

• The Food and Agriculture Advisory Council of SDG, Cornwall and Akwesasne published its report and findings to develop a local food economy in the region. 
• Growing Eastern Ontario Organically with Canadian Organic Growers.
• The Just Food organization in Ottawa works on equitable food systems and solutions for rural and urban food challenges.
• The Association of Municipalities of Ontario published a comprehensive guide to best practices in developing the local food sector.