Growing Forward 2 (GF2) Invests $180k in 4 Ontario Food Processors

Four Halton Region food and beverage processors have recently been announced as recipients of government funding through Growing Forward 2 Ontario. Each business accessed funding to offset a portion of costs related to technology upgrade projects; as a result, these successful applicants are expected to significantly improve productivity and competitiveness.

The Growing Forward 2 Ontario government funding program has awarded four Halton businesses nearly $180,000 in small business grants to spur agri-food industry success.

Growing Forward 2 (GF2) was a federal-provincial-territorial initiative that supported Canada’s agricultural and agri-food sector. Although GF2 has recently been succeeded by the Canadian Agricultural Partnership (CAP), some businesses awarded with GF2 funding, such as those mentioned in this article, are still being publicly announced.

Growing Forward 2 Supports Four Agri-Food Businesses

Ontario’s agri-food processing sector recently received government funding support through the Growing Forward 2 initiative. Four businesses from the Halton Region (including three companies located in Burlington and one in Milton) will all receive funding to support their production technology-based projects.

Growing Forward 2 Ontario has awarded these companies nearly $180k in agri-food business grants.

Each project heavily focuses on increasing production outcome, expanding into new export markets, and enhancing labour productivity. Successful applicants and their projects include:

PastaCo

PastaCo produces fresh and frozen pastas, sauces, and prepared entrees using allnatural and fresh ingredients. The company will receive up to $100,000 in Ontario government grants to purchase and install new packaging equipment; this will automate their packaging process and remove production bottlenecks.

Rejuvenating Spring

Rejuvenating Spring is a family company in Burlington that produces and sells its own line of fresh foods, offers food basket deliveries, and provides nutritional consulting. Up to $54,838 in GF2 Ontario funding will support food safety-orientated upgrades throughout its processing plant.

McAlpine’s Custom Meats Ltd.

McAlpine’s Customs Meats Ltd. is a meat and meat product wholesaler in Burlington, Ontario. Up to $2,500 in GF2 Ontario government funding will be used to complete an assessment and gap analysis to help improve food safety.

Orange Snail Craft Brewers

Orange Snail Craft Brewers is a rapidly growing Milton, Ontario-based brewery. By accessing up to $21,560 in GF2 Ontario grants for beverage processors, the company will purchase a new canning system to help increase automation and improve labour productivity.

Shifting to the New Canadian Agricultural Partnership (CAP)

Growing Forward 2 Ontario was a government funding mechanism used to provide non-repayable grants to small businesses in the province’s agri-food sector. Designed to support food processors specifically, GF2 focused on improving equipment and facilities to reduce production costs and increase capacity to better serve domestic and foreign markets.

As of April 1, 2018, Growing Forward 2 was succeeded by the Canadian Agricultural Partnership (CAP).

Ontario agricultural producers and food and beverage processors may access similar government funding programs through the Canadian Agricultural Partnership. This includes an enhanced version of GF2 Ontario Processors, now called Canadian Agricultural Partnership: Ontario Processors.

Learn More About Canadian Agricultural Partnership Funding

The Canadian Agricultural Partnership is a new set of programs offered through Canada’s federal, provincial, and territorial governments. While many details are now available to the public, it can be difficult to understand the full scope of opportunities available to support your business’ upcoming strategic projects.

To receive a guided overview of the new Canadian Agricultural Partnership programs, please register for an upcoming Agriculture and Agri-Food webinar.

Posted: April 17, 2018 by Myra Bredin. Updated: April 17, 2018 by Myra Bredin.