RESOURCES · RESEARCH AND REPORTS
This is the public record: the documents behind this initiative, what each one is, and why it matters. Enough context to be useful whether you are a resident browsing or an analyst doing serious work.
The initiative's own process — where the current structure and the four Action Areas come from. Start here if you want to know what stage this is at.
2026
Workshop report
The record of the January 2026 facilitated workshop, including the priorities participants identified and the coordinating structure discussed.
Why it matters: it is the source of the four Action Areas and of the Northumberland Local Food Steering Committee structure.
2025
Community visioning, led through the Northumberland County Food Policy Council
A description of the themes and aspirations for a local sustainable food system in Northumberland, developed through community sessions.
Why it matters: it is the community's own statement of the goal, rather than one written on its behalf.
2024
Hosted by IncrEdible Trent Hills, April 2024
A gathering of people from across the county's food system to identify barriers and opportunities.
Why it matters: it is the clearest record of the obstacles and openings local participants named themselves.
Longstanding local commitments and planning context this work builds on.
2013
Endorsed by all seven lower-tier municipalities and Northumberland County Council
A statement of shared principles and intent for food in the county, developed collaboratively.
Why it matters: it is the earliest formal, county-wide statement of shared local intent on food, and it was endorsed unanimously across all seven municipalities.
View document — awaiting confirmation of a current published location
2020
Commissioned jointly by Northumberland County, the Northumberland County Food Policy Council and the Northumberland Federation of Agriculture; prepared by Heather Ross
A review of how the county's municipal Official Plans treat food production, with recommendations for planning policy.
Why it matters: it is the most detailed existing account of the planning conditions affecting local food here, and the reference point for the leadership and policy Action Area.
View report — awaiting confirmation that this document may be published. Note: figures within this report draw on earlier census and reporting periods, and should be cited with those dates attached.
External context, not initiative documents. These are directions the governments of Ontario and Canada are taking that overlap with questions Northumberland is exploring — regional food hubs, domestic processing, market access and connecting producers with institutional buyers. This is convergence, not affiliation: the initiative is not federally or provincially endorsed or funded, and no government decision about Northumberland has been made.
2026
Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada
Why it matters: regional food hubs, domestic processing, market access, supply-chain resilience and connecting producers with buyers are now explicit national priorities.
2026
Public Services and Procurement Canada, May 2026
Why it matters: federal procurement is exploring mechanisms intended to reduce barriers for small and mid-sized enterprises and Canadian suppliers, including regional and line-item approaches.
2026
CanadaBuys / Public Services and Procurement Canada
Why it matters: part of a broader effort to increase opportunities for Canadian small and mid-sized enterprises in public procurement.
2025
Government of Canada
Why it matters: Ontario is explicitly exploring local sourcing, producer partnerships, bulk purchasing, logistics and regional food audits within school food — making schools a timely institutional-demand opportunity to understand in Northumberland.
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National coalition
Why it matters: a national coalition working toward universal healthy school food programs, with principles that include healthy food, food education, and local and sustainable sourcing.
An environmental scan and asset mapping of Northumberland's food system are in progress. They have not produced published findings, and nothing from that work appears in this archive yet. When it does, it will be dated and attributed like everything else here.
Some of these documents are long PDFs. If a PDF is difficult for you to read, or you need a section in another format, email ncfnorthumberland@gmail.com and we will help.
To be confirmed