Last week, the Ontario Local Food Act received unanimous support at its third reading in the Ontario legislature. The support ensures that, come the new year, the new Bill will be enshrined into law.
Tucked in among a number of provisions to strengthen Ontario’s local food sector is a new tax credit for farmers who donate to community food programs.
And Bill Laidlaw, executive director of Food Banks Ontario, is elated.
"This is just such a good news story," says Laidlaw. "It's great for food banks, it's great for the agricultural sector, and it's great for anyone who relies on food banks to supplement their monthly food."
Food Banks Ontario, which represents more than 130 food banks as well as over a 1,000 food delivery systems, has long-advocated for a tax incentive to help farmers who donate to their programs.
It's not only about getting more food to the people who need it; it’s also about getting them the right kinds of food.
"People supplementing their monthly food diets with food from food banks need more nutritious food, they need more protein-rich food. It's just a fact,” says Laidlaw. "They need food like peanut butter, fish, vegetables, meat, and fruit. In many cases they get that through the products that are donated, but we recognize that we need to do a better job of providing more nutritious foods. If you eat better it’s more likely that you’ll have better overall health and lead a more prosperous life."
In line with that end, Laidlaw and his team have spent years lobbying the Ontario government to provide tax breaks to farmers who donate products to food banks.
MPP Bob Bailey (Sarnia-Lambton), who took up the Food Bank Ontario cause, even introduced three private member bills proposing such a tax incentive. But, despite support from his Queen’s Park colleagues, the bills never passed due to timing issues.
In March of this year, however, when the Ontario government introduced the Local Food Act, the initiative finally got its big chance.
"What happened this fall is that the [Ontario] government had [the Local Food Act] going through the legislature. And the government thought 'why don’t we attach the tax bill to this' and that was a huge victory for us because to go through separately it would have been really challenging," says Laidlaw. "But onto an existing legislation, there would be a great likelihood of it passing."
And pass it did. According to the Bill, beginning in January 2014, farmers in Ontario will receive a 25 per cent tax credit on the fair market value of products donated to community meal programs (including food banks).
"At first we just thought the tax break would apply to fruits and vegetable but the way it’s worded it seems that it applies to all produce including meat, eggs, and milk," says Laidlaw. "That’s just a great extra bonus."
With the Act passed, Food Banks Ontario hopes to cultivate an upsurge in donated produce by working with the government to spread the word within Ontario’s agriculture sector.
"Farmers already donate sporadically, but with this real incentive we’re hoping to see significant increase. Everyone wants to give, this just makes it that much easier."
Writer: Katia Snukal
Source: Bill Laidlaw, Food Banks Ontario