Rooted Close to Home: Why Shorter Food Supply Chains Matter
By: Lindsay Toth
Every apple, loaf of bread, or jar of jam has a story. Too often that story begins far from home. Canada’s food system has become increasingly global, with ingredients and finished products traveling across provinces or even oceans before reaching our plates. While this system offers variety and convenience, it also introduces vulnerability. Fragile supply chains, high environmental costs, and a growing disconnect from local food traditions are all consequences of this global model.
Shorter food supply chains offer a way to build resilience, strengthen communities, and preserve the cultural and economic fabric of Canadian food systems.
What We Mean by Local Foods
“Local food” can mean different things to different people. For some, it is food grown and produced within 160 kilometres. For others, it is food sourced within the same province or region. Beyond geography, local food is about relationships. It is knowing the farmer who grew your vegetables, the baker who made your bread, or the beekeeper who harvested your honey.
Local foods are fresher, often more nutrient-rich, and deeply connected to community. They carry stories of heritage, family traditions, and landscapes. Because they travel shorter distances, they leave a smaller environmental footprint and strengthen the connection between Canadians and the places where their food is grown.
The Challenges of Long Supply Chains
Global supply chains make it possible to buy strawberries in January or coffee beans from across the world. But they also come with costs and risks. The pandemic, extreme weather events, and trade conflicts have exposed just how fragile these systems can be. A single bottleneck can leave grocery shelves empty.
Long-distance transportation contributes to greenhouse gas emissions and packaging waste. Communities risk losing touch with traditional and regional foodways when imported products replace locally grown and prepared foods. And money spent on imports often leaves the community, rather than circulating locally to support farmers, processors, and workers.
The Benefits of Shorter Supply Chains
Shorter food supply chains prioritize proximity, connection, and resilience. They strengthen local economies by keeping dollars in communities and supporting jobs. Ontario’s agriculture and agri-food sector contributes an estimated C$47 billion to the provincial economy every year, employing more than ten percent of the workforce. In British Columbia, over 1,000 businesses participate in the Buy BC program, promoting more than 8,100 local products and supporting a sector that generated a record C$20 billion in sales in 2022.
Shorter chains also reduce environmental impacts, lower emissions, and create systems that are more resilient to global disruptions. Local systems can adapt more quickly to changes in supply or demand, helping to safeguard food security. Eating local preserves cultural traditions, strengthens community identity, and fosters pride of place. Programs like Foodland Ontario and Buy BC demonstrate how supporting local foods can scale impact, reaching millions of consumers while creating tangible benefits for farmers, processors, and communities.
Canada’s Reliance on Imported Food
Despite being a major agricultural producer, Canada continues to rely on global supply chains for many staples. Food imports account for about 9.2 percent of merchandise imports as of 2024. Around the year 2000, Canadian-produced food accounted for roughly 80 percent of total consumption. By 2015, that figure had fallen to about 70 percent. Shorter supply chains offer a path to reverse this trend and reclaim more control over our food system.
Steps to Pivot Toward Shorter Supply Chains
Transitioning to shorter food supply chains takes planning, creativity, and collaboration. Here are some practical steps:
Map Your Supply Chain – Identify where your ingredients come from and how far they travel. Look for opportunities to source closer to home.
Build Local Partnerships – Connect with nearby farmers, producers, and processors. Strengthen relationships to ensure consistent supply and mutual support.
Diversify Suppliers – Work with multiple local producers to reduce reliance on a single source and increase resilience.
Invest in Infrastructure – Consider shared commercial kitchens, regional processing hubs, or cold storage solutions that make local sourcing feasible.
Engage Consumers – Highlight local ingredients on packaging and marketing. Educate your customers about the benefits of supporting local food systems.
Start Small and Scale – Pilot local sourcing for select products and gradually expand as supply chains stabilize.
Leverage Programs and Resources – Tap into initiatives like Foodland Ontario, Buy BC, or regional food networks to access knowledge, funding, and visibility.
From Global to Local, One Step at a Time
Shorter food supply chains provide more than fresh produce and fewer food kilometres. They reconnect Canadians to the people, places, and stories that make food meaningful while supporting local economies, protecting the environment, and preserving cultural identity. Understanding why these shorter chains matter is only the first step. The bigger question is how to make them work in practice.
In the next post, we will explore cottage foods and how they are reshaping local food economies in Canada, offering new opportunities for entrepreneurs, communities, and consumers to strengthen connections from farm to table.
