This Thanksgiving, Gobble Up Ontario Goodness

GTA Weekly — Plump, moist oven roasted turkey bedecked with colorful fruit garnishes and stuffed with a savory sourdough bread stuffing. Just right for the Holiday table. Great focus throughout the image, with very sharp focus on the turkey, so detailed you can see the bumps in the skin and the natural juices clinging to it.

Savour the Bounty of Ontario Food and Drink

To make the most of your festive meal this Thanksgiving, be sure to include locally grown and harvested food and beverages. Local food is healthy and delicious, and supporting local farmers across Ontario is a great way to celebrate those who grow, produce and harvest the good things we eat and drink.

Here are some quick tips to make the most of Ontario’s harvest:

Turkey Tips – Smoke, roast or barbecue a locally raised turkey. It’s packed with vitamins and nutrients, and low in cholesterol and sodium, making it the perfect centrepiece of your meal. Learn the best way to cook a turkey at Turkey Farmers of Ontario’s makesitsuper.ca.
Clean, Separate, Cook, Chill – To help ensure your holiday meal is prepared safely, follow four simple steps. Clean your hands, surfaces and equipment well and often. Separate cooked or ready-to-eat foods from raw meat, other uncooked foods or contaminated utensils. Cook food thoroughly, and chill leftovers to reduce the risk of food poisoning.
Family Favourite Recipes – Whether your family loves tradition or likes to try new things, Foodland Ontario has a number of simple recipes that are a delicious way to feature Ontario’s bounty on your table.
Local Ingredients – Choosing local ingredients from the abundance of Ontario’s harvest is easy at farmers’ markets, pick-your-own farms and on-farm markets. Visit Harvest Ontario and Ontario Farm Fresh to learn more about where to buy local. The Foodland Ontario logo makes it easy to find local products where you shop.
Celebrating the Feast – Raise your glass of local Ontario wine, craft beer or ciderthis Thanksgiving. Sparkling fruit cider is a fun and bubbly alternative that is available in most grocery stores and farmers’ markets.
Dressing Your Table – Make your Thanksgiving table even more beautiful by including local Ontario blooms. Visit pickOntario to find out which in-season plants and flowers you can enjoy this season.
Sharing Thanks – To help all Ontario families have a Thanksgiving meal, you can donate food items, money or time to your local food bank, food program or another charitable organization.

Quick Facts

Ontario Agriculture Week is October 2-8, 2017.
Ontario’s agri-food industry contributes more than $37 billion to the province’s GDP and supports more than 807,000 jobs.
Ontario produces approximately 200 different commodities across the province. To know what fresh fruits and vegetables are at their peak of freshness, please visit Foodland Ontario’s availability guide.
Ontario produces 45 per cent of Canada’s turkeys – approximately 63,000,000 kilograms a year.
Find out which nearby restaurants and businesses support local food at Feast Ontario.

Additional Resources

Quotes

“Harvest season in Ontario provides us with an abundance of local fresh seasonal foods and beverages. As we celebrate this bounty, let’s take a moment to give thanks to our farmers who grow, raise and harvest the delicious local products that we enjoy. When you buy local, you are helping support the more than 800,000 Ontarians who work in our farm and food sector and boosting our economy.”

Jeff Leal

Minister of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs