Ontario's agriculture minister calls the province's agri-food industry the cornerstone of Ontario's success.
Jeff Leal made that comment while releasing this year's Local Food Report.
That report suggests significant progress has been made under Ontario's Local Food Strategy.
According to government figures, over 80 per cent of the province's shoppers can now identify Ontario-grown fruits and vegetables in grocery stores.
The report also says over half of the principal grocery shoppers in Ontario include locally-grown food in at least one meal a day.
The Ontario Local Food Strategy has three main objectives - enhancing awareness of local food, increasing access to local food and boosting the supply of food produced in Ontario.
This year's Local Food Report also says the provincial agri-food sector has added 1 point 3 billion dollars in GDP and created more than 34 thousand jobs over the past couple of years.
The Premier has challenged the industry to double its annual growth rate and add 120 thousand jobs by 2020.
The report suggests the industry is well on its way to meeting those targets.
