Sarnia-Lambton Business Development Corporation Grant Report
Lambton Federation Of Agriculture – $9500.00
The 2010 Locally Lambton Food & Fun Map is another successful project thanks to the grant received! We have 47 businesses advertising on the map, ranging from meat products (beef, lamb, pork); farmer’s markets (Petrolia, Forest & Grand Bend); fruit & vegetables; Farm Gate Markets; maple syrup; a winery; fun and a couple of fairs; Bed & Breakfast and 3 Alpaca farms. This is up about 17 farm businesses since 2008. We were one of the first counties to produce the map in this area and since the first version in 2006, purchasing “locally” has become a huge promotion tool for farm gate businesses. With the assistance of the map, local businesses are able to get information out to the public at a reasonable advertising cost. The map is also a great educational tool for urban people and we include a seasonal chart showing when products are available. Many groups use the map to promote Lambton County produce at meetings, including Women’s Institute as one example. The promotion of fresh, locally grown products not only helps the individual farmers but also helps the economy in Lambton County. Each participant receives a farm gate sign with our “Locally Lambton” logo on it for easy identification of their business.
We are purchasing a banner advertising where the map can be obtained and our contact information so we can showcase and promote the map at various upcoming functions throughout the summer.
With the assistance of the grant and the participant’s registration money, we will be promoting the map in the Coffee Time News and the Day Tripper throughout the upcoming year. Press Releases will be done in May promoting the map and making mention of our receipt of the grant.
We will officially launch the map on June 5th at the grand opening of the new Petrolia Farmer’s Market but the map will be out in circulation by mid May. We also showcase the map on our website, www.locallylambton.com. This website will be updated in the next few weeks. Businesses that missed the deadline to advertise on the map can be added to the website at any time during the year.
To enhance the map, we are planning another farm gate tour this summer featuring a certain geographic area of the map where the public will be invited to tour a few businesses from the map on a Sunday in August. Our last tour in North Lambton in 2009 was very successful and gave the businesses in that area more publicity to promote their goods and services. Part of the grant money has been used to purchase signs which will help the public locate the stops on the tour.
We also plan on a wider promotion of the map through the Farmers’ Markets including Sarnia, Petrolia, Forest and Grand Bend. The maps will be circulated through the Lambton County Library system; all municipal offices; Sarnia-Lambton Chamber of Commerce; Sarnia Tourism; businesses who will allow us to leave the maps out for display (i.e. TSC in Sarnia) and many more places, too numerous to mention.
The Lambton Federation is very appreciative of the grant and has allowed us to widen the promotion of the map and to allow for more participants. We hope our 2010 edition will not be the last and will lead to larger projects in 2012.
