Sweet Grant for Jakeman's

Monday, 31 March 2014 14:22

Province's Greenbelt Fund announces funding to promote Ontario maple sugar.

BEACHVILLE -- Auvergne Farms Limited, which operates Jakeman's Maple Farm is creating some new opportunities for its products with support announced Monday in part by The Greenbelt Fund.

Auvergne Farms' project, "Promoting Ontario Maple Sugar" will receive $50,000 from the Greenbelt Fund to help them produce granulated maple sugar in bulk quantities. The sugar will go into processed products right here in Ontario -- replacing imported maple sugar while providing a local alternative to other imported sweeteners.

As a result of the grant funding coming through Greenbelt from the province, Auvergne Farms staff plan to purchase new equipment while providing opportunity for several maple syrup producers, including Weber Sugar Bush, to make their products more widely available to a larger market.

Greenbelt fund CEO Burkhard Mausberg says Jakeman's will use the money to take maple sugar and broaden it's appeal.

"Places like Starbucks are already offering certain maple sugar flavoured coffees and Astro Yogurt is offering maple sugar flavoured frozen yogurt, and for example with our investment, they're going to look at making single serving maple sugar servings available. So when you go to your local coffee shop, you'll be able to add local maple sugar instead to your coffee."

Mausberg says Jakeman's can stand to benefit by simply being able to offer single serving maple sugar as a single serving local flavour in contrast to imported cane sugar

There's also the environmental advantage over bringing in food in from far away origins which Muesberg says increases air pollution.

Mausberg says investment's like today's announcement helps local farmers -- and the proof is in the forecast. Auvergne Farms estimates an increase in sales of Ontario maple sugar of $2-million dollars by 2016.

In addition to the fifty-thousand dollar funding for Jakeman's, similar grants to 100 Mile Food Services Ltd. and My Sustainable Canada were also announced Monday by The Greenbelt Fund.