PROJECTS

Spotlight on Local, Royal Agricultural Winter Fair, 2019
Special Projects Coordinator

The Royal Agricultural Winter Fair's Spotlight on Local won the 2020 Award of Distinction in the Best New Initiative Category AND the Events & Festivals category, from the Sponsorship Marketing Council of Canada.

Spotlight on Local was a brand new feature of the 2019 Royal Agricultural Winter Fair, occupying 20,000 sq ft of space in the prime Heritage Court section of the fair and showcasing food and beverages produced in Ontario. The feature included a 1750 sq ft activation by Metro which featured 10 of their local producers over the course of the 10-day event. This included 9 RTO & DMO booths that introduced consumers to each region's locally produced food and beverages as well as culinary tourism experiences. It also expanded the Champions' Showcase section that featured displays of the Royal's food competition winners by offering a rotating selection of winning products for guests to sample each day.

Leni began project coordination for this 10-day live event months in advance, including:

• Inviting tourism organizations to participate and guiding them to program their space within the parameters of the feature.
• Working with Metro’s marketing team and agency to coordinate their activation.
• Working with partners such as the Greenbelt Foundation, Metro, and OMAFRA.
• Working internally with the Royal’s Agriculture & Food department to add three new categories of food competitions (ice cream, RTE meat snacks, and hot sauce, in addition to the traditional honey, maple, jams, jellies and pickles, butter tarts, cheese, and butter).

The Spotlight on Local space also included the OLG entertainment stage which was programmed with educational content, music, comedy, and dancing.

The Spotlight on Local project increased collaboration between the tourism and agriculture sectors and other stakeholders in the local food supply chain. Ultimately, the event gave a platform to Ontario food and beverage producers as well as created a space to market culinary tourism experiences. This event brought together 300,000 consumers over the course of 10 days and allowed us to reach the most important goal of increasing the profile of locally produced food and producers in the eyes of Ontarians.

FEAST: Growing Indigenous Food Tourism in Ontario, 2020
Special Projects Coordinator (2020) & Director of Operations (2021 - 2022)

As one of two Special Projects Coordinators with Indigenous Tourism Ontario (ITO) in 2020, Leni worked alongside the Culinary Tourism Alliance and industry partners to develop FEAST: Growing Indigenous Food Tourism in Ontario. This is a first-of-its-kind strategy to support the growth of Indigenous food tourism in the province. The strategy is the foundation on which stakeholders can build, harness opportunities, and respond to visitor demands while showcasing diverse Indigenous cultures in Ontario through genuine food moments.

From 2021 - 2022, Leni also worked on a number of FEAST implementation activities which included:

• A press release and awareness campaign for the release of the strategy.
• An ongoing social media awareness campaign.
• A partnership with Destination Northern Ontario to support Indigenous food businesses in that region.
• Participation in the culinary programming for the annual Summer Solstice Indigenous Festival.
• A series of talks and videos on themes surrounding Indigenous foods and chefs, produced in partnership with the Royal Agricultural Winter Fair.

By bringing awareness to Indigenous foods, traditions, and their strong connection to culture, ITO aims to support Indigenous producers, foragers, chefs, and tourism operators to meet the continually growing demand for unique and authentic food experiences.

FEAST: Growing Indigenous Food Tourism in Ontario was recently featured as a case study in the hospitality textbook Sustainability in the Hospitality Industry: Principles of Sustainable Operations, 4th ed.

Ontario Restaurant Hotel & Motel Association - Passport to Hospitality Work Prosperity, 2022
Accommodation Workforce Development Specialist

The Ontario Restaurant Hotel & Motel Association (ORHMA) is taking a leadership role in helping to solve the labour crisis within the hospitality industry. The Passport to Hospitality Work Prosperity Program was designed by ORHMA to mutually support its hospitality sector stakeholders as well as prospective employees and those seeking to enter the hospitality industry.

The comprehensive program provided a 9-week training session that included new learnings, recertifications and upskilling, in which participants received industry-recognized credentials such as Smart Serve, WHMIS, and Food Handler Safety Certifications. Participants who graduated were then placed with a hospitality-sector employee in their area of interest for a 3-week work integrated learning experience. Through leveraging the BCI network of hotel and food service employers in the province, alongside the wide network of ORHMA members, Leni and her teammates were able to secure Employer Partners in which to place each of the graduates of the training program.

A unique aspect of this workforce development project is that both the learners and employers received financial assistance for their participation. ORHMA’s objectives were to empower job seekers to venture into the hospitality sector and to help its members reduce their critical labour shortages.