On Friday, March 13, 2009, at Black Prince Winery, Taste the County announced that it has been awarded $100,000 by the Ministry of Agriculture (Ontario Market Investment Fund) and $25,000 from the Municipality of Prince Edward to develop and execute a destination marketing campaign (DMC) focused on promoting locally made food and drink.

Taste the County’s executive director, Kathleen Kennedy is delighted: “The funding provides our organization with the means to meaningfully promote our region’s great food and beverage products and in turn to drive consumers to businesses throughout Prince Edward County. It’s a great start this year’s tourist and growing season.”

A partnership between Taste the County and the Prince Edward County Winegrowers Association (PECWA), the project will showcase not only County made cuisine and wine, but also items such as cheese, meat, maple syrup, jam, chocolate, crackers, beer and cider as well as three events: Countylicious, Maple in the County and Terroir. And while its primary focus will be on the Ottawa region, it will also target Cobourg, Port Hope, Quinte and surrounding area.

The Ontario Market Investment Fund (OMIF) program is a 4-year $12 million provincial initiative to promote consumer awareness of Ontario-produced foods and to encourage Ontarians to buy locally. Its objectives are to develop opportunities through trade events, marketing campaigns and industry research initiatives that foster partnerships and collaboration for the promotion of Ontario foods.