Longo's, Metro receive of Vision Award from Foodland Ontario

Longo Brothers Fruit Markets Inc. and Metro Ontario Inc. were both recipients of the first  Vision Award at the annual Foodland Ontario Retailer Awards held at the Liberty Grand in Toronto on March 22.

Introduced this year, the award and recognizes outstanding corporate support for promoting Ontario foods as part of the Foodland Ontario program.

“Since we first opened our doors in 1956, Longo’s has been dedicated to finding the best foods that Ontario has to offer," said Anthony Longo, CEO of Longo's in a press release. "We pride ourselves in hand-picking produce at the Ontario Food Terminal six days a week. Our focus is on eating fresh, whenever possible, and to us eating fresh and eating local go hand-in-hand. Longo’s is proud to support local farmers in partnership with Foodland Ontario andhonoured to have been given this recognition."

Criteria for the Vision Award is based on the breadth of the retailer’s local campaign namely its different elements (magazine, flyers, signage, etc), its potential reach, impact at store level via point of sale, number of categories it covers and how Foodland Ontario is incorporated.

Longo's partnered with Foodland Ontario not only to highlight the local produce selection, but also expanded to other locally produced foods like meat cheeses and eggs.

The retailer also incorporated the Foodland logo into its point of sale as well as in all its promotional materials like Experience Magazine and in-store flyers.

The Foodland Ontario Retailer Awards recognized 68 grocery retailers for creatively showcasing and promoting Ontario food in their stores.

Stores submit photos of their promotional displays to qualify for the awards.

This year, judges reviewed over 3,400 photographs from more than 1,100 entries.

The four Foodland Ontario Award of Excellence recipients are:

Hurley's Your Independent Grocer, 273 King St. W., Ingersoll

Stewart's Town & Country Market, 1024 Hwy 9, Mildmay

Morello's Your Independent Grocer, 400 Lansdowne St. E., Peterborough

Andrew and Emily's No Frills, 13311 Loyalist Pkwy, Picton