On February 27, Canada’s Minister of AI and Digital Innovation, Evan Solomon, shared in a press release that $2 million would be granted to Black and equity-deserving entrepreneurs in the food and beverage space. 

This investment originates from the Federal Economic Development Agency of Southern Ontario (FedDev Ontario) and will serve business owners across major urban centers. This includes Toronto, Kitchener-Waterloo, and Hamilton, as well as smaller communities throughout the region. 

This new funding represents only a small fraction of what FedDev Ontario has invested since 2015, with over $735 million deployed to businesses led by underrepresented communities across Ontario through nearly a thousand different projects. 

The Foodpreneur Lab 

The federal agency will not be responsible for accepting applications and deploying the funds, as that responsibility has been allocated to the Foodpreneur Lab — a Canadian non-profit organization with a national mandate to “advance racial and gender equity in the food sector.” 

Its founder, Janice Bartley, stated on the organization’s website that her personal mission is to “level the playing field and open doors in underserved communities for ‘would-be’ and established food entrepreneurs.” To do this, she draws on decades of experience in entrepreneurship as well as non-profit ventures within the food and beverage space. Since 2019, she has led four cohorts of more than 95 Black entrepreneurs through the Foodpreneur Lab. 

The funding will be channelled specifically into the organization’s Step Up Scale Up 16-week program. This will give 75 selected entrepreneurs the exclusive opportunity to scale their businesses through leveraging expert support. Participants will also gain access to physical resources like production spaces and distribution channels. 

From pastries to hot sauces, entrepreneurs selected for this accelerator often root their products in cuisines, flavours, and ingredients connected to their heritage or background. This emphasis on cultural representation was a major motivator for Bartley to start the Foodpreneur Lab. 

In a recent interview with Mississauga.com, she said, “What we stock on shelves sends powerful messages about identity, belonging and value. When Black food entrepreneurs are excluded from ownership in the food system, their cultures are reduced to trends rather than treated as living, evolving contributions.” 

The state of the food and beverage industry 

This $2 million investment comes at a uniquely challenging period for the food and beverage industry. Entrepreneurs building consumer packaged goods brands — as well as restaurants, bakeries, and catering businesses — have faced mounting pressure on their profits from high input costs and inflation, curbing consumer spending. 

Since 2022, grocery costs have risen by 22 per cent, outpacing other consumer goods like clothing or electronics, which have increased by an average of 13 per cent. Such price spikes have placed additional strain on an industry already characterized by small margins, even under normal economic conditions.  

To add insult to injury, from the consumer side, declining affordability has been creeping into the lifestyles of Canadians. Three out of four Canadians report eating out less — a trend that is even more pronounced amongst younger consumers. 

Together, these pressures have manifested into harsh realized outcomes. A recent Restaurants Canada report found that 44 per cent of surveyed restaurants were not profitable, while nearly a quarter were operating at a loss. 

Operating a business in the food and beverage industry is layered with complexity, from navigating regulations and ever-changing tariff policies to dealing with labour shortages. In today’s hyper-competitive environment, scaling a profitable business has become increasingly difficult, with ongoing supply chain shake-ups and economic conditions compounding the challenge.

The government’s goals 

Rising food costs have come out on top as the main financial concern for Canadian households in 2026. In response, the federal government has also been pursuing broader efforts to strengthen national food security. This FedDev Ontario funding represents an opportunity for the government to empower local communities by stirring innovation, job creation, and overall economic growth. 

As best said by the minister himself in a press release, Solomon reasons for this significant investment by stating that, “By supporting organizations like Foodpreneur Lab, we’re building a more inclusive economy where all entrepreneurs have the opportunity to thrive and contribute to building a resilient Canadian economy.”