Feds lend Vaughan, Ont., food maker $782K for processing line

Riverside Natural Foods, based in Vaughan, Ont., will use money to buy equipment to produce organic bars and snacks

Canadianmanufacturing.com
Dec. 15, 2014

The federal government is lending a Vaughan, Ont., food maker $782,000 to purchase new equipment to manufacture a new line of snack bars.

The loan, provided through Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada’s AgriInnovation Program, will help Riverside Natural Foods Ltd. buy equipment to produce organic bars and snacks.

According to the federal department, Riverside will use a molding and dehydration process to create snack bars that remain whole without the use of sugar binders, and will be among the first of its kind in the industry.

The equipment will help add 31 full-time jobs on the company’s production line.

“Introducing this type of innovative technology will help position Canada as a leader in the health food industry, and respond to consumer demand for healthier snack foods,” local MP Peter Kent said in a statement.

“This project will increase the demand for Canadian agricultural commodities such as organic oats, blueberries and flax, in return boosting the bottom line of farmers.”

Last month, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada loaned $990,000 to U-Be-Livin-Smart Inc., located in nearby Concord, Ont., to buy new equipment to manufacture new health food products.