This page documents the regional and Ontario-specific layers that sit alongside the address-level Local Food Score. They use Statistics Canada and PHO data — not Piknik listings — and never change the headline score for an address lookup.
Verified score vs regional context
Find local and Through the year use documented Piknik offerings and supplier links within your search radius. Get there uses nearby food access points more broadly. Regional context uses 2021 Statistics Canada Ag Census data within a 100 km foodshed — it never changes the headline score.
Sparse map coverage
When fewer than eight verified farms, markets, and CSAs appear in the search radius, we show a coverage banner and a census one-liner. Low verified scores in farm country often mean incomplete map data, not absence of agriculture.
How much farming happens nearby
A Statistics Canada snapshot of farming within 100 km of a region — not what Piknik has mapped, and not whether you can walk to a farm. It helps compare areas where census data suggests more or less farm activity around town.
What we count
- Farms that sell direct to the public (farm stands, CSAs, on-farm sales)
- Farm operating revenue relative to local population
- Mix of farm types — vegetables & fruit, grains, and livestock/protein
- Greenhouse and year-round produce capacity
This does not measure how much food a region could grow, tonnage, or whether farms sell into local grocery channels. It is a structural census estimate from 2021.
Technical name: Regional Capacity Index (RCI) — census divisions within 100 km are distance-weighted, combined into a 0–100 score and ranked into five bands (Low → Strong) across Ontario regions. Shown on the Ontario leaderboard as Farm activity and on regional hub pages under regional context.
Food cost context
Ontario leaderboard shows food budget pressure: PHO Ontario Nutritious Food Basket baseline adjusted via monthly StatCan food CPI, divided by census median after-tax income. This is area-level grocery food — not local/organic premium pricing.
Data freshness
Regional context layers and when they were last updated (generated 2026-06-16).
| Layer | Vintage | As of | Refresh |
|---|---|---|---|
| ag_census | 2021 | 2021 | quinquennial |
| population | 2021 | 2021 | quinquennial |
| income | 2020 | 2021 | quinquennial |
| onfb | 2024 | 2024-05 | annual |
| food_cpi | monthly | 2026-06 | monthly |
Ontario leaderboard columns
Verified (Piknik) columns use 25 km search radius. Census columns use a 100 km foodshed at each region centre. Farm activity = how much farming surrounds the region (2021 census). Heatmap toggle switches between verified score and farm activity.
StatCan & PHO sources
- 32-10-0242-01 — Direct sales to consumers
- 32-10-0240-01 — Operating revenues
- 32-10-0231-01 — Farm type (NAICS)
- 32-10-0360-01 — Greenhouse
- 98-10-0002-03 — Population
- 98-10-0060-01 — Median income
- 18-10-0004-01 — Ontario food CPI
- PHO Ontario Nutritious Food Basket (ONFB)