New picnic service showcasing local foods in Simcoe County

Two businesses in North Simcoe are teaming up to offer a picnic service showcasing locally produced food (Chris Garry/CTV News Barrie)

Two business owners in Simcoe County who are passionate about food are teaming up for what they call a one-of-a-kind experience.

Farm 2 Door is a local food retail company that started in the early days of the pandemic to help connect people with local food producers. Bart Nagel, the business owner, decided to team up with Kelly Kurtz's Midland Food Tours to offer a new local food picnic experience in North Simcoe.

"It revolves around the idea that local food is best enjoyed where it came from, where it comes from," Nagel tells CTV News. "In our case, that is Georgian Bay."

The two businesses are established in the North Simcoe area, including Midland and Penetanguishene.

The service will offer locally grown and curated food in a picnic basket for people to enjoy wherever they please throughout the region.

There will be two packages available: one includes a traditional picnic basket with cutlery and dishes, while another option comes in different packaging for people who do not want to bring the items back at the end.

"I'm all about local food experiences, experiencing the local area through food, so when he proposed the idea of a picnic basket, it's awesome," said Kurtz.

Kurtz says this service can either be enjoyed as a standalone option or go well as an add-on to one of her summer tour packages, where she takes visitors throughout the region to visit local restaurants while providing background information on the area.

"The reaction has been very welcoming because there's no such thing available in our area," said Nagel. "I think more and more people are looking to experience food than just go somewhere, sit down and eat it. This is a service that caters to that."

The project will be held as a pilot throughout the summer.