A Barrie bakery served up the perfect opportunity for a talk about this year’s federal budget earlier this week.
Helena Jaczek, minister of public services and procurement, visited Via Oliveto Bakery in the city’s south end Thursday morning as part of the Liberal MP’s Budget 2023 tour, which also saw her make stops in her riding of Markham-Stouffville, as well as in Newmarket and Etobicoke.
While in Barrie, Jaczek met with Oliveto Bakery manager Rachel Zappia, partner Patrick Zappia and their head baker.
The visit served as a “great occasion to talk about the $500,000 investment that the bakery received in January 2022 from the government,” explained Olivier Pilon, the minister’s press secretary, in an email to BarrieToday.
“When the minister had another portfolio, as federal minister of economic development, she announced a repayable contribution for Zappia Fine Foods Ltd., operating as Via Oliveto Bakery. This funding allowed the company to outfit its new Barrie facility with a leading-edge bakery production line, including a tunnel oven and mixer,” he said.
The grant allowed the wholesale bakery to pursue market growth opportunities and drive economic growth in the region, stated Pilon, adding that Rachel Zappia is from the M’Chigeeng First Nation and leads the company’s new inclusive hiring plan of Indigenous people, which is a direct result of this funding.
“The visit was also an opportunity to highlight the grocery rebate in Budget 2023 and promote buying locally," Pilon said. "This family-owned and -operated company began in 1988 when Pasquale Zappia started baking artisanal flatbreads from his home basement for Toronto-area hotels, restaurants and businesses. The company now employs four people and is expected to add two new jobs to its roster.”
