Real Food, Real People and Sobeys #BetterFoodForAll

I recently had an amazing opportunity to visit Stellarton, Nova Scotia to learn more about Sobeys, local foods and what our great country has to offer. An added bonus to the trip was to see a live cooking demo by Jamie Oliver himself.

Prior to this event, when I thought of local foods, I thought of local farmer's markets but it's so much more than that.

This picture I came across on the internet one day really got me thinking about the way we spend money on our daily produce and what a difference each person can make by spending as little as $100 a year on supporting local businesses. I easily spend $100 on groceries for a week or two.

The Sobeys event was all about showcasing food displays which included stations by nine local vendors. It was great to learn that Sobeys buys more local products than any other grocery retailer in Atlantic Canada. 

The best part of the event for me was interacting and conversing with the local vendors to hear their stories and how they have gotten to where they are today. With the amount of resources that Canada has, there is no reason for us as consumers to make purchases outside of our very own economy if its available. Why cook with something that has been transported from elsewhere for days when you can purchase out of your own country's backyard? 

There are so many local vendors which offer great products but check out the ones that were at the event!

Pure Infused Maple Syrup

Haskapa Haskap Berry Products

Knoydart Farms

Valley Flaxflour Ltd

PepperHead

Verger Belliveau's Orchard

Red Soil Organics

AC Covert

Just Us! Coffee Roasters Co-op

If you find local products that don't match perfectly to a recipe you're using, change the recipe up a little bit and you'll realize how far your creativity can take you! We were fortunate enough to see a live cooking demo by Jamie Oliver while he prepared a shoulder of pork served with Haskap & Apple sauce with the Haskap dried berries and apples from Verger Belliveau's Orchard. He also prepared smashed potatoes and baked his protein loaf using flax flour from Valley Flaxflour Ltd. 

Last but not least, no trip to Halifax is complete without munching down on a lobster roll so I made a slight detour to downtown Halifax to enjoy a delicious lobster roll and piping hot seafood chowder from Mckelvie's. 

We challenge all of you to take a trip to your local supermarket or Sobeys and out what local vendors and  produce is in your area and experiment with something new! 

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