The bounty of the Shuswap is well known by those who live here and those who visit.
Fresh vegetables and fruit grow well in the rich Salmon River Valley and other areas.
Yet access to this bounty is not always as accessible as it should be to those who live here.
This has not gone unnoticed by residents, who have suggested having institutional food provided locally, as well as being available in all grocery stores.
The new Agriculture Minister, Lana Popham, is proposing what sound like logical, rational changes to the Agricultural Land Reserve.
Rather than just protecting farm land, she would like to see supports for farming itself.
“So what we have to do is make sure that land stays protected, but put in policies that add possibilities for income,” she said in a recent interview with Black Press. “My whole mandate is based on economic development for agriculture.”
Part of her plan, she says, is called Grow BC. She gives the example of a fruit filling processor in Abbotsford who could create applesauce for the hospital system and would be willing to make certain a percentage is from B.C. apples.
Along with that is Feed BC, which would encourage institutions such as hospitals and long-term care facilities – anywhere where the province is spending money on procuring food, to increase the amount of food that is not only grown in B.C. but processed in B.C.
“The best thing about this,” she said, “is it really reaches into the rural communities that I think have been left out of development with agriculture as a leader. When you look at a place like 100 Mile House, their hospital was getting fruit cups from China, right in the middle of our fruit season.”
This makes complete sense. Provide consumers with healthy local food at the same time as providing local farmers a dependable income, without ruining our planet with the pollution and resource consumption that comes with transporting long distances.