Where Does Your Food Come From?
Updated: Aug. 07, 2019
We take a look at some popular grocery-store items and spotlight the places that put these foods on your table
Potatoes
The humble spud is the largest vegetable crop in Canada, which is handy, since Canadians love ‘taters: Each of us consumes, on average, 28 kilos a year.
Region spotlight: Prince Edward Island has been growing potatoes for over two centuries. There are around 330 potato growers on the Island, with the majority of these being family farms, all of which adhere to sustainable farming practices.
Cheese
Canadians adore cheese, consuming an average of 12.4 kilos per year. That’s a lot of cheddar-and Brie, and Gouda, and mozzarella, and…well, you get it.
Region Spotlight: Home to the biggest artisan-cheese show in North America-The Great Canadian Cheese Festival-Prince Edward County has a long history of cheese making. For more than 110 years, Black River Cheese Company produces a wide variety, including an award-winning mild cheddar. Made with the highest-quality ingredients, including 100% pure Canadian milk, the cheeses can be purchased at the factory, which is nestled along the banks of the actual Black River just outside the hamlet of Milford, or at select stores.
Apples
These juicy fruit are grown in several provinces, including B.C., Ontario, Quebec, New Brunswick and Nova Scotia. Canadian orchards produce almost 21 million bushels a year, making it easy for you to get your apple a day.
Region Spotlight: Most B.C. apples are grown in the south-central Okanagan-Similkameen Valleys. The Valley farmers grow a variety of apples, including Golden Delicious, Pink Lady and Ambrosia. Fun fact: The latter was discovered, by chance, on a B.C. orchard in the 1990s, and the sweet apple was named “Ambrosia,” meaning “food of the gods.”
Chickpeas
Canucks are crazy for chickpeas, and it’s no wonder: These versatile legumes are nutritional powerhouses, packed with fibre and protein, and rich in vitamins and minerals such as manganese and folate.
Region Spotlight: Saskatchewan grows 99 percent of chickpeas in Canada; The province produced 131 thousand tonnes of them in 2014-that’s a lot of hummus! Kabuli chickpeas, also known as garbanzo beans, are the main variety, followed by the smaller, brown-coloured desi chickpea.
