The Manitoba government and a food industry association want consumers in the province to eat more local food.
Premier Greg Selinger, along with representatives of the Manitoba Food Processors Association, unveiled the Buy Manitoba program at a Canada Safeway store in the northeast corner of Winnipeg yesterday.
“With this program, Manitobans will find highly visible signage throughout our stores that specifically celebrates the incredible local selection available at Safeway,” Scott Chollak, Canada Safeway vice-president of retail operations, said in a news release.
Safeway stores in the province will now feature “Buy Manitoba” signs and shelf markers, which should encourage consumers to buy more locally produced food, said Selinger, who attended the official program launch with agriculture minister Ron Kostyshyn.
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Dave Shambrock, Manitoba Food Processors Association executive director, said the program will help small food processors in the province because more Manitobans will discover food that is locally grown or processed.
According to program definitions, any food made with more than 85 percent of the ingredients from the province qualifies as made in Manitoba. A Manitoba processed food product is defined as a product that is processed and packaged in the province.
The Buy Manitoba program is limited to Canada Safeway stores but may expand to other grocers.
