The 100 Mile Diet Resource:
Essential Goods Local to the Maritimes
I have heard from those beginning to eat locally that a big hurdle was not knowing where to procure local goods. It can be more complex than just going to one big box superstore
Beginning to eat local can be a daunting process at first, but is completely achievable by making small changes to our diet and cooking and procuring habits. This resource is intended to point the way to local providers of essentials and staples so we can begin to:
Reduce our carbon footprint
Keep money in the Maritimes
Keep Maritimers employed and local fields in production
The cost of eating local is at least partially offset by making changes like buying in bulk, direct ordering from farmers and cooking from scratch. Buy local as much as you can afford, and be sure your money is an investment in our foodshed of the future.
Dry goods and flour
Speerville's local products include: Red Fyfe flour, other wheat flours, pancake mix, Van Dyne dry beans, spelt, rye, oats, Maple products. Their other goods are organic but sourced from outside the Maritimes.
Speerville Flour Mill
152 Speerville Road
Speerville, NB E7N 1S2
Toll Free Phone: 866-277-6371
speerville@xplornet.com
Mushrooms, spawn kits, mycoremediation
Available at The Local Source, The storehouse, the Seaport Farmers' market and more!
Valley mushrooms
Box 59, Waterville, N.S. B0P 1V0
info@valleymushrooms.com
www.valleymushrooms.com/
Produce, eggs, fruit
The Local Source (5783 Charles St Halifax),The Grainery (2385 Agricola St, Halifax), Homegrown Organics (6186 Allan St Halifax), the Old Brewery and Seaport markets, Tantallon market, Halifax Shopping Centre on Thursdays during the growing season, Dartmouth farmer's market, Local Jo's cafe (2959 Oxford St, Halifax), other farmers' markets. Sobeys and Superstore will usually label Atlantic grown produce seasonally.
Dairy: milk, butter, cheese, ice cream
All Farmers Dairy is produced in Nova Scotia
Sobeys, Atlantic Superstore, Pete's Frootique,
That Dutchman's Cheese
Seaport Farmer's Market, The Local Source (5783 Charles Street Halifax, NS)
Fox hill Dairy
Seaport Farmer's Market
Leicester's Deli & Cheese Emporium (6253 Quinpool rd)
Soy Products
Tofu, veggie burgers, tofu slices, jerky, dips and spreads, veggie pate, pot pies, tofu turkey, okara sausage, okara bars and granola, baked goods. Available at Sobeys and Pete's Frootique, the Grainery, Home Grown Organics, Chester Organics, Mariposa Natural Market.
Acadiana Soy
Box34, Grand Pre, NS, 542-0675
www.acadianasoy.ca
Meat and poultry
Local seasonally pastured and grass fed meat and poultry can be found at the Storehouse (5544 Kaye Street), Halifax, the old Brewery and Seaport farmer's markets, Local Jo's, Charcuterie Ratinaud (2082 Gottingen), Flipburger (277 Lacewood), The Armview Restaurant (7156 Chebucto), The Wooden Monkey (1707 Grafton Street, Alderney landing) and more.
Fish (cod, haddock, or hake)
The Off The Hook CSA is organised by the Ecology Action Centre to link consumers to fishers who use sustainable harvesting methods. The fish is distributed to Halifax (Brewery Market and Ecology Action Centre), Wolfville, Truro, Bedford, Dartmouth, Tatamagouche, Tantallon, Lower Prospect, Musquodoboit Harbour, and the Digby Neck Islands. www.offthehookcsf.ca
Shellfish
Chadebucto trap caught shrimp are sustainably trapped close to the shore in the Strait of Canso. Available at Pete's Frootique and possibly other specialty fish stores. If not, ask for it!
Alen Newell
Chedabucto Bay Trap-Shrimp Fisherman
366-2115
alennewell@hotmail.com
Vegetable oil
Organic bulk sunflower, flax, pumpkin, and canola oils. Available in bulk at the Grainery
(2385 Agricola, Halifax, (902) 446-3301 www.thegrainery.wikispaces.com)
Fox Mill Organic Oils
8961 Peggy's Cove Road
Indian Harbour, NS
www.foxmill.info
Honey and beeswax
One of our largest producers are Cosman and Whidden, who can be found at the Halifax Seaport Farmers’ Market. Some other producers are Cornect Family Farm and Smeltzers, available at the Java Blend Cafe (6027 North Street Halifax) and Avery's markets.
Cosman and Whidden
www.novascotiahoney.com
Cornect Family Farm
New Glasgow, NS,
www.cornectfamilyfarm.com
G.G. Smeltzer & Son Honey
Shubenacadie, NS
smeltzers@ns.sympatico.ca
Maple Syrup
You can find a handy list of all NS maple producers at this website: www.novascotiamaplesyrup.com. One nearby producer/distributor is Acadian Maple: 13578 Peggy`s Cove Rd. Upper Tantallon NS, 826-2312, www.acadianmaple.com
Dulse
Dulse is a dry seaweed nutritional amendment and snack food, it is leathery and salty and surprisingly tasty. Get your dulse from www.fundydulse.com Or many shops and grocery stores around town.
Juice and Vinegar
Boates Orchard
home.xcountry.tv/~kb/
Apple cider and Pear juices and vinegar. Available at Old Brewery Farmer's Market, select Sobeys, Pete's Frootique, The Local Source, The Grainery
Terra Beata Cranberry Farms
www.novascotiacranberry.ca
Juice concentrate, dried and frozen cranberries, preserves, sauces
Available at the Local Source, Seaport Farmer's Market and Atlantic Superstore.
Northumberland Max
www.northumberlanddairy.ca
Union-made cranberry, cran-blueberry juices and lemonade from Miramichi. Available at Sobeys
If anybody is reading this who might want to become a grower, here is a wish list from one aspiring locavore:
Frozen and canned chopped vegetables;
Canned beans;
Beans other than Jacob's Cattle and Soy
Pasta and couscous;
Potato chips,
Hot malt and chickory drinks and coffee substitutes;
Raisins and dried fruit;
Sea salt;
Other seaweeds than dulse like Irish Moss, Kelp and sea lettuce;
Rice and other grains from wheat oats and barley;
Gluten free facilities;
Tree nuts;
Peanut butter;
A greater quantity and variety of greenhouse greens in the winter.
Also, coffee, chocolate and cane sugar would be nice, but we'll take it one step at a time.
--edit-- I've discovered today that Terra Beata also sells local dried apple and cranberry slices available at the Local Source.
--edit-- I believe Covered Bridge chips are Maritime-made. An interesting corollary to this is that PEI so aggressively exports potatoes that these Maritime spuds crowd out local potatoes in other places, including Peru, where the breed originated.
