The company will purchase more local produce

By Diego Flammini
Staff Writer
Farms.com

One of Canada’s largest grocery chains is taking steps to ensure more locally produced fruits and vegetables are available to consumers.

Loblaws will invest $150 million more each year by 2025 to purchase produce from Canadian producers, the company announced today. The grocer will focus on buying vegetables that it previously imported from other countries.

Loblaws will also work with producers to help them implement different growing methods and extend Canada’s short growing season.

“This effort is a large and logical extension of commitments we’ve been making for decades,” Frank Pagliaro, vice-president of produce for Loblaws, said in a statement today.

“We’re investing in Canadian innovation, supporting local farmers, extending shelf life to offer fresher goods, serving new tastes, and helping the environment by reducing food waste and the carbon footprint generated by international shipments.”

This spending plan builds on the company’s commitment to local produce.

Consumers will find more Canadian fruits and vegetables in Loblaws stores than in any other grocery chain, the company said.

The investment will also help the grocer and Canadian farmers stay on the cutting edge of crop production, said Galen Weston, chairman and CEO of Loblaw Companies.

“We are applying new resources to accelerate that work, helping Canadian farmers find new opportunities to provide global products and year-round freshness, grown right here at home,” he said in today’s statement.

Farms.com has reached out to the Ontario Fruit and Vegetable Growers’ Association for reaction to the Loblaws announcement. Farms.com has also contacted Loblaws for further insight into how Canadian farmers can benefit from the investment.