6 hours Ago By Tanya Hill
Tariffs imposed on Canadian goods put forth by United States president Donald Trump, not to mention, the threat of making Canada its 51st state, has spurred folks in BC and across the country to think about supporting local businesses and food growers. The Canadian government also moved with its own retaliatory measures, including a list of counter-tariffs imposed on US imports. The list, released on March 4, includes a 25 per cent tariff [tax] on many fruits and vegetables and other food staples coming into Canada.
That means food costs could increase in BC. For some qathet region food growers, such as Ron Berezan, manager of Blueberry Commons Farm Cooperative, this [trade war] is seen as an opportunity to create a more secure food system. "This is a wake-up call for our very fragile food system that has for too long been overly dependent on food imports from south of the border," Berezan stated in a social media message.
"Plant your gardens, be prepared to shift your food choices; store food up; plan to trade and barter; cut down on waste and buy bulk when you can." Berezan had a few suggestions for those with less space, such as joining a community garden or gleaning program and learning how to gather local wild foods. "Above all, buy Canadian or Mexican if there is no Canadian option," he added.
"Plan now for a closer relationship with the farms and other local food producers in your region." According to Canada Food Flows , an interactive website developed by UBC researchers, US states supply 67 per cent of Canada’s vegetable imports and 36 percent of Canada’s fruit imports. Much of BC's fresh food also comes from elsewhere, including: 81 per cent of BC’s spinach, 70 per cent of BC’s lettuce, and 75 per cent of BC's onions coming from the US in 2022, and 92 per cent of BC's strawberries imported from the US and Mexico in 2022.
Although cross-border agreements, including what's now called the Canadian-United States-Mexico Agreement (CUSMA), has for the most part benefited BC and Canadian consumers by providing goods like fruits and vegetables year-round to our supermarkets, it has also pulled people away from buying locally grown produce, due to the misconception that it’s cheaper to buy from a big-box store. "Every year I go into a couple of big grocery stores, I look at the price of things, and it's definitely not always true that local food is more expensive," said Berezan, in an interview with the Peak. "Often farms will be sometimes much cheaper than the grocery store on some things.
" Blueberry Commons, plus a few other farms in qathet, offer what's called a CSAs (Community Supported Agriculture) box, which provides individuals and families with fresh local produce every week during the late-spring/summer/ fall seasons. Investing in a CSA gives a farm some security and assurance that its produce will be bought and consumed. "There's a bit of an opportunity to develop our local food system more robustly, so not as dependent and subject to things like what's happening now," said Berezan.
"Something that we've had going for a few years now is our farm bonds; a way for people to invest in having organic produce throughout the season." Berezan said farm bonds are similar to a CSA but also a little different. "Farm Bonds are a way of prepaying for some of the local fruits and vegetables you will eat in the coming year," said Berezan.
"They are not tied to a specific crop and this will allow you to purchase any fresh produce you want, when you want it, in the quantities you need, at our farm stand in Wildwood or through our web store and the farmers' market." Most farms in BC now provide CSAs in order to help farmers buy their seeds, fertilizer, hire staff and all the things a farm needs to do in a growing season. "People will find that the cost of local produce is going to be even more competitive than it has been," said Berezan.
"There's no comparing produce that's fresh and has been harvested that day, compared to weeks ago; the nutritional quality of it, begins to decline." Having more farms and more competitiveness usually drives prices down, and across BC farmers' markets have seen that happen. Berezan also encourages people to try and grow more of their own food.
"Not everyone has the time or space, but I would suggest to plant some things you really love to eat and have fresh and then create a relationship with a farm locally," said Berezan. Trade wars and tariffs are not the only concerns farmers have; climate change is another quiet but destructive threat that is very real for British Columbians, since most of our fresh food comes from California. "With big climate events, fires, drought, those sorts of things, we have to expect more of that," said Berezan.
"So the closer to home that we have our food grown, the more secure we're going to be." Learning skills such as canning, preserving and fermenting, similar to what our grandmothers and great-grandmothers did, is also something Berezan said could help us. "We can grow so much here in the summer, spring and early fall, but there are a few lean months; we need to develop ways to store up that food, as we've done historically," said Berezan.
"We've become sort of complacent because we've [our generation] come to know food as always being there, but it may not be the case, so gaining those skills is important." Berezan has some suggestions on how to support local growers: Join a CSA (food subscription box program); shop at local farmers' markets; shop at local farm stands; sign up for u-picks and volunteer at a local farm. "We have started seeding crops and will be running our u-pick once again this year," said Berezan.
For information about what's happening at Powell River Farmers' Market, go to powellriverfarmersmarket.blogspot.com .
Find out more about farm bonds at blueberrycommons.ca/shop/farm-bonds . To learn more about the benefits of u-pick, go to blueberrycommons.
ca/shop/upick . Terra Nostra Farm also is offering CSA boxes for 2025. Join the Peak’s email list for the top headlines right in your inbox Monday to Friday.
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