Support local farmers and local food, STU prof urges province

A St. Thomas University professor is calling on the New Brunswick government to ensure businesses such as the recently closed Real Food Connections aren't shuttered.

Control of the produce market by a few big players makes itdifficult for smaller, homegrown businesses, said KellyBronson, the acting chair ofSTU'sscience and technology studies department.

"It's really hard for retailers like Real Foods to compete economically, no matter how many consumers they draw in," said Bronson.

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Bronson said a few big companies, including Costco and George Weston Ltd.,which owns Superstore and other grocery chains, control the market that supplies produce to retailers.

"When the players are that big they can really kind of price set, so they can set prices that are not exactly fair for the farmer," Bronson said.

"They buy in low, and then they sell at somewhat of a discount to consumers.Therefore they undercut these local retailers."

Connections closure

Real Food Connections, a business that had retail locations is Fredericton and Saint John and ran a food box program in Moncton, shut itsdoors Nov. 30 after being unable to find investors.

"My final attempts and efforts were declined at the end of last week and it became very clear that we were not going to pull out of this, and that we needed to make the hard decision," founder Levi Lawrence wrote in a post to shareholders.

The closure affectsmany farmers and food producers in the province. Tim Livingstone, who owns Strawberry Hill Farm in Pembroke, said 20 per cent of his total food sales were to the small retailer.

"So for us, it's quite a hit," Livingstone said. "It ultimately means that my wife and I won't get paid this year for any of our work."

Gallant's growth plan

Bronson said the province should subsidize local food in the province, citing other provinces that have done so.

"Ontario has a huge buy local, or buy Ontario, strategy that's funded by the provincial government and funds various different initiatives," Bronson said.

In April2015, Real Food Connectionsreceived almost $55,000 from multiple levels of government to open kitchen and cold storage facilities for food producers.

Bronson said subsidieswould fit into the Gallant government's growth plan unveiled in September. The plan highlights local food and beverages as a sector for growth.

Bronson said access to the local market is key to attracting people to this industry.

"One of the main goals of this growth plan is really to draw people to the province," she said. "And I think in this case young farmers who are willing to grow alternative farming systems that cater to local markets, then access to markets are a really big issue.

"A kind of middle person that connects local growers with local consumers those are key to really providing agricultural markets for the kind of farmers the premier's office imagines coming to this province."