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A basket of strawberries shipped from Chile has an enormous environmental footprint, not to mention the chemicals used to keep it fresh.

By buying the same basket of strawberries from a local farmer, consumers are getting a healthier, fresher product that has less of an environmental impact and is good for the regional economy.

It only makes sense, says the Thunder Bay District Health Unit’s Catherine Schwartz-Mendez, who on Friday helped launch Get Fresh Thunder Bay, a comprehensive guide to local food.

"The Get Fresh campaign promotes locally produced food. The benefits are wide and varied for our community," Schwartz-Mendez said. "It’s fresh, nutritious and loaded with flavour. It’s also important for our environment because of less packaging and it doesn’t travel far."

The 32-page guide, which features a smiling strawberry on its cover, is essentially a directory listing local farms and businesses that make a point to use locally produced food like meat, produce and eggs, to stock their shelves or flavour their menus.

The movement is growing, said Schwartz-Mendez, whose organization has doubled the number of guides in production and caught the attention of more and more businesses.

"This year there are 12 new restaurants and caterers who are making a real effort to source local food," she said, noting the campaign will officially launch on Saturday at the Thunder Bay Farmer’s Market.

In addition to the guide, organizers have also set up a cyberspace marketplace that will allow consumers to shop locally online.

Jodi Belluz, who operates Belluz Farm with her husband, said the idea for a web-based store arose from conversations with local farmers who were looking for ways to get more local food into the hands of more local people.

"We found one of the problems was how to access it," Belluz said. "Different farmers have different hours. We decided to look into models of online marketplaces."

What they came up with is the Superior Seasons Food Market that for a fee allows people and businesses to place orders.

"It’s a real opportunity for farmers to expand their production," Belluz said. "It’s an opportunity for farmers to know how much to produce, how much to harvest."

"It’s opened us up to new customers," said Marianne Stewart of Blue Moon Ranch.
It’s timely too, Belluz added.

"It’s been an early, early season this year, so I think people are going to see lots of local food."