Mere weeks after a major Vancouver Island grocery chain began heavily promoting locally raised meats, shoppers Island-wide are starting to take notice of two Comox Valley producers.

Last month, Country Grocer officially launched its 鈥淰ancouver Island Raised Meats鈥� section in each of its six Vancouver Island stores.  Featured prominently in the section are pork products from the Comox Valley鈥檚 own Tannadice Farms and beef from Island Pastures.

鈥淭his is huge, absolutely,鈥� says Allen McWilliam, who operates Tannadice Farms with his wife Heather. 鈥淲e鈥檙e seeing sales up since the section launched, but more importantly we鈥檙e noticing an increased level of interest in local products.鈥�

McWilliam says he鈥檚 received several e-mails from Country Grocer shoppers inquiring about Tannadice Farms and their ethical farming practices. 

鈥淎fter I answer their questions, I always invite them to visit the farm if they鈥檙e ever up this way,鈥� he says. 鈥淲e respect our animals; we don鈥檛 medicate their feeds and we don鈥檛 feed them growth hormones or animal byproducts. We鈥檙e proud of our methods, and we鈥檙e always willing to welcome guests to the farm.鈥�

鈥淲e鈥檝e received e-mails from quite a few customers thanking us for carrying local products,鈥� echoes Tammy Averill, marketing manager for Country Grocer. 鈥淭he less-travelled food appeals to a lot of people these days, and food safety and origin are always hot topics. Country Foods is locally owned and operated, so it鈥檚 a good fit.  

鈥淥ur director of meats and seafood, Dave Hubscher, has visited each of the farms,鈥� she adds. 鈥淗e respects their practices and he feels really good about putting their products on our shelves.鈥�

It鈥檚 Hubscher鈥檚 dedication to local producers to which McWilliam largely credits the success of the new section. Without the hard work of people like Hubscher and locally minded companies like Country Grocer, he says, Vancouver Island might be a different place.

鈥淚f you want nice green, pastoral settings like we have here on Vancouver Island, you鈥檇 better have a strong agricultural base to support it,鈥� he explains. A vibrant agricultural sector is also a strong economic driver and contributes to the long-term sustainability of the region, he adds.

鈥淚t鈥檚 a feel-good thing,鈥� says Averill. 鈥淪ometimes you have to make decisions based on the right things to do.鈥�

To learn more about Tannadice Farms, or to purchase local meats directly from the farm, call 250-338-8239 or visit . To find a Country Grocer location, visit .