Photo Credit: Chloe Benko-Prieur
It’s that time of year when many people gather together with their friends and family and enjoy a big feast. This year, things look a little different. With gatherings being smaller than usual, food preparations may change. Discovery Organics, one of BCPMA’s members, released a market report explaining the modifications for this year’s Thanksgiving hauls. Below you’ll see how they’re adapting to this year’s new normal and how their fresh produce is doing.
According to Discovery Organics, there are two silver linings if pre-sales don’t meet the normal levels around this time of year due to COVID-19: “We find that we sell about 8 days worth of produce in the 7 days pre-Thanksgiving, and about 6 days worth in the week following, compared to the normal of the weeks before and after. So it’s not like anyone will drown if sales don’t peak next week” (Discovery Organics). Another bright side is that the main produce used for these dinners are root vegetables such as brussel sprouts, yams, potatoes, carrots and squash. It’s less likely these will rot which means if sales ramp up, there won’t as big of an issue with stock.
Next up is a breakdown of a few select produce items:
Apples: Apples are the quintessential fruit of the fall and with them you can make the best Thanksgiving desserts (think apples pies and apple crumbles). Discovery Organics has had challenges getting the harvested apples into grocery stores and farmers markets in 2020. There are limited amounts of Early Fuji apples while Later Fuji are about a month away. Gala apples are coming in strong, Ambrosia will be coming in shortly and Honeycrisp are here to stay.
Potatoes and Yams: Both potatoes and yams are out of the ground and ready to be eaten just in time for Thanksgiving. Seiglinde, a type of potato otherwise known as German Butter, is one of the more popular ones. Every year, Randy Hooper of Discovery Organics grows a little patch specifically for friends, family and neighbours. These little yellow potatoes are great for any meal. Get ready to enjoy the local BC produce this Thanksgiving.
Grapes: With the support of Destination British Columbia, the BC Wine Institute launched BC Wine Harvest Month. This takes place for the whole month of October and it celebrates all things harvest and wine. With the goal of encouraging local support and to strengthen the wine industry, the BC Wine Institute partnered with Destination Britsih Columbia, the BC Hotel Association, BC Restaurant and Food Association and BC Seafood Alliance.
Wet Greens: Greens have been a sore spot for the product market. Due to the fires in California, insects, drought and smoke, there’s been damage to the produce. In the meantime, growers and farmers are doing their best to provide for their consumers.
One of the best things people can do is support their local farmers and buy organic food in BC. Whether you’re downsizing this Thanksgiving or keeping things simple and opting out on all the cooking this year, you can still support your local farmers for all your produce needs.
