The other night my wife and I went out for supper. We went into a well known restaurant. The waitress came by and asked if we would like a drinks with our meal. I asked to have a product produced by our local Pacific Western Brewery. The restaurant did not stock any of this breweries lines. This isn't the first time I've went into a popular dinning establishment in Prince George and not been able to order a local beer or ale. It is very disappointing.
The wine they had was not local either.
In the last federal election one of the main topics was our carbon foot print.
Since moving to Prince George I have been able at times to get various products like milk, butter, the meat groups except fish, and vegetables all grown by our farms in this area. Unfortunately some of these products are no longer available. Each year I look forward to the fresh bounty of products our local farms produce.
When we buy locally produced products we put our dollars in the community we live in. These dollar are not just spent once but many times over. When we buy a dozen eggs from a farmer for instance. Sure we may pay a higher price than in the store, but farm chicken are allowed to run free and they aren't housed in warehouses. The eggs taste better in my opinion. Fresh products from a farm are the ultimate in taste.
Where is the Chamber of Commerce on this item? This should be an important item to them. To increase the amount of capital staying in Prince George is not only profitable for businesses in the city and area, but it also increases jobs and population growth.
Many of the establishments I go into I see this group's logo on the door, but they have for the most part been silent. I believe that its time for them to become proactive and encourage local farmers and businesses to band together and become more active in the community and promote themselves locally.
The current farmers' market is very small and I would like to see it eventually in a much larger facility.
Prince George produces a lot of good things and I believe it could well produce a lot of other items if it dared to dream.
Stan New,
Prince George
