Our True Local Program

The Canadian Definition of Local

In May 2013, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) announced a new definition of the word “local,” establishing that “local” could refer to anything sourced within a province or within 50 km of provincial borders. This definition allows marketers and retailers to brand products as “local” even though they could have been produced as far as 1800km away!  

Our Definition of Local

In order to more accurately reflect the values of our members and our truly local vendors, the Kootenay Co-op decided we needed a more precise definition of local than the one established by the CFIA. As a result, we created our True Local program which defines local as a 160km (100 mile) radius from our store. We feel this definition more accurately reflects the spirit of what “local” truly means. It is based upon the geography of our local bioregion, known as the Kootenays. It is defined by physical and environmental features, including watershed boundaries and terrain characteristics.  

Our True Local program works to promote the products of more than 150 farmers, bakers and makers, who operate within a 160km (100 mile) radius of our store. The program helps us to bring our vision and mission to life by investing in the social, environmental and economic sustainability of our local community.  

Now that’s what we call Local!