Money talks!  How you spend your food dollars tells local businesses what foods should be offered in local retail outlets. Be vocal to those who have influence about asking for foods that are grown and/or produced close to home, to limit food miles, maximize food freshness and increase the likelihood of sustainably grown food.

• The buyBC Program includes foods that are either 100% grown, caught or raised in BC and those that the majority of the processing and packaging costs originate in BC. Look for the buyBC logo on foods.

• Buy foods when in season. For a list of seasonally available BC fruits and vegetables, visit the ActNow BC site.

• Take the time to read food labels when grocery shopping. Check out the ingredient list. Ingredients are listed in order from most to least, by weight. Thus, the closer an ingredient is to the beginning of the list, the more of it there is in a product. For example, if a label for applesauce has apples as the third ingredient after water and sugar, you know it’s not as healthy a choice as the applesauce that has a single ingredient:  apples. Aim to buy foods with few ingredients and only ingredients you would keep in your own pantry.
• For more information on nutrition labeling, visit Health Canada’s Nutrition Labeling page, the Canadian Diabetes Association and Dietitian of Canada’s Healthy Eating is in Store for You program. Also, be sure to ask at your local grocery store if they offer nutrition tours.