Heartland Quality Foods – Kamloops, B.C.

Heartland Quality Foods (HQF), based out of Kamloops B.C.,  is the product of over two years of hard work by a dedicated group of farmers community activists.  This summer, I was met with 3 of the farm families who sell product through HQF as well as Marla and Andrea who have played a key role in the day-to-day affairs, promotion and organization  for the group. 

The issues faced by this nascent cooperative are striking similar to those faced by the Harvest Moon Society Local Food Initiative (HMSLFI) in Manitoba and others across the country. HQF, in one regard, is a step ahead of Harvest Moon in that they have retail and cold storage space in Kamloops. Where HMSLFI have been developing ideas and working on a business plan for almost two years, HQF took a different approach by starting to sell products much earlier in the life of their cooperative and adjusting to challenges along the way. It will be interesting to watch these two initiatives grow and compare the two approaches over time.

Despite having thriving direct marketing businesses, the members of HQF are committed to the success of the collective effort. They are driven by a desire to create sustainable agro-food systems with a commitment to developing a healthy  local food system for this and the next generation of eaters and farmers. The similarities in motivations and experiences between HQF and the other collective marketing organizations was astonishing. There is certainly much learning and collaboration that could take place between these groups and individuals. I hope to facilitate this through my research. 

One of the greatest challenges faced by both individual and collective direct marketers is to make their foodstuffs accessible and convenient to customers. HQF has experimented with a boxed food program, deliveries to restaurants and has opened  a small retail outlet in a building that also houses a cold storage business. Despite being affordable and being located next to a cold storage business (essential to a perishable food distribution company), the location is somewhat “off the beaten path”

 and it is difficult to draw consumers in. Yet, two or three customers dropped in to the store when I was visiting with Andrea Gunner.  Owning retail space rather than selling wholesale allows collective marketing groups to capture more of the value out of the food chain and delivers food to consumers in a convenient and familiar way. However, managing a retail store is expensive and requires a diverse set of skills. 

The momentum and early success of HQF left me hopeful and excited. The parallel emergence of similar alternative food networks across the country is indicative of a growing discontent with the status quo and a sign that we are on the right track.

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