We did come and enjoy the music, food, people and the festival this weekend. It was awesome! The music was great, food was incredible and we left with a fistful of information and a gratifying feeling about being part of something good.
Ambrosio Markets & Deli - photo taken by Eric Leong
People often become excited once they learn some of the benefits of eating locally; however, all that dissipates when they start thinking about all the effort they would have to go through in order to fulfill their weekly grocery needs. Cucumbers are no longer an aisle away from the dairy section. In some cases, purveyors of local food find themselves driving from one farm to another, guzzling litres of gas only to pick up a couple of pounds of vegetables. The thought of all this inconvenience may cause some to turn away from pursuing the idea of eating locally altogether, but I encountered one exhibitor at the Festival who rightfully has become the middleman between Island farmers and Victoria residents. Ambrosia Markets & Deli is a distributor that helps deliver the produce of 45 island farmers to people looking for local produce.
I heard about Ambrosio’s name before I even had met them as I spoke to some of the local farmers at the Festival. Several of them distribute to Ambrosio, which has a loyal following of foodies in Victoria for having one of the largest selections of local produce and all natural island meats. Their popularity was evident when Jodi, one of the co-owners, told me that they developed a whopping list of 60 restaurants and caterers (including the Legislative
Beautiful local strawberries - photo taken by Eric Leong
Assembly), to distribute local produce, all within 4 months. As a city dweller myself, I was excited to learn that they also had retail branches in Oak Bay Village, Cook Street Village, and James Bay Village. Since I only have a bicycle, it would’ve been otherwise difficult and cumbersome to travel to all the farms I needed to go to in order to fulfill my weekly diet.
I was more than happy to discover such an initiative here in Victoria. You can find out more about their contact and location information by checking out the Organic Islands Festival Exhibitor Directory.
So, what was all that banter about not eating locally because it’s inconvenient?
