Every independent grocer in Halifax (and beyond) | City | Halifax, Nova Scotia

As the cost of living continues to soar, people are finding it increasingly hard to afford food. Normally when unemployment is low, food bank use is also low. When levels of employment are as high as they are now, food bank use should also be down. However, the demand is still on the rise. The only thing increasing faster than food bank usage rates are grocery store profits. And even though the Competition Bureau says we need stronger regulation to break up these monopolies, so far that legislation does not exist.

On top of that, Nova Scotia faces a food security problem. We import most of our food: Approximately 87% comes from somewhere else. As carbon pricing ravages transportation costs and climate change ravages fertile lands, we are slowly but surely adding to the tally of Nova Scotians who are unable to afford food.

In our heart of hearts, I think we all know this current time of abundance—in which we’re able to get every food in the world at any time of the year—can’t last, but not many of us suspected we would have to change our food habits so substantially in our lifetime. While it’s easy to say “shop local,” it’s hard to do—and it’s harder still to change our habits in ways that we can maintain. It’s just not feasible for many of us to spend time learning how to cook seasonally, or learn a new cuisine, or take the extra time to shop at local independent stores.

That’s where this map comes in. You can see what’s around you, what’s close to your work, if there’s a place where you can shop on your lunch break. A stop on your way home. And every time you buy bread from a local bakery, buy meat from a local butcher or shop at a local market, you’re helping grow the demand and an economy for more local food.

But more importantly, you’re also starting to get out from under the thumb of our grocery overlords. When you shop local, you’re starting to fight back against the rampant greed of our grocery barons.