The agri-food corridor in southern Alberta produces everything from potatoes to sugar, wheat to beef, and a food tourism initiative aims to celebrate the businesses that support the farms.
Savour Alberta’s South: Farm to Fork is a campaign entering its second year following success in 2024 and it’s a full region effort.
“We work with our partners in Medicine Hat, Taber, Crowsnest Pass, this year Waterton has come on board and this initiative is really just about showcasing those in our community who are using locally-sourced products,” said Erin Crane, CEO of Tourism Lethbridge.
She says food tourism is on the rise in southern Alberta.
“The people who come here are very much into adventure, but are also those culture seekers. The food tourism part of that is a big portion — they want to learn something, they want to understand about the culture. For us, that always ties back to food.”
For one local bakery, food tourism is very real.
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“We’ve had people even from Saskatchewan and Manitoba that will come through on their road trips as well, so it’s really far-reaching,” said Jamie Bootsma, owner of Bootsma Bakery.
She says the Farm to Fork campaign is great because supporting local is already baked into her business — literally.
“The sugar that we use is Alberta 22, so it’s stamped with the 22 from the Rogers plant in Taber. All of our baking has locally-sourced sugar to support the sugar beet growers.”
Her sourdough and whole wheat breads are also exclusively baked with local flours.
“We live in Canada’s premier food corridor as well, so to be able to support and know the food is grown locally, it’s sourced locally, you get to build the relationships in the community as well. I think that’s super important and impactful,” said Bootsma.
The tourism campaign runs through most of November, starting on Saturday, and Bootsma says her business will celebrate with a tasty treat featuring three berries from the region.
“(It will have) haskaps from Prairie Hill Farms, it’s going to have strawberries from Broxburn and then it’s going to have Saskatoon Berries from a farm outside of Coaldale.”
The high-rising Watertower Grill and Bar in Lethbridge tells Global News they also exclusively use Alberta beef and other meat to ensure they are supporting the community they serve.
So, whether you choose to have lunch at Streatside Eatery in the downtown core, dinner at the Firestone along Mayor Magrath Drive, or grab an evening drink at Theoretically Brewing, local options are aplenty in Lethbridge.
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