The Misty Isles Economic Development Society (MIEDS) is promoting fresh local products from Haida Gwaii with a new logo. The Buy Local program is providing MIEDS $5,225 to launch the branding project.

MIEDS is partnering with the Graham Island East Coast Farmers’ Institute and local food producers to promote products from Haida Gwaii. The project is aimed at supporting the local agriculture, wild-harvest and seafood community by creating promotional materials for use in grocery stores and at farmers’ markets to highlight items from the area.

The new logo for the project “Produced on Haida Gwaii” will label fresh produce including vegetables, greenhouse produce, meat and seafood, and local artisan goods. Shoppers will be able to easily identify products from Haida Gwaii and choose to buy locally and support local farmers and food producers.

The logo will be unveiled July 31-Aug. 2 at the Tlell Fall Fair and other farmers’ markets on the islands. For more information, visit: www.mieds.ca

MIEDS is a non-profit society dedicated to economic development on Haida Gwaii. Established in 2008, the organization was created to enable co-ordinated efforts between island communities and to pursue joint economic development activities.

The Buy Local program has received $6 million in B.C. government funding since 2012 to increase sales of locally grown and processed agrifood and seafood products within the province.

Building the local market for B.C. foods is a key commitment of government's Agrifoods Strategy, a component of the BC Jobs Plan, to lead the agrifoods sector growth into a $14-billion-a-year industry by 2017.

The provincial government's Buy Local program is administered by the Investment Agriculture Foundation of British Columbia. Applications are available at: http://iafbc.ca/funding-opportunities/buy-local/

Quotes:

Minister of Environment Norm Letnick –

“Supporting local food sources in regions like Haida Gwaii is vital to creating a thriving and established community now and for future generations. The funding from the Buy Local program will help raise awareness for consumers of the local, high-quality food available from the islands.”

Cameron Bell, economic development officer, Misty Isles Economic Development Society –

“Looking for local food on Haida Gwaii should be easier with the new local food brand and promotional materials. We look forward to continuing implementation of the Agriculture Strategy with our local producers.”

Learn More:

Misty Isles Economic Development Society: http://www.mieds.ca/

Graham Island East Coast Farmers’ Institute: https://sites.google.com/site/giecfi/

B.C. Buy Local program: http://www.gov.bc.ca/agri/buylocal.html