What is on your grocery list this week? A family-owned Comox Valley business is hoping their organic sprouts and microgreens will be picked up by even more British Columbians after receiving funding from the B.C. government’s Buy Local program.

Eatmore Sprouts & Greens Ltd. is receiving $26,500 in Buy Local funds to promote their Vancouver Island-grown products through retailers, farmers markets and food-related community events. The business looks to continue their success by reaching out to new customers and increasing overall sales.

Carmen and Glenn Wakeling are the proud owners of Eatmore Sprouts & Greens Ltd. Their business is located on 1.5 hectares (3.75 acres) near Courtenay and employs 35 people. The organic sprouts (including alfalfa, deli, clover and broccoli) and greens are produced year round in a sustainable indoor growing facility and greenhouse buildings.

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:

Comox Valley MLA Don McRae on behalf of Minister of Agriculture Norm Letnick –

“British Columbia is home to about 20,000 family farms and they provide healthy, local food to families throughout the province. Eatmore Sprout & Greens is a made-in-B.C. success story and I want to congratulate them on receiving their Buy Local funding so they can continue to promote their popular products.”

Eatmore Sprouts & Greens owner Carmen Wakeling –

“Thanks to Buy Local for providing much-needed support to local companies like Eatmore Sprouts. We feel that it is valuable to let people know what we do, why we do it, and how important a local food system and sustainable food production is in this province.”

Learn More:

Eatmore Sprouts & Greens: http://www.eatmoresprouts.com/

B.C. Buy Local program: http://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/industry/agriculture-seafood/agriculture-business-and-economy/programs/bc-buy-local-program