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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Goderich Signal-Star, 2009-07-29, Page 7• • Goderich Signal -Star, Wednesday, July 29, 2009 - Page 7 Local grocer cuts ties to big -chain wav of business To the Editor; Kudos to grocer Dale Kropf, who was featured in the news lately for cutting ties to the Sobeys franchises to go it on his own. Kropf made the break so he could feature local meat and produce in his five Southwestern Ontario stores. Four other southwestern stores have joined with Kropf's stores in Arthur, Durham, Lucknow and Palmerston. Collectively the nine stores are being called the Hometown Grocers Co-op. Now many folks don't know that corpo- rate policies for the big three grocery chains in Canada - Metro, Loblaws and Sobeys - do not allow grocers under their umbrella to purchase outside of their purchasing plan. Every company whose products are in their stores have "bought" shelf space. So it is not allowed under franchise rules to stock local produce from a mile away that has not made that arrangement with the franchise. And corporations such as Loebs and Sobeys make year-long contracts for say, California strawberries, so local producers haven't got a chance to get into the stores. Sometimes grocers may make an exception, by putting some local produce in a cart in an aisle, but they may risk losing their franchise if they Letters opinion haven't obtained permission to do so. Recalls of products from foreign coun- tries, and issues with listeria even here in Canada are getting people to question pur- chasing food from farther afield. Loebs had made some headway in trying to provide more Ontario and Canadian produce - but food is still travelling thousands of miles to get to the stores. Sometimes food is travel- ling all the way to the food terminal in Toronto, just to drive back on the same roads to the local franchises! People who are conscious of their carbon footprint and people who want to support their local farmers - who are neighbours of theirs- have begun to look elsewhere for fresh local food and many towns are now starting to sponsor farmer's markets once again. But farmer's markets only take place in -season and on the weekends. In a large grocery chain, Kropf says, cor- porate policies stipulate that he only buy federally inspected, as opposed to provin- cially inspected meat. This prevents fran- chisees from stocking local products. Most federally inspected meat in Canada comes from large corporations such as Maple Pride plays out on the field To the Editor; It was with great pride and admiration that we participated in the Ray Ducharme Memorial Tournament for another suc- cessful year. We have watched the tournament grow first in Terry Austin's capable hands and now in the hands of Annette Hoggarth and her group of volunteers. As always, our family was embraced and included. We attended games during the tourna- ment and were so impressed with the way the tournament was run. We know first hand how much time and effort goes into such an undertaking and we would just like to say "hats off to Annette and her volunteers for a job well done'. Minor sports are alive and well in Goderich. Sincerely, Terry Ducharme-Bolger Leaf, Cargill and -1/son. We all know how that can affect our food supply! Never mind the way that these mega -corporations run down the price of meat to the farmers using captive supply. Most of the meat sold on franchise shelves is Alberta beef, as well as a lot of American chicken and pork. Hometown Grocers Co-op member Peter Knipfel, who owns The Chesley Grocery Store, was also featured in the news article. He is part-owner of a provincially inspected local beef processing facility 10 kilometres from his supermarket. Sobeys' corporate policy meant he couldn't stock his shelves with his own beef. Now the meat on his shelves comes from less than 60 miles away. Let's not -kept that taking this step is a huge one for these owners who no longer have the supports in place that come with being in a franchise — the pricing and inven- tory software, the flyer production, the purchasing power, the IT and other resource personnel that they previously relied on, on a day-to-day basis. The new co-op mem- bers also have to hire a purchasing person to take charge of the purchasing and inven- tory of fresh meat and produce. So we really need to commend them for the huge step they have taken on behalf of the con- sumers and producers of fresh local meats, fruits and vegetables. What Kropf, Knipfel and others have done is hope lly a trend that echoes the new realities of the marketplace. Unnecessary trans tion of food over many thousands of miles when it is avail- able closer at hand needs to be a thing of the past. Consumers at the Hometown Grocer's Stores are spending more now on produce at these stores and purchasing better food for their families. And it is ultimately the consumer who is going to make changes in what the big box stores bring in. As consumers we need to support folks like Kropf and Knipfel but we also need to drive the marketplace by making choices that make the big corporate food giants sit up and take notice. Kropf and Knipfel and their associates have made choices that are going to be tough to follow up on. Can you take a stand and make some tough choices too? Willi Laurie Clinton GTA resident miffed at mailings� To the Editor; think it is an abuse of parlimentary I live in the Mississauga South riding privilege to mail election materials, and recently received two mailings, which should be paid for by the "compliments of Ben Lobb, MP." These Conservative Party and not by taxpayers. mailings are attack ads directed at Mr. Lobb, please show more respect for Michael .Ignatieff and do not contain a Canadians, and stop taking advantage of single mention of what the federal gov- your position using my money! ernment is doing or plans to do. I am utterly appalled that my tax dollars are Lori Reesor being spent on such partisan material. I Mississauga Hybrids the new dog combinations Do we have enough designer dog combinations yet? Crossbred dogs or hybrids became popular in the 90s because breeding anything with a poodle usually pro- duced hypoallergenic puppies and messing up the purebred gene pool eliminated many hereditary problems, particularly hip dysplasia. Crossing a Schnauzer with a Poodle gave us a Schnoodle, an Afghan Hound paired with a Labrador Retriever produced,an Afador and a German Shepherd, Husky, Chow Chow combination brought a lit- ter of German Chuskies into the world. don't want to know how the breeder staged a canine three-way but bacon treats and a Lassie sex tape had to be involved. Last month six new hybrid dog breeds were announced on a badly -stained red carpet at dogbreedinfo.com. The Chorkie, the result of a Chihuahua get- ting too cozy with a Yorkshire Terrier produced a dog described as coura- geous and quiet but prone to being stepped on. The Labrading6er from a Labrador Retriever and an English Springer Spaniel is said to be merry and loyal but knocks over small women and children. The Bulloxer, the cross between a Boxer and an American Bulldog is described as happy and play- ful but unable to stop fart- ing. The Gollie from a Golden Retriever and a Collie is supposed to be intelligent and sensitive but can't help itself from herding other animals. The well-mannered Bossi- Poo (Boston Terrier/Poodle) also snores and drools while the all-new Buggs (Boston Terrier/Pug) is affectionate and playful but aggressively guards food, toys and a favorite spot on the couch. On my daily walk I've come to know a Labradoodle named Bailey who is All the World's A Circus... it could get ugly smart, playful, silly -looking and loveable. But I can't help thinking — let's call the whole hybrid experiment a success and end it here and now. We have plenty of dogs and enough new interesting crossbreeds so let's get those Labs out of the labs and go with what we got. I mean, unchecked, where will all this crossbreeding end. Are we really ready for a breeder to cross a Border Collie with a Griffon Guard Dog and wind up with a Border Guard that frisks you every time you come in the house and demands to see your passport? I don't think so. Does anybody want to chase after the product of a Jack Russell Terrier and a Greyhound that has a chippy attitude and goes from zero to sixty in less than a minute for no appar- ent reason? And besides you just know that conception scene is headed straight to YouTube. Are we ready for Poinboxer, the cross between a Boxer and an English Pointer that loses all his fights because he tele- graphs his punches? Who needs a Loodle, a cross between a Leon and a Poodle that jumps up on the new furniture and then brags that it was purchased with nothing down and no interest for up to one year? Will the Alaskan Iditerod one day feature a team of Hairless Huskies that run with very little wind resistance but have to wear toques and long under- wear to keep from freezing their haunches off? Seriously, this production of new and unusual hybrid dogs could well get out of hand. Can you imagine a cross between a German Pointer and a Field Spaniel who keeps nodding toward the neighbour's See ROCKY, Page 33