Buy BC program coming to Prince George grocery stores

Prince George shoppers will now be able to easily spot made-in-B.C. products when shopping at their local Save-on-Foods location.

On Tuesday, Save-on-Foods became the third grocery chain in the province to support the provincial Buy BC initiative. The chain operates 125 grocery stores in B.C., including four in Prince George. Safeway and Thrifty Foods, neither of which operate stores in Prince George, joined the program in 2019.

"I'm so happy to welcome Save-On-Foods to our amazing Buy BC family, which will help the many British Columbians who shop here better identify and choose products from B.C.," B.C. Minister of Agriculture and Food Lana Popham said in a statement released on Tuesday. "When consumers buy locally grown, raised, harvested and processed food and beverages, they are supporting the farmers, fishers and producers that live in their own communities and helping to strengthen our provincial food system and economy."

Banners, stickers and shelf displays in stores will promote made-in-B.C. food and beverages products.

"As a B.C.-owned-and-operated company, we have been supporting local for more than a century and are proud to carry more than 2,500 locally made products from more than 2,000 local growers and producers across Western Canada," Save-on-Foods president Darrell Jones said in a statement issued on Tuesday. "We are proud to collaborate with Buy BC in support of the British Columbian growers, ranchers and producers who play a key role in B.C.'s agriculture, food and beverage economy, bringing the rich diversity and exceptional quality of the food made right here at home to our customers across Western Canada."

More than 3,400 products produced by hundreds of small and large companies across the province are eligible to add the Buy BC logo to their products. Through the Buy BC program, the provincial government is providing more than $2 million per year to support B.C. food producers to market their products.