It’s official – Canadians have serious love for their local farmers’ market.
Local markets aren’t just the place where a growing number of Canadians are shopping, they are also the place consumers trust the most with food quality and safety.
An exclusive Ipsos poll for Global News found that 83 per cent of those polled make an effort to buy locally-grown and produced food and 71 per cent are willing to pay more for locally grown food.
READ MORE: Who do Canadians trust with their food? Local growers get top marks, new poll finds
When asked if various organizations were doing a good job ensuring the quality and safety of food in Canada, local markets and butchers got top marks, with 95 per cent of respondents saying they’re doing a good job, followed closely by farmers at 94 per cent.
Meanwhile, a new survey conducted by LoyaltyOne found that Canadians want more options for buying locally grown food.
According to the survey, 87 per cent would buy more local food from their grocery retailer “if locally grown alternatives were more readily available.” And they’d be willing to shell out 15 to 30 per cent more at the check-out for local food products.
Perhaps surprisingly, of the reasons given for not buying more locally grown food, cost was the least likely reason. Only 23 per cent of respondents said cost was the biggest barrier to buying local food. The number one reason given was availability, with 60 per cent saying they can’t find a wide enough selection of local food alternatives in their neighbourhood grocery stores.
The vast majority (91 per cent) said local farmers’ markets have the best selection of local food products.
Do you have a favourite farmers’ market in your neighbourhood? Add it to our interactive map below by clicking this link.
What’s on your plate?
The poll results come as Global News launches a month-long series looking at Your Food. From navigating the gaps in Canada’s food safety system, and deciphering the terms on our food packaging and ingredient lists, to taking a closer look at the food marketed to us and myth-busting rising food fads and trends, Your Food will look at what’s on our plates and how it got there.
Check our special site for new stories every day, and follow the conversation on social media using the hashtag #YourFood.
Exclusive Global News Ipsos polls are protected by copyright. The information and/or data may only be rebroadcast or republished with full and proper credit and attribution to “Global News Ipsos.”
The poll was conducted between May 22 and 27, 2015, using a sample of 1,005 Canadians.
The LoyaltyOne online survey of 1,646 Canadians was conducted in May 2015. Survey respondents were at least 18 years old and had primary or shared responsibility for the grocery shopping in their household.
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