Canadian Agriculture at Lepp Farm Market in February

February may seem like an odd month to celebrate Canadian Agriculture. Despite the good fortune of us Fraser Valley-dwellers, most of Canada is under a deep freeze and layers of snow this time of year. You don’t expect to enjoy juicy, sun-kissed strawberries in February, and even the size of our produce department at the market is significantly smaller than in the summertime. Shortly after harvest season, we pack up our tents for the winter, where they’ll stay in storage while the farmers plan out next summer’s bounty. That first stalk of rhubarb, a sure sign of spring, is not yet in sight. But this doesn’t mean that there’s nothing to celebrate in Canadian agriculture right now!

Look a little closer during your next market visit, and you’re sure to be surprised by just how much of our food can be sourced from Canadian agriculture. Keep on reading to see how you can cook an all-Canadian meal in February. Look for the colour-coded signs to identify BC-Grown!

Below we’ve highlighted products that represent Canadian agriculture, along with recipes to get you started on your all-Canadian meal in February.

Canadian Agriculture: Meat

• Lepp’s Beef, Chicken & Pork 
• Local Fraser Valley Turkey (turkey burgers, turkey nuggets, turkey sausages made in-house)
• BC Lamb

Canadian Agriculture Produce

• Lepp’s greenhouse lettuce
• Mushrooms
• Potatoes
• Cabbage, beets, endive, rutabaga, turnips 
• Many of our apples
• Mini cucumbers

Canadian Agriculture in the Pantry: 

• Lepp’s Apple Cider, pressed from our orchard grown apples
• Lepp’s Dill Pickles & Pickled beans, made from our own farmed veggies
• BC Brine grows & locally sources the ingredients that they pickle
• Honey: Campbell’s Gold, Peace River, Greendale, Elias
• Anita’s Organic Mill (grains come from canadian farmers)
• Flourist (highlights the farmers on their packaging)
• Hard Bite Chips (locally grown potatoes)
• Preserves from The Bog Cranberry Farm, Krause Berry Farms, Summerland Sweets
• Preserves and condiments from Taste of the Okanagan 

Canadian Agriculture in the Fridge & Freezer: 

• Lepp’s Frozen Strawberries, grown on Lepp Farms 
• Cheese made from locally farmed dairy from The Farm House, Mt.Lehman Cheese, Little Qualicum Cheeseworks, Smits & Co, Golden Ears, Castle Cheese, Grass Roots, Bothwell Cheese
• Ice cream & milk from Birchwood Dairy
• Milk from The Farm House
• Eggs from Coligny Creek