Grown in CK brand launched

Food producers in Chatham-Kent are moving forward with a new initiative to showcase how the community “grows for the world.”

Through partnerships with Chatham-Kent Agri-Development, Chatham-Kent Food Policy Council, Chatham-Kent Public Health Unit and Chatham-Kent Economic Development Services, the “Grown in CK” brand was created.

Lyndsay Davidson, a dietician with the Public Health Unit, said the idea stemmed from the Let’s Talk Food assessment from 2012.

“People wanted to know where their food came from,” Davidson said.

Jamie McGrail, vice-chair for C-K Agri-Development, said they want to try and represent everyone in Chatham-Kent.

“We have plans to grow bigger,” McGrail said. “The stickers with logos will be available to everyone.”

McGrail said moving forward the committee has plans to provide the logo to restaurants, grocery stores and eventually to agricultural manufacturing.

North Kent Coun. Leon Leclair said this new brand “couldn’t come at a better time.

“I believe that agriculture is so underutilized right now. In Chatham-Kent, we grow 61 products, so the sky is the limit,” Leclair said.

“It’s not a cyclical thing like the automotive sector. People need to eat three times a day.”

Chatham Coun. Anne Gilbert said it would be a smart marketing move to provide the stickers for farmers to put on their trucks.

“If you’re going to want to provide an effective program, you’ll need to provide the stickers,” she said.

For information on how to incorporate the “Grown in CK” brand in your food products, contact Kim Cooper, agriculturalist with the municipality, at 519-351-7700, ext. 2030, or kimco@chatham-kent.ca.