Local Ontario Grocers Break Away From Sobey's to Sell More Local Food

Hats off to Dale Kropf! On July 3, CBC reports, he removed five of his family-owned grocery stores from the Sobey's banner and joined four other stores to form the Hometown Grocers Co-op.

The reason? Kropf holds that Sobey's corporate policies don't enable shop owners to buy locally, in part because they stipulate that only federally inspected meat can be sold. This rules out many small local suppliers, which are inspected by the province. Kropf says his Elora store stocks only meats from within a 60-kilometre radius.

This is not Kropf's first move to stock his shelves with local produce. In September 2008, he announced a partnership with Local Food Plus (LFP), a non-profit organization that certifies farmers who use environmentally and socially sustainable practices.

Kropf tells me he has no immediate plans to expand the co-op beyond the original nine stores. "We need a year or two to get organized," he says. However, he's working on a new website that will have a link to Hometown Grocers. The nine co-op members are his own L & M Markets in Arthur, Durham, Elora, Harriston and Palmerston, as well as Hind's Foods in Grand Valley, Chesley Grocery Store in Chesley, Knechtels Food Market in Lucknow and Drayton Food Market in Drayton.