FCL, Wanuskewin Heritage Park release line of bison products
Federated Co-operatives Limited and Wanuskewin Heritage Park have launched a new line of bison products in Co-op food stores across Western Canada.
Sourced in Alberta and produced in Saskatchewan, the products include bison burgers, jerky, meat sticks and smokies. The packaging features artwork by Linus Woods, an Ojibway-Dakota artist from the Long Plain First Nation in southern Manitoba.
A portion of the proceeds will go to the non-profit park to support cultural programming.
“Co-op and Wanuskewin have a tremendous relationship and this is the next exciting step in our journey together,” said Heather Ryan, CEO of Federated Co-operatives Limited, in a statement. “We are always pleased to find unique and creative ways to give back to our communities. The programming these proceeds will support is essential to moving toward a better collective understanding of Indigenous history and culture, and supports our commitment to Truth and Reconciliation.”
Recipes for the products were developed at Wanuskewin and brought to life by the Co-op team, added Sav Bellissimo, store brands manager.
“Bison is so important in the Indigenous culture, so it was clear from the beginning that would be the backbone of the product line,” Bellissimo said. “Having our recipes developed externally is something we haven’t done before, but we tried them and loved them, so we ran with it."
