Sobeys offers a taste of home for new Canadians

For many new Canadians, the wind swept rock of Newfoundland or the endless plains of Saskatchewan can seem as foreign as the moon.  They come to Canada to build a new life, but a taste of home can often be what keeps them here.

Lois Berrigan found that when she approached her local Sobeys store about providing some of the foods familiar to the people she was serving at the St. John’s Association for New Canadians.  Then just a small store, the manager agreed to stock specifically requested by items.

Access to things like samosas, okra and a range of Halal products makes a big difference for new families, and to keeping these much needed members of the work force.  “Food is familiar.  It’s a little piece of home,” says Berrigan.  “It’s like Newfoundlanders with their salt beef.  If you went to Florida and someone invited you over for salt beef dinner, you’d think you had it made.”

Sobeys has seen the benefits too.  “The international aisle has become a key piece in the innovation and the new offering we have in the newly built stores,” says spokesperson Cynthia Thompson.

Dozens of Atlantic stores have expanded international food offerings due, in part, to demand from new Canadians settling in Atlantic Canada.