Delighted with Ashcroft Onions

Disruptions in supply chains was the standard explantion offered for the precipitous hike in food prices following COVID.

I found it telling that when the Okanagan peach crop failed this year (frost on the buds at the precisely wrong moment), the peaches imported from Georgia to fill the gap were only marginally more expensive than local Okanagan fruits.

One good thing that came out of the changes in available produce was the arrival of Ashcroft onions in local farm markets. In the past, except when buying Okanagan fruit and vegetables at the farms where they were grown, I’ve always had to buy imported onions — most often from Washington or California.

This fall, I’ve been buying onions grown in Ashcroft, a village that straddles the Thompson River. Sold loose rather than in net bags, these onions are inexpensive and come in various sizes. Admiring them in my basket, I imagine the picturesque Cariboo town where they were grown, less than four hours’ drive away.

Of course I love the availability of the varied produce we can buy from California, Georgia, Florida, and Mexico. However, importing fruit and vegetables from South America, Taiwan, Israel, Australia and South Africa seems unnecessary, and wasteful of fossil fuels.

Onions are a staple for cooking, and I’m thrilled that as well as being able to buy Okanagan hard tree fruits, Chilliwack corn, and local-grown cucumbers, lettuce and tomatoes, we can now obtain onions grown right here in BC. Every transport mile reduced means the produce is fresher and the pressure on the earth’s resources that much less.