Saturday December 3, 2022 | LANGFORD, BC
by Mary P Brooke, B.Sc. | Island Social Trends
As a singular one-time survey of what’s on the shelves in-store in Langford in the way of turkeys and other birds for Christmas dinner, here’s what we discovered on Friday evening, December 2 (see photos):
- Thrifty Foods – 4 large Grade B frozen turkeys, some whole fresh chickens, and some processed chicken products.
- Fairway Market – a good supply of Cornish hens
- Quality Foods – a good supply of mid-size and large frozen turkeys.
We have not (yet) spoken with store managers about any future incoming supply, but it does seem like what comes in sells out fast.
Avian flu:
The challenge to finding turkeys this holiday season has been due to the circulation of avian flu among poultry farms in BC. Culling of turkeys has been undertaken in enough cases to as to impact retail supply.
Avian flu is not a danger to humans, and of course meats will be cooked which kills any microorganisms.
The BC Ministry of Agriculture and Foods has recently offered two online seminars for small-flock poultry farmers regarding the prevention of avian flu contamination among their birds. [Next avian flu session coming up December 5 online.]
Duck, chicken or ham:
People can be creative this season, learning (or returning) to cooking chicken, duck or Cornish hens. These are traditional meats for Christmas dinner. Some families and parties also choose Christmas ham as the feature meat for dinner.
Some people are probably going full-vegan this year — whether for dietary choice or avoiding the cost of a meat-based dinner.
Inflation in 2022 has impacted retail grocery prices. The primary causes are thought to be supply chain interruptions (due to COVID in the workplace in Canada as well as in countries from which we import food products), and the increased cost of gasoline/diesel-based transportation.
Happy shopping!
===== ABOUT ISLAND SOCIAL TRENDS:
Island Social Trends is a professional news portal at islandsocialtrends.ca . Fully online since mid-2020, Island Social Trends emerged from the extensive groundwork of previous print publications in the west shore: MapleLine Magazine (2008-2010), Sooke Voice News (2011-2013), and West Shore Voice News (2014-2020).
Since 2008, journalist and editor Mary P Brooke has taken a socioeconomic lens to the news of the west shore and south Vancouver Island region, including BC provincial news, and national news impacts.
Ms Brooke has been covering news of School District 62 (SD62) at the board and committee level — attending nearly all of their full meetings since 2014. She was a school trustee candidate (SD62 Belmont Zone – Langford, Colwood, Metchosin and Highlands) in the October 2022 election.
