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Humble Pie
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Phillip Hong
August 20, 2012 |
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For a city just short of half a million in population, the scenery is typical. Long, intimidating
lines of construction trucks trundle through what used to be sleepy country lanes. Cows graze
lazily barely a kilometre or so from the nearest strip plaza, featuring a Walmart. Familiar
street names on signs from another part of the city as arterial roads are extended, becoming more
congested.
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Despite what appears to be another bland expansion for the sake of putting up detached houses with
three car garages, the province through Foodland Ontario insists you can savour local produce
rather easily here. The message has been stark, especially in these economic conditions: "Buying
local food benefits a lot of people locally". So I travelled out to familiar territory: the
outskirts of Brampton.
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You see, it would have been quite easy to head over to a big brand supermarket and indulge in what
was in season, but I wanted to go further into the country, where everything is grown.
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This is a curiosity that predates the hundred mile diet; one that was nurtured through childhood,
though the fascination involved a parent who invested a lot of money into yo-yo dieting. But that's
beside the point. This was a connection with nature, with neighbours! I was four foot tall and
loved local food simply because it tasted great.
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The Apple Factory is an old country store which has been sitting in a rural corner in Brampton for
decades. For years in my youth, I had been bored half to death on a drive from another part of the
city through some hearty fields. But once you arrive, you can tell that it has plenty of one simple
fruit; as the name describes, apples. Those visits to the country store brought plenty of emotions
from a two-bit kid: Familiarity from k.d. lang blaring in the car stereo on the way there, fear
from the mechanical fruit "band" that performs to kids inside the store, comfort and joy from the
smiles that serve you and the goods they make. It was an experience that easily worth a repeat
visit, even a decade and a half later.
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A slightly different emotion was set in my mind this time around: dismay. If you drive down the
road from this country store, you'll find a big fat Walmart barely two minutes away. Subdivisions
now dot the landscape, of which a big chunk of newcomers will inevitably prefer a big chain store:
"Who cares if the produce is sourced in Caledon or California if it's cheap?"
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It may be just a childish part of myself wanting to repulse change, or it could be genuine concern
for the experience people may miss if country stores like The Apple Factory were to disappear. At
the moment, it's a mix of both.
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This was my familiar apple pie on the windowsill. The store that brought together what was grown
next door is already diversifying with British goods just to find a complimentary niche. Blood
sausage and tins of beans with pecan tarts?
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My dismay is with the City of Brampton. With a subway station to open in three years, the city I
live in now (Vaughan) will either benefit or suffer from the big city experience. Is Brampton going
to lose its local food culture for the sake of progress?
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Phillip Hong is a columnist with 148.ca.
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