It seems that during the COVID crisis, shoppers are making a more determined effort to buy local and Canadian goods.
Often it's difficult to know, without reading that fine print on the can.
Now, a local grocery store, Jeff & Tanis' No Frills on Lakeshore Drive, is making that task easy.
Along their aisles, you'll find maple leaves where you find Canadian made or produced goods.
Associate store manager Dave Keizer tells BayToday that head office sent them a list of Canadian made products and the tags, and staff went to work.
"Everybody is trying to buy Canadian right now to support Canadians while COVID is going on, so this fits really well. We've had a lot of really positive reactions. People seem to like walking down an aisle...you can't tell what's coming from Canada with the small print on each item, so you can just take a peek down the aisle and it pops out from the shelf. It's been very positive."
Keizer says customers appreciate the effort.
"Even the first day while I was putting them up, people were saying 'What is that' and after I explained it they'd say, 'That's awesome.'"
It makes shopping Canadian quick and easy.
"I think people wanted this even before COVID. The amount of people that come in, even in produce or fresh stuff they're like, 'I'd prefer to buy Canadian' so I think it's a starting point and it seems like it may be the new norm."
You can find Jeff & Tanis' No Frills on Lakeshore Drive in North Bay.
