Agri-food tour showcases locally grown products

By Lethbridge Herald on August 24, 2023.

Lethbridge and District Exhibitiion CEO Mike Warkentin gives a tour of the Agri-Food Hub and Trade Centre to members of the Brighter Together Food Journey on Thursday morning. Herald photo by Al Beeber

Al Beeber – LETHBRIDGE HERALD – abeeber@lethbridgeherald.com

Senator Karen Sorensen knows full well the value and impact of tourism on a community.

Sorensen served three terms as the mayor of Banff after spending six years on the municipal council of that mountain community where she also was a member of the Banff Lake Louise Tourism Board.

But prior to her political involvement Sorensen had a 25-year career in the hotel industry in this province as well as B.C. and Ontario.

Sorensen was among about 35 delegates who on Thursday got a close look at the agri-food industry in southern Alberta after a tour of the recently opened Agri-Food Hub and Trade Centre.

The second edition of the Lethbridge Brighter Together Food Journey was a joint collaboration of Tourism Lethbridge, Economic Development Lethbridge and the Lethbridge & District Exhibition.

From government officials to social media influencers, the group had a guided tour showcasing locally grown food products before culminating in a reception with a menu spotlighting local ingredients.

After leaving the Hub, the tour took participants to Farming Smarter, Thrive Honey and The Perry Farm before ending at Lethbridge College with a tour by William Singer III, founder of  Naapi garden and Katoyiss Seedbank.

“This is fantastic. I think it’s going to be a huge success,” said Sorensen of the Hub.

“The whole agri-tourism market is growing,” said Sorensen, with huge interest in agriculture as a tourism attraction.

“What we’re doing today I think can be a really interesting draw,” added Sorensen.

Andy Dzillums, Travel Alberta’s Destination Development manager for Lethbridge-Medicine Hat and the Badlands said Lethbridge is not only an important food corridor to Alberta but probably to Canada and the world.

“It’s really important from an agricultural and tourism perspective.. . 

“We’re here to support, but also to learn, from what some of our operators are doing in the world of agri-tourism,” said Dzillums.

“Agri tourism, food tourism, culinary tourism are super important to anybody who travels. .. that experience of the farm to table experience is super important to a lot of different types of travellers.”

Dzillums added that people may not realize how important food can be to a travelling experience.

“Everyone’s kind of telling the same story why food and agriculture can be incorporated into other industries within the province,” said Dzillums, who has been to the Hub earlier in its construction.

“It’s going to be such an important piece of the visitor economy because you can just imagine the potential to see the people that are going to be able to come through here from a regional perspective but also from a national and international perspective to utilize this as hub for conferences and conventions and weddings,” he added.

For Erin Crane, CEO of Tourism Lethbridge, the tour is huge for Lethbridge.

“This is the second time that we have done this. Last year we did it and we saw huge success with it. There were a lot of outcomes from that first tour. . .all of this work that we’re doing is helping to put Lethbridge on the map. This food tour is about sharing this with our government partners, with some of the investments opportunities that we’re working on, that we’re trying to land here in Lethbridge. . .

“This tour today really gives everybody a hands-on experience and this is what we’re building up to at Tourism Lethbridge, is purchasable experiences that get people out and about into the community.”

Trevor Lewington, who heads Economic Development Lethbridge, said the tour is “a blend of industry, all of whom are from out of town so it’s an opportunity to showcase Canada’s premier food corridor, showcase this building, showcase local industry and really show frankly what’s possible down here.”

Lewington said the part of the province south of Calgary is often forgotten.

“When you’re driving Highway 3 and you’re passing massive plants like McCains or you’re standing in a potato field that goes on for hundreds of acres, now people understand that agri-food and agriculture is what we’re all about,” added Lewington.

The tour partners all work to promote Lethbridge in different ways, said Lewington, with this event bringing them together.

“Each of us has a different goal at the end of the day but by working together we can make it much bigger than if we did it by ourselves,” he added.