Author Archives : Cheryl Young

WTF


What’s That Food? This month’s WTF is pitahaya. Botanically known as Selenicereus megalanthus, the fruits are also known as yellow dragon fruit, yellow pitahaya (sometimes spelled pitaya) or Pitaya Amarillo. A part of the cactus family, the fruit grows on stems that can grow to 20 feet long. It is native to Central and South America but is now also…

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WHAT GOES AROUND COMES AROUND


Terra Rossa returns to its original roots Chef Dave Mottershall is excited. After eight years, he’s returning to a familiar spot and food service concept in downtown Charlottetown, opening up Terra Rossa as PEI’s first “grocerant”. In the simplest of definitions, a grocerant is simply a cross between a grocer and a restaurant. In 2012, Mottershall and fellow chef John…

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Salty’s 2020 Gift Guide


It’s a cliché to say that this year has been a challenge for many. But 2020 has been tough, especially for Island small businesses. Why not make a point to truly support local this year? Here’s some of our suggestions for great gifts. You still have time! Beverages Our Island continues to produce award-winning beverages, and it’s easy to create…

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Vaughn Murphy prepares to load groceries into a customer's trunk //photo credit: Cheryl Young/Salty

A RETURN OF DELIVERY


COVID-19 spurs a shift in how we buy our food Decades ago, before large national grocery store chains became commonplace in Prince Edward Island, Islanders got their groceries at the small ‘Mom and Pop’ general stores in their town (or village) or with door-to-door delivery services. Though I don’t consider myself ‘old’, I do recall my mother placing our milk…

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ICYMI


In Case You Missed It It’s been over a month since COVID-19 put us all into lockdown mode, but as expected, Islanders have risen to the challenge of social/physical distancing and are doing their best to keep themselves and their communities safe. We here at Salty have been noticing how many of our food producers, chefs, restaurants, and farmers are…

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l-r: Marc, Krista, and Ben Schurman (and Zoey the dog) in front of one of the new boilers Photo credit: Cheryl Young/Salty

NEW BIOMASS BOILERS FOR LOCAL GREENHOUSE


Finding ways to save at Schurman Family Farm Imagine if you could save 100,000 litres of furnace oil a year? Yes, you read that right. One hundred thousand litres. That was approximately the number of litres of oil burned to heat the greenhouses at Atlantic Grown Organics in Kensington, PEI last year. The organic farm has over 4 acres of…

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Despite being ‘Canada’s Food Island’, PEI faces challenges with food security | photo credit: Cheryl Young/Salty

FOOD INSECURE


Despite being ‘Canada’s Food Island’, PEI faces challenges with food security Food and shelter: two of the most basic needs a person has. Imagine having to choose between them. Unfortunately for a number of Islanders, that is a choice that they sometimes have to make. In a 2014 survey, 8700 households¹ in PEI were deemed food insecure. With 15.1 percent…

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Schurman Family Farm provided fresh produce for the study | photo credit: Cheryl Young/Salty

ACCESS TO FRESH PRODUCE


Local study looks at link between food insecurity and diabetes A recently released medical study has looked at the links between food insecurity and diabetes. Dr Katherine Bell formerly had a medical practice in western PEI and partnered with Dr Shannon Curtis to examine how food, in particular fresh produce, can influence the health of Type 2 diabetics on PEI.…

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Students at Amherst Cove Consolidated in Borden-Carleton wait to sample the new lunch options | submitted photo : PEI Education and Lifelong Learning

POLITICS OF SCHOOL FOOD


Second pilot project moves ahead under new provincial government A recently released medical study has looked at the links between food insecurity and diabetes. In late December 2019, the provincial government announced that a new provincial school lunch program would roll out in several Island schools, offering healthy lunches to students this winter. School food programs have been in the…

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