Superior Seasons Farm Store

Goods & Co. Grocer Offers Exclusively Local and Regional Products

As demonstrated by Thunder Bay's exploding food scene, few things are better than sharing and enjoying a locally made meal. TBay foodies are fortunate to have the means to do that every day in their homes with the help of Superior Seasons Farm Store. If the name rings a bell, you may be familiar with the online farmers market of the same name, which has been managed by Belluz Farms since its inception in 2010. The idea was to have a convenient distribution model for local farmers and consumers to access as needed. Fast forward 10 years to the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, and suddenly it became important to be able to order food online. Towards the end of that year, a space in a promising venue we now know as Goods & Co. Market became available, and the decision to expand the business to brick and mortar made sense.

Superior Seasons Farm Store, open five days a week, continues to make access to local and regional food convenient with the bonus of being able to browse the market in person. Their mission, “Support Local,” is proudly written on a chalkboard that boasts their current list of suppliers, which sits at a whopping 125 different producers, some homegrown in Thunder Bay and others sourced throughout Ontario. Like any commercial grocery store, Superior Seasons is stocked with fresh produce, preserves and dry goods, personal care products, and all sorts of other goodies. “We’ve always been based on [providing products with] whole food ingredients without any processing,” says co-owner Kevin Belluz.

Although Superior Seasons’ expansion has been exciting, Belluz says it’s not without its challenges, one of which, he says, is the consumer tendency to think local food is synonymous with expensive food, thus deterring people from exploring the market. “Grocery stores’ food has really gone up in price and most of our local suppliers’ prices have stayed roughly the same,” says Belluz. “And so the difference between the grocery store and local stuff now is decreased a lot, so pricing wise is closer than ever.”

As grocery store prices continue to skyrocket, Belluz urges people to reconsider the power of their dollar, as Superior Seasons’ intent is to give consumers the opportunity to support an ethical food system. “How they grow is as important to us as what they grow,” Belluz says of their suppliers. “The nice thing about all local farms is that they are more connected into the local community,” Belluz continues. “They go to local events; they talk to local people. There’s a natural community and then also a responsibility that then comes onto the farm.”

Superior Seasons will be closed along with Goods & Co. Market until January 20. In the meantime, you can find Superior Seasons on Facebook and Instagram to stay up to date with the market and see local product highlights.

“We’ve always been based on [providing products with] whole food ingredients without any processing.”