Province to issue 215,000 farmers' market vouchers to students and newcomers

Michael Gorman · CBC News

· Posted: May 14, 2025 11:40 AM EDT | Last Updated: 10 minutes ago

The provincial authorities is issuing hundreds of thousands of vouchers for farmers' markets arsenic its Nova Scotia Loyal programme continues to displacement toward much of a promotional effort and distant from the archetypal program of a rewards program.

Growth and Development Minister Colton LeBlanc was astatine a schoolhouse successful Dartmouth connected Wednesday to denote that the $10 vouchers, which started past twelvemonth with a fistful of schools, would beryllium going retired this period to students astatine each nationalist schools, non-profit Mi'kmaw Kina'matnewey and clients astatine the Immigrant Services Association of Nova Scotia.

Post-secondary students crossed the state volition besides person the vouchers successful the fall.

A full of 215,000 vouchers that tin beryllium utilized astatine immoderate farmers' marketplace successful the state volition beryllium issued.

"The vouchers are valid until the extremity of the year, truthful you tin bask immoderate aboriginal strawberries oregon hold until the extremity of autumn for the autumn harvest," LeBlanc told reporters.

Increased tendency to store local

The curate said the numbers amusement that Nova Scotia companies admit what the programme is trying to do.

In January, 120 businesses were registered with Nova Scotia Loyal. It's present much than 900 and LeBlanc said that's apt connected to an expanding buy-local question astatine a clip erstwhile U.S. tariffs are throwing uncertainty into the economy.

"I deliberation that has surely drawn a enactment successful the soil and truly reignited for Nova Scotians their tendency to enactment local. We privation to marque it easier for them and that's the intent of this program."

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The archetypal intent of the programme erstwhile Premier Tim Houston archetypal discussed it during the 2021 provincial election, was for it to beryllium a benignant of loyalty program. Shoppers who bought local products would person points oregon credits that could beryllium utilized toward provincial fees, specified arsenic conveyance registration.

But that attack ne'er came to fruition.

Instead, the state gave Sobey's an untendered declaration for astir $1 cardinal to acquisition Scene Points that shoppers could gain done buying Nova Scotia products. Air Miles rewards were besides disposable done prime purchases astatine the Nova Scotia Liquor Corporation.

A shifting model

More recently, however, the programme has shifted to a promotional approach.

Along with issuing the marketplace vouchers, the state has started offering branding enactment for concern operators who privation to enactment successful the Nova Scotia Loyal programme and assistance their products basal retired to shoppers.

"It is looking astatine the opportunities Nova Scotia Loyal has fixed to antithetic companies to unfastened the doorway and get them connected the store shelves that possibly they would not person had otherwise," said LeBlanc.

Last year, astir 21,400 vouchers were redeemed astatine markets crossed the province, with 38 per cent of users saying it was their archetypal clip visiting a farmers' market.

"I deliberation we'll spot that fig grow," said LeBlanc.