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The grocery store is the heart of the village, and this is true of every village in Northern Ontario. Their survival is crucial to meeting the food needs of residents, and also to ensuring the economic vitality of a community.

When Moonbeam's last local grocery store was threatened with closure, members of the village and surrounding municipalities rallied together to save it.

There's strength in numbers, says Gilbert Peters, a former town councillor who has always been involved in his community. With the help of Moonbeam's 1,300 residents, he decided to take on the task of saving the grocery store and transforming it into a cooperative.

In Sudbury, Ontario, Éric Blondin devotes his time to his job at the Eat Local Sudbury cooperative. Created by young farmers and agricultural producers with a passion for local agriculture, this cooperative facilitates exchanges between local producers and consumers.

Éric shares his passion for agriculture, which led him to found his own farm, as well as his desire to educate customers about the benefits of consuming local, fair-trade products to support the local economy.