Heavy pesticide use has resulted in land so depleted and chemicalized that “it’s not able to produce healthy food any more,” says Grant. But to his dismay, ‘organic’ no longer means healthy either. “Do you know that they have organic white cake mix?” he asks incredulously.

The closest Speerville comes to a processed convenience food is its buckwheat pancake mix, made with organic fl ours, GMO free baking powder and sea salt. The Mill’s catalogue of products also includes organic cereals, whole grains, flours, dried beans and seeds. The company distributes several other locally made products as well including organic nut butter, pasta, and oil.

The Mill’s commitment to healthy eating extends beyond its catalogue and into the community. In 2000, a breakfast program in a local school began serving students organic pancakes and oatmeal. According to Grant, many people no longer know how to cook traditional, healthy foods from scratch. “Unfortunately, a lot of Maritimers don’t know how to bake bread anymore,” says Grant.

More recently, the Mill acquired money from Carrot Cache to “train a trainer” on how to cook with whole foods.

It’s Grant’s hope that once people know how to cook with whole grains, they might start buying them again - and buying them locally. With any luck, small organic farms might start reappearing on the Atlantic landscape.

“I love their 12 grain cereal” exclaims Yuill Herbert, a loyal Speerville Mill customer. “If you make it with milk and honey, it’s the best.”

Herbert is living without his favorite breakfast cereal these days. He’s working in British Columbia for the winter, and the Mill is located in Speerville, New Brunswick. Although most companies wouldn’t blink at shipping their products across the country, Speerville will not sell their organic grains outside of Atlantic Canada.

“We feel that more people in Atlantic Canada should be eating more food that’s produced in Atlantic Canada,” explains Todd Grant, Manager of Speerville Flour Mill. Although having more people in British Columbia eating food produced in Atlantic Canada might increase the businesses’ profit margin, it would not fit with the Mill’s bioregional ethic.

The average meal travels 1500 miles from field to table. Almost one third of transport trucks on the country’s highways are carrying food. Less than 1% of the Atlantic region’s available cereals and flour are actually produced in the region. This system degrades the environment, explains Grant, and is devastating
to local economies.“If you drive through Atlantic Canada, the farms are disappearing left, right and
centre.” Grant understands the depth of that loss more than the average city slicker. “I grew up on a farm. It’s a way of life I believe in and want to see available
for young people to experience.” Speerville has made a significant effort to ensure that this will be the case in the Maritimes.

When the Mill was founded over 20 years ago close to no organic grain was grown in the Maritime region. Today,
almost 1000 acres of organic grain are tended by small farmers, with harvests destined for Speerville Mill.

Once at the Mill, the grain is stone ground. The stone ground process is the traditional milling process using the entire kernel. The result is a high fibre, nutritious, delicious tasting whole grain flour.