Organic bannock heading to a store near you

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The File Hills Qu'Appelle Tribal Council has a project in the works it hopes will improve both the physical and economic health of it's members.

Earth and Sky, a company 100 per cent owned by the tribal council, is gearing up to manufacture and distribute Omega Bannock, an organic bannock product high in omega-3, a type of fatty acid that is supposed to be good for you.

"What it does is it lowers blood cholesterol levels, and it's been seen recently in a lot of studies as having a real health benefit," explained Kevin Durst, program director with Earth and Sky.

The secret ingredient that gives the bannock its omega-3 punch is flax flour. And that flax flour, along with all the other ingredients in the bannock, are grown organically, without chemicals or pesticides, which earns the product it's organic designation.

"What we've tried to do in developing the bannock ... is we've tried to make it into what they call a functional food, which has a health benefit for people. And it's especially true of First Nations people, because the most recent studies show that the omega-3 factor can mitigate or offset or stop the onset of type 2 diabetes. And so what that means is that for First Nations populations, which have very much a disproportionate number of cases of type 2 diabetes, that this type of traditional Indian food may be a very good substitute for a lot of the starchy foods they eat now with sugar," Durst said.

Earth and Sky Omega Bannock will be available in two different forms-a frozen version, much like a frozen waffle, and a dry-mix version that can be prepared and cooked at home. The frozen bannock will come in two varieties, wild blueberry and thyme, and cranberry and sage.

The initial manufacturing of the bannock is being done on the East Coast, but Durst said the company's ultimate goal is to have the product manufactured in Saskatchewan, employing local First Nations people. That won't happen, though, until the product has proven itself in the marketplace.

"The vision or the mission of the company, believe it or not, is to improve the lives of the people within the tribal council through economic development initiatives," he said.

"Once the business model justifies it, we will be producing the product in Saskatchewan, which will be employing First Nations people to produce it and to market it and to run it ... what we're not going to do is set up a plant and say 'If you build it they will come.' Because you can take a look at the litany of plants in Saskatchewan and that approach where they go and they build the plant and there's no market for the product," Durst explained.

"We're also transitioning some of the tribal lands that are TLE (Treaty Land Entitlement) Agreement lands. Within the tribal council, a portion is being set aside to grow the ingredients for these organic food products that we're going to be launching."

Although you can't buy Earth and Sky's bannock anywhere yet, the product has been a hit at trade shows in the United States and Germany, and distributors have already been lined up. One of those distributors is Whole Foods Market, the biggest chain of organic food stores in the United States, which has just opened up a store in Toronto.

Durst expects Earth and Sky's bannock will hit the shelves in Ontario my mid-October. A distribution agreement hasn't been lined up yet for the western provinces.

While getting its bannock to market is the number one priority for Earth and Sky, the company is already looking at expanding its product line through co-branding, entering into agreements with other First Nations companies to market their products under the Earth and Sky name. The goal, Durst said, is to turn Earth and Sky into the Indian equivalent of President's Choice. By co-branding, Earth and Sky can expand its product line without having to go through the product development stage, and the other First Nations producers can rely on Earth and Sky to market their product for hem.

"The plan is to really have a line of products. Because in retail grocery, having just one product is very difficult. They want to see a product line because it gives you more frontage on the shelf," Durst said.

"We're going to be doing a Saskatoon berry jam that we're going to be putting into a gift pack with the bannock. We're also working with a company up in Cambridge Bay to private label arctic char which is smoked with organic maple syrup ... and we're going to be doing musk ox, caribou, arctic teas. We're going to do a muskeg tea from Saskatchewan."

For more information about Earth and Sky visit the company Web site at www.earthandskycuisine.com.