"As members of Women's Institute and as consumers, we are concerned that we are unable to buy Island or Maritime products in the two major grocery retail chains in the province," said Heather Dixon, provincial agriculture convenor for Women's Institutes. "We would like to be able to support our local producers."

Dixon said that the decline in prices of beef and potatoes has created an income crisis that has affected the entire agriculture industry. "We, as consumers, continue to pay the same amount for our food, while producers have seen a drastic drop in the price they receive for their product," she said. "We are beginning to care more about the source of the food products we buy and would like to be able to buy local products."

Women's Institutes are asking their members to ask for local products when they go shopping and, if they are not available, to ask why. They are also to be asking why retail prices remain high while prices to producers have dropped so drastically.

Women's Institute of Prince Edward Island has approximately 1700 members.