Hofstede's Country Barn

Every supermarket in Chilliwack belongs to a national chain, and none of them are listed in this directory. What remains is the independent half of the trade, and in this city that half is unusually deep. Something over 17,000 hectares inside the municipal boundary is farmland, more than 700 farms work it, agriculture accounts for close to 30 per cent of local economic activity, and this is the largest dairy producing area in British Columbia. The retail that grows out of that includes farm stores, greengrocers, butchers, bulk shops and the roadside stands through Greendale and Yarrow that open with the corn in August.

What is actually on the shelves is not documented, and it is the part that moves. Produce in the valley is strongly seasonal, and what comes off local ground in August is a different list from what comes off it in February. A trip made for one specific item therefore carries some risk, particularly in the cold half of the year. No telephone number or website is published, which removes the option of checking first and leaves the address as the only dependable thing to go on. The postal code will resolve to the correct block. Beyond that, what can be said is where the shop is and roughly what kind of shop it is; the rest is a matter of walking in and looking.