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Fredericton caterer offers grocery shopping classes to immigrants

A free course offered to immigrants by a Fredericton caterer hopes to ease the shock many people new to Canada experience when moving from market shopping to the big box stores.

Big box grocery stores can be daunting for anyone, but for new Canadian residents used to buying food at small traditional markets, shopping in the North American-style grocery stores can be an intimidating and overwhelming experience.

When Leanne Wiens came to Canada from Vietnam she struggled to find food. Now an experienced caterer, she's helping other immigrants to conquer the big-box grocery stores.

"The challenge is going from market shopping to a North American grocery store," she said. "The packaging is different. They have food that is not common. It's also in a another language. Terminology is completely foreign."

Expiry dates, best-before dates, long-lists of ingredients are on most food packaging and something most Canadians take for granted.

For newcomers, even just finding familiar food among the countless aisles can be tough.

The hardest part is finding Halal meat," Widad Alsayagh said. "Because we need special meat we don't buy the meats at regular stores."

Many of the shoppers are mothers and Wiens says they find school lunches a challenge.

They say their children don't like eating lunches with their traditional foods at school, such as rice, when all the other students are eating sandwiches.

Nutrition is also a big factor when it comes to finding the right food for growing families.

Excess salt and sugar presents new problems for those new to Canada, so Wiens also teaches them how to cook and prepare lunches for their children.

More than a dozen people attended Tuesday's session. Wiens says she's hoping to expand the class to offer a full cooking course to all newcomers.