The Good Food Box

As promised in my last post, I wanted to share some information about The Good Food Box program. A lot of communities have them - throughout Ontario, Canada and the world - although they don't always go by the same name.


From what I understand, the first program in Ontario started in Toronto in the 1990's and then other communities began to adapt the idea to fit their own demographics. Usually, it is run by volunteers, and they make it possible for anyone in the community to engage in monthly bulk purchasing of fresh fruits and vegetables. The goal is to make fresh, high quality fruits and vegetables available to everyone. What could be better than that?

I've been doing a student placement at the Barrie Community Health Centre, which hosts the Barrie Good Food Box, and they asked me to do an evaluation (survey) of how the program impacts those who buy it. Does it make a difference for them? In what ways? In doing this project, I've learned a lot about what a valuable program it is and how much people depend on it. I've also learned that the more people who participate, the better it is (and the more accessible it becomes). So, I wanted to spread the word to everyone.

Most programs operate on a pre-pay system, where you pay in cash during the first week of the month, and you pick up your box during the 3rd week. A small box costs around $9 and a large costs about $13 (depends where you are). Everyone gets the same veggies - you don't get to select the produce you'll receive because it's basically a bulk order. The program utilizes a local wholesaler who delivers the food to one location, and then a group of volunteers divide the produce into individual boxes for each purchaser to pick up. So, I picked up my first Orillia Good Food Box today, and for $13 this is what I got:




A photo of what it looked like when I picked it up this morning



A photo of everything that came out of the bag!!

In case you can't tell, it included potatoes, cabbage, romaine lettuce, cauliflower, carrots, onions, honeydew melon, apples, oranges, cucumber, mushrooms, and cherry tomatoes!

In my evaluation of the Barrie program, I've heard a lot of people say that it's like getting a treasure chest every month. You never know what you're going to get, but you always know it's going to be GOOD.

tuco and klompengirl to wed

I sent out an email awhile back, but since I know a lot of people who aren't on my email list (i.e. Facebook, Blogger) - I thought I could make a general announcement to the world....

Chris and I are getting married! We did a self-portrait a few moments after he popped the question - we were on showshoes in the forest behind his parent's house in Bancroft. We'd just made it up to the "lookout"...


We are having a small wedding on September 27, 2008 in Orillia Ontario. Our ceremony will take place at the Stephen Leacock Museum grounds, and our dinner at the Ossawippi Express Dining Cars (both pictured below). We're looking forward to a lovely day with close family and friends!





In other news, things are humming along with the research project and the work placement that I am doing for my Masters of Social Work degree. I am doing my work placement at the Barrie Community Health Centre where they've asked me to evaluate their Good Food Box program (I'll do a separate post about this soon).


If all goes according to plan, I should be done all my work by the end of June. After that, a full (but fun!) summer of music festivals, triathlons, wedding planning, and job hunting awaits me!