So what’s the deal with this Good Food Box? Why do we need a Good Food Box? Why is the Central Okanagan Food Policy Council trying one out in the Central Okanagan? We’re glad you asked!
First, let’s go over what a Good Food Box is. Good Food Box program run all across BC and Canada! It is a mostly volunteer run, bulk produce purchasing program. There is a paid coordinator, whose job is to organize the volunteers, manage the orders, order produce from local food suppliers and producers, and do everything there is that needs to be done to keep the box going (like these blog posts!). The Good Food Box is available to everyone in the community who wants to purchase one. This is because the more that people purchase a box, the better deal on produce we can offer! Boxes must be ordered in advance because we need to know how much produce to order and do our best not to order more than what we can pay for. On “Box Day”, volunteers work together to assemble boxes of produce. Then the customer comes later on in the day to pick up their nutritious, fresh, delicious produce! Easy peasy!!!
But why do we need a Good Food Box for the Central Okanagan? It’s helpful to first understand a bit more about the Central Okanagan Food Policy Council (COFPC). The COFPC has been working in the community as a non-profit since 2011, but we have been around much longer than that doing our part to work towards a food secure Central Okanagan. In fact, our history goes back to around 2006 (some say even earlier than that!). In those days, our earlier members participated in community events called “food forums”, which are events for members of our community to talk about issues important to them about our food system. There are a lot of people in our community that are looking for ways to stretch their food dollar. The idea for a Good Food Box came up over and over at these and other events. We also heard from our partners in the community that they want a Good Food Box!
So, we decided it was time to give it a try.
In March 2017, we applied for a City of Kelowna Social Development Grant and were successful! Getting this grant was the support we needed to get the Good Food Box pilot development off the ground. Shortly after getting the City of Kelowna grant, we found out that we would also be supported by a Central Okanagan Foundation grant. The grants have been used to plan the Good Food Box, get feedback from community agencies and community members, update our website so that people may order their box online, and buy some of the equipment needed to run the box.
Our Good Food Box pilot will run for 7 boxes, every 2 weeks, starting Friday, June 8, 2018. If we sell enough boxes (we must “break even” to keep this project going), then we will keep the Good Food Box going!
We really hope that we can meet the needs of our community with this community-building food action project! Now is your chance to show support for the Good Food Box.
So, let’s ask ourselves again, why do we need a Good Food Box? Because it’s just a gosh darn great program!
Help us spread the word about the Good Food Box by telling friends, family, clients, and coworkers. Share on social media.
Send us your feedback so we can make it even better.