Do you have a good food box program? While our program is run though this program its the same idea, you pay ahead of time along with a number of your fellow community folks and they are able to take the funds buy in season local fruits and veggies, Split up what is bought between the folks that put in the funds and everyone gets a very good wholesale deal on fresh fruits and veggies.
Its a great program, it has faults (I will get to those in a min) but for general value, its amazing, typically you get 30 to 40 dollars worth of value for your ten dollars investment, instead of giving that mark up to the stores, it stays in your own pocket.
I tend to buy two box’s myself, as its a once a month item and I am very able to process and store any extra’s either by freezing, drying or canning as required to make sure nothing goes to waste.
The two big flaws as I see it is A) No organic and you are eating food from all over the world as they come into season and the whole sale prices are lowest and what is put on sale in the open market.. Not great if you are a local food supporter.. B) you only get one box per month, its very hard to keep the fruits for more then a week or two without perserving extra’s for later in the month, depending on the veggies it can be the same issue
Now this could be a issue with some folks but I just like the challange, you never know what you are going to get in the box and so there are times where you get things you are unsure of how to eat or even how to use them, but its good to stretch your palete, instead of your wallet 🙂
So do you take advantage of a program like this in your neck of the woods?
Just another Day on the Farm 
should add that while I paid for it this week, I don’t get it till middle of the month, but I have lots in the house for fresh at the moment.
Well – your question sent me on a search for something similar close by. There is a good food box in a city near me but it is only for lower income people who are disabled or unable to get to the store due to transportation. However I did run across Durham Organics – who deliver organic produce year round right to your door. No $10.00 box 🙂 I sent off an email to see if I could get it delivered here since I am a little out of the area and if they would allow me to suspend my order in the later summer/fall when my garden is going gangbusters.
Thanks for the idea to get me looking 🙂
Hi Anita,
When I first heard about this program, I kinda wondered the same thing, but for ours for everyone who wants to join in, and if you want, you can buy a extra box and donate it to our local food bank and anyone who orders but then does not pick up’s box go to the local food bank.
The way the gentleman explained it to me, the more of us who bought in, the more they could buy and therefor the better the box’s would be for those that were using it because they really need to do so vs those that choose to use it.
I feel bad because I do the same thing, I tend to only buy in winter, they say that the amount of folks in the program drop by half when the gardens start coming in, the program I belong to runs it in alot of the local smaller towns and then its my understanding they pool the buying power to get the best for everyone. Still I think its a worthwhile community program to support.
http://thegoodfoodbox.ca/about/
Hi Anita, I went back and looked and it much be a different program at that local city to you.. This is pretty much what was explained to me by the local person and its pretty close what they have on the main site and I am pleased to see that they are in fact trying to source local food when possable, I had seen this in the box’s, they use our local potato farm, carrots etc.
Who can buy Good Food Boxes?
Anyone! Affordable high quality food is a human right and it is demeaning to force people to prove their need to access food. We support social justice in our food production and insist on that same dignity in our distribution system. We welcome box orders from anyone who needs our produce and wants to support our program – in fact, we are stronger and more self-sustaining the larger our customer base.
The name is the same but you have to register as a client of a specific Health Care Service and you must be a resident of that city. I like the quote above: high quality food is a human right… I agree. I’m going to do more research and see what else I can find. Maybe someone I can trade eggs with – we’re drowning in them right now. My favorite customer just picked up 26 dozen (hear my sigh of relief!)