The Good Food Box

A while ago I mentioned I was excited about our local Good Food Box.

And I still am.

And I've been keeping score--a tally of what we're getting in our box for our $15 each month, as well as the cost of the same produce that week if I were to have bought it at my favourite grocery store.

My savings? About $15-$17. SERIOUSLY.

WHEN DID VEGETABLES GET SO EXPENSIVE?! Gah!

This month's box (because I know you're wondering) held this--

10 lbs red potatoes
5 lbs apples
2 lbs onions
2 lbs carrots
1 pkg mushrooms
1 pkg radishes
1 pkg blackberries
1 head iceberg lettuce
1 zucchini
1 broccoli crown
1 bunch bananas

All for $15. This is the large box. The smaller box sells for $10.

Other months we've received items such as squash, spinach, kiwi, celery, blueberries, cabbage, parsnips, oranges, beets, green onion... generally you always get a bag of potatoes, carrots, onions, and apples--it's generally local or at least more easily attainable food in Canada.

All of it is fresh, delicious, and saves a chunk of our grocery bill.

Truthfully, I'm unsure how far this initiative stretches. There are plenty of Good Food Box programs across Ontario, but I don't know if it's Canada-wide, or provincially run on a hit or miss basis (Google tells me Manitoba has the program set up, but I'm too lazy I didn't check across the country).

I first heard of it when I was living in Toronto years ago, and I know Toronto still has their Good Food Box foodshare program set up (Toronto peeps: you are LUCKY! There's a fabulous variety of boxes available to you: organic, pre-cut, fruit-only... plenty of selection for everyone from busy families to seniors. Definitely worth checking out).

If you're in my ballpark of the province more information can be found here (though it seems out of date: the prices have increased slightly from what's listed). For anyone out of the Simcoe County area a quick Google search will show you what's available to you.

Mm. Food. What can I say? It's exciting.

Good Food Box: Goodness me!

I adore our Good Food Box program. It's a foodshare program that helps the community in providing local farmers with business, and families with access to affordable fruit and vegetables.

And anyone can order a Good Food Box--it's not a program reserved for low income families. The whole point is to ensure everyone in the community has access to cheap healthy food.

(One of Mr Lannis' classic grocery rants is that it's cheaper to fill your cart with junk than with healthy alternatives. If I can record it, I will.)

Until recently, it'd been years since I've benefited from the program--you order your box in advance and go pick it up on a certain day. The last time I took part was ::coughcough:: umpteen years ago when I lived in university residence...

See? It's been a while.

Anyhow. Got on board last month in our new(ish) community, and when pickup day came around it felt like Christmas.

What comes in the box each month is a complete surprise until you pick it up...

Whee! <-- actual unfeigned glee.

Mr Lannis was far more enthusiastic for this endeavor after I tallied the contents of our $15 large box haul would cost us $34.20 at our favourite grocery store.

(Our box included a 10lb bag of potatoes, 4lbs of apples, 3lbs of pears, 2lbs of beets, 2lbs of onions, 3lbs of carrots, 2lbs of plums, a Romaine lettuce, a tub of mushrooms, a cauliflower, an English cucumber, uh... and I think that was it...)

And it's all as local as it can get--September and October being the best time of year to order the box as it's crammed full of in-season items... later in the year the produce just travels farther. Right about now it's all local and they're looking for places for it to go...

Anyhow, after writing that tally out and showing Mr Lannis the financial benefit of The Box, well, suddenly the inconvenience of ordering and picking up this box of produce was exciting to him, too... heh.

(I never quite understood his original lack-of-enthusiasm... since it would never be him in charge of order and pickup as it's exactly the kind of chore that falls under the category of sundry administrative items that occurs on my side of our partnership. But whatev.)

The thing about the Good Food Box, though, is that I always end up forcing us to eat a certain way in order to consume the box in its entirety before the next one arrives.

I'd forgotten this wonderful and frustrating fact.

And lately we've been in the habit of not eating potatoes. I know--weird, right?

Um. And beets. I can categorically say I've never purchased a bag of beets before.

But for the record, this hidden-beet red velvet bar recipe is not too shabby... heh. (Thanks, Dawn!)