Zeballos, Ehattis and Ocluje are getting a Good Food Box delivery program.
The program is run by Greenways Land Trust, and is modelled after the existing programs in Campbell River, Sayward, Tahsis and Gold River.
“Basically the good food box program is bulk buying produce,” said Jeff Groat, Greenways Land Trust’s food security coordinator.
The Campbell River box includes produce provided by Lush Valley in Courtenay. In western communities, the food is provided by Sysco food service.
This project got off the ground in November, after joining with the Strathcona Community Food Network in Nuchatlaht for a community meal and to learn how they could best serve the communities.
“We heard a lot about how difficult it is to get fresh produce, especially in the winter,” Groat said. “They need support up there sometimes. We wanted to … get a sense of what the needs are and to talk about the program.”
One of the main hurdles was finding a coordinator who is based in the community. Groat said that the coordinator position is essential to keeping the program running.
After securing funding and the coordinator, Groat said the program is ready to launch. They will be offering bi-weekly produce deliveries for $25, or for $10 for a subsidized box.
“There’s no requirements to you know, prove income or anything like that,” he said. “It’s just kind of an honour system.”
“It’s hard to measure directly what the kind of effect we’re having but, we hear a lot from our participants that it’s meeting a need,” he said. “For some people without vehicle access that’s a problem, when it’s winter conditions, that’s a problem.”
Ordering is available for the first box on Friday, Jan. 19. The boxes will be delivered on Feb. 2.