Good Food Box

A box of fresh, local veggies, some great friends (and brave ones at that), fondue, and desserts made for a heck of an evening.

What fruits and veggies, you ask. The ones from the Good Food Box Program! Here, good not only refers to the quality of produce, but to their social, economic, and ecological quality as well.

Fresh, Local, Love It.

All the produce in the Good Food Box (save the navel oranges in the Fruit box) come from BC. 40% of these fruits and veggies are harvested right here on Vancouver Island. Because the produce comes from local farms like Michell’s on Island View Road, you can eat easy knowing that you’re sautéing fresh and in-season produce (hence having more-cabbage-than-we-know-what-to-with). Now before we get carried away and start getting into our week’s follow up post on eating local and the slow food movement, let’s talk about what exactly you get in these boxes.

If you check out last post’s photo, you’ll see two bunches of carrots, two hefty, organic spaghetti squashes, an armful of Klondike Rose potatoes, broccoli, two heads of cabbage, three onions, and a bag of Granny Smith apples rivaling those $10 Safeway bags, and about ten kiwi. Guess the price.

Fifteen dollars! At a supermarket, we’d be emptying our wallets for this cart-load. So if you’re like us and worried about the price of eating local, then this once a month service is perfect. And if you’re looking for organic produce, just some BC fruit, or a just smaller box, Good Food Box has options.

Keep in mind the contents change month to month depending on what’s in season. If you picked up the all-organic box, you could expect some beets, basil, red cabbage, red onions, red potatoes, carrots, squash, and Gala apples—all for $15 (and that’s all organic)! The $12 fruit box would be loaded with crunchy Asian pears, (not so local, but I’m sure delicious) Navel Oranges, local kiwi, Red Anjou Pears, and Fuji Apples. And if the size of our $15 Good Food Box seemed a little daunting, you can order a slightly smaller $10 box or even a $5 bag.

Tip: If you’re getting the $15 box make sure you have the upper body strength to lug that sucker to your place or bring your bike (or hybrid car).

Potluck or… Pot“shucks”

We’ll admit it; we were a little worried about Katie’s cooking skills and these local veggies. Would their fresh flavour hold out against the “ooopsies!” and “was that baking soda… or powder I just put in’s” that mark her presence in a kitchen?

Kim, Stacey, Sarah, and Lisa tested their taste buds’ mettle and dug their forks in. Luckily, whatever the outcome of these dishes, Sarah and Kim had brought fondue, bread, and sausage, while Stacey and Lisa covered dessert with some delicious peanut-butter, chocolate chip cookies and raspberry-chocolate strudels. Plus, there’s nothing quite like good company to salvage a meal.

But amazingly enough, the meal didn’t require any salvaging! Hooray for fresh produce!

The great thing about buying incredibly fresh vegetables is versatility. Your recipes can range from Iron Chef to, well—Katie, because at the end of the meal, it’s all about the produce. It’s about the sweetness of the carrots, the tartness of the apples, the texture of the squash. And when you’re cooking for a potluck, it’s also always about the people who are sitting around the table with you.

On the Menu from the Good Food Box:
Carrots, roasted in butter and rosemary
Klondike Rose Potatoes, boiled then pan fried in garlic
Carrots and Peas (peas not from the Box)
Spaghetti squash, roasted, spaghetti-ed, and sautéed in a bit of brown sugar
Home made applesauce

By the way, the carrots are so sweet, with such a bright flavour, you might just consider eating them all raw.

If you’re looking for some quality produce at a reasonable price, or if you’re looking for a way to reduce the cost of your 100-mile diet check out the Good Food Box Program at www.fernwoodneighbourhood.ca/goodfoodbox.html. Find out the nearest distribution center to you before the next round of payments are due on March 4th.

The Good Food Box is also looking for volunteers. If you’re stoked about this program call (250)381-1552 ext. 33 or e-mail goodfoodbox@fernwoodneighbourhood.ca.

Thanks for reading! And don’t forget to check back for our post on eating local and the slow food movement coming up later in the week.

Happy Greening!