Community Connections Revelstoke Society’s latest pilot project is aiming to provide more food security for those who need grocery help. The Good Food Box, priced at $40, contains roughly 10 kilograms of fresh produce sourced regionally, worth on average $60.
The program was launched to support folks struggling with rising grocery prices who don’t need the full support the Revelstoke Food Bank provides.
“This helps alleviate some of the pressure the food bank is feeling,” Austin Luciow, kitchen manager for the Neighbourhood Kitchen and Good Food Box organizer said.
The program currently offers 20 boxes bi-weekly to help Luciow and other program organizers tease out any kinks in the system and gauge need. Unsold boxes are diverted to Revelstoke’s food bank stock.
Good Food Box registration forms can be found on the Community Connections Revelstoke Society social media pages. Payments are made online or through eTransfer to Community Connections. Boxes are picked up every other Wednesday from 4:30 p.m. to 6 p.m. at the Outreach Building, located at 416 Second St. West.
Folks who don’t need the boxes but want to support the initiative can purchase those that are unsold after 11 a.m. on the Wednesday boxes are distributed, Luciow said. To indicate these won’t be picked up, include a note specifying the donation.
How the Good Food Boxes are stocked
Community Connections purchases bulk items at commercial cost from suppliers such as Demille’s Farm Market, which already makes deliveries to Southside Market. Demille’s waives the delivery fee for Good Food Box items, a cost that can sometimes run $20 per delivery.
“It’s not a lot, but it does add up and it takes away from the amount we can purchase,” Luciow said.
Revelstoke boasts local produce sources such as Fight Light Farm and Terra Firma, but the Good Food Box Program isn’t purchasing from them just yet.
“We don’t want local farms to be undervaluing what they’re growing to support the program,” Luciow said, adding organizers will be working in the future to find a way to bring on local farmers while keeping Good Food Box prices down.
“My hope is to get to that point where I could see a partnership with First Light and their cold storage area,” he added, explaining the Neighbourhood Kitchen’s current cold storage capacity is largely maxed out throughout the week.
As the program continues to run and test out interest, Luciow and his team are already picturing ways to expand such as tailoring the boxes with smaller options for clients who can’t get through 10 kilograms of produce and offering items such as eggs and meat. The team is also looking at ways to use the Good Food Box model as a possible structure for a ready meals program.
Who’s accessing Revelstoke’s Good Food Box?
While the project is still in its early phases and no concrete data has been collected, program organizers have seen a range of clients, from those already accessing the food bank to others who might not be struggling with grocery prices but still wanted to support the project.
While Luciow and volunteers have clarified the intention behind the program to some who originally signed up, he’s certain the program will be assisting who it was designed for as more information gets out into the community.
“At the end of the day, if we are able to sell all the boxes then we can run this at cost neutral and be able to continue the program,” Luciow said.
As for assessing who needs and doesn’t need the program, he explained food bank volunteers and staff aren’t in the, “food policing business.”
“If someone is at the point where they are needing to come to the food bank to ask for help, that’s the hardest thing for people to do,” Luciow said, noting the conversation around who is “deserving” of access to the food bank, and now the Good Food Box, happens annually.
“At the end of the day, food is a human right, and us standing in the way of people being able to survive in this town is not our job.”
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