The Rural Voice, 2001-11, Page 14op FOOD CONN,/�
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The Good Food Box program spreads from Toronto back to
the countryside to provide nutritious food and reconnect
consumers to the source of their food
By Keith Roulston
ural residents may see food
R
growing all around them but,
unless they grow it themselves
they're unlikely to eat local products.
Ironically, a program that began in
downtown Toronto which has spread
to western Ontario could rebuild the
link between local food production
and local consumers.
The Good Food Box program
spread to Huron County in October
carrying on the vision of the Toronto
founders to provide nutritious fresh
fruits and vegetables for local
residents and, where possible, to
encourage local growers.
Huron's project is just the latest in
the area. Already the Good Food Box
program is well established in Grey
and Bruce Counties, spearheaded by
the Grey -Bruce -Owen Sound Health
Unit.
The program isn't a foodbank,
explains Joan van der Meer who is
co-ordinating the implementation of
the Good Food Box project in Huron.
Though a grant from Huron County's
Pathways to Self-sufficiency program
12 THE RURAL VOICE
is helping with start-up costs,
including van der Meer's 14 -hour -per
week salary, the clients of the service
pay for the food itself. It's really a
buying co-op, she says, where people
who want good nutritious fresh food
come together to buy in bulk. It costs
$12_for the box of fruits and
vegetables.
Joan van der Meer (above) studied
systems in London and Grey -Bruce
before setting up the new Huron
Good Food Box program.
The concept won quick
acceptance in Huron, van der Meer
said, with 96 boxes scheduled to be
packed by volunteers on the first