COVID-19 update
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Good for You!
Good for Local Farmers!
Good for The Environment!
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How It Works:
Order the monthly Good Food Box a week before through one of our Good Food Box sites and get it on your pick-up date at a community pick-up site near you.
Steps to get your Good Food Box:
| 1. |
Find an Environment Hamilton COMMUNITY PICK UP SITE near you! All orders must be placed through one of our Good Food Box sites. (Environment Hamilton sites are colour coded in blue) |
| 2. |
Order at least one week before the pick up date by contacting your pick up site. Click here for the online map that lists all our sites and their contact information. |
| 3. |
Pick up on the third Wednesday of the month and enjoy your healthy, fresh produce! (order and pick up details are different for non-Environment Hamilton, green marked pick up sites) |
2020 Order and Pick-Up Dates
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What's in a box?
Example Winter Boxes:
| The $10 Smaller Box | 2 Sweet potatoes, Celery, 1 Lb Beets, 3 lb Potatoes, 1 Romaine, 3 Pears, 1 LB Carrots, 2 Yellow Onions, 3 Apples |
| The $15 Larger Box | 3 Sweet potatoes, Celery, 2 Lb Beets, 5 lb Potatoes, 3 Oranges, Cucumber, Romaine, 3 Pears, 1 LB Carrot, 2 Yellow Onions, 3 Apples |
Our boxes contain a variety of fruits and vegetables and the selection changes each month. We have partnered with Halton Fresh Food Box who supplies our produce.
Please Note: Selections depend on what's in season and reasonably priced, to make the produce as fresh and as affordable as possible. To keep our costs low, Good Food Boxes cannot be customized.
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Volunteering for The Good Food Box: "JOIN THE PACK!"
The Good Food Box depends on volunteers to keep our costs down to maintain affordability and sustainability. We need people to help pack, and to drive and deliver the boxes. We always offer refreshments and laughs while you contribute to building better communities through healthy food. It's also a load of fun! Our pack days are on the third Wednesday of every month from 8am - 10:30 am.
If you are interested in becoming a member of our packing crew contact Juby at [email protected]
We would like to thank everyone who orders a box or two or more, our site coordinators who go out of their way to support the program, our dedicated volunteers who pack and deliver the orders, and the farmers who grow our food - we are so grateful.
A BIG thanks to Halton Fresh Food Box and their coordinator Evan who made the connection to supply our project. Thank you!
A SPECIAL thanks to Tim Brand, our superstar volunteer who leads our packs and has been doing so for years. Our program has shifted and had to make adjustments and you have been there to help guide us along the way. Thank you!
With that a big thanks to Indwell / Perkins for their support. Thank you for the use of the space, staff support, connecting with residents to help us pack, and so much more! We have moved pack sites and it's great to have a 'home' for this project.
Information for Site Coordinators
We want the Good Food Box Network to expand across the city so we’re always looking for more pick-up site coordinators. If you are interested, contact Juby at [email protected] or 905-549-0900 for details.
Good Food Boxes - Doing Good
The Hamilton area is challenged by some common problems:
- Over 80,000 people in the Hamilton area live on a limited income which compromises their ability to feed themselves and their family a healthy diet. Over one in five children living in Hamilton are affected.
- Regardless of income, less than half of the Hamilton area residents eat the recommended servings of fruit and vegetables per day which is a key contributor towards serious health conditions such as cardiovascular disease, obesity, and cancer. A healthy diet contributes to a person’s ability to live a healthy active life.
- Vulnerable neighbourhoods often have less access to healthy affordable food, called a food desert area, where there may be less grocery stores or the stores there may be more expensive, making those on lower budgets compromise their food choices.
- Food is often transported great distances to our plates, contributing to greenhouse gas emissions.
- Freshness and nutrition suffers the longer that food takes to get from the farm to the table.
Environment Hamilton’s Good Food Box Program works to ease these problems by making affordable fresh local produce accessible to all Hamilton residents, including vulnerable neighbourhoods. Participants sign up and pay for a low-cost selection of local fresh produce that is available for pickup at select locations across the city once a month.
The non-profit Program works with a local food box provider and uses the cost advantage of purchasing in bulk at wholesale prices to pass the savings on to the household purchasing the Good Food Box. The Program is intended to supplement people’s intake of fresh fruits and vegetables, supporting a healthy diet and lifestyle at a more affordable cost, in addition to supporting local agriculture and reducing the distance that food travels to get to you.
Now in its 10th year and having grown by 10% last year, the Good Food Box program currently serves over 300 households with its year-round monthly seasonal fresh local food boxes. Started by Hamilton Eat Local and continued by Environment Hamilton, the program has a history of working hard to promote the purchase and consumption of locally grown food.
A more localized food system creates environmental benefits:
- Reduced food miles and greenhouse gas emissions,
- Support for local agriculture, and
- Fresher, better-tasting food for those who choose to buy local.
Research proves that diets focused on fresh local food have health benefits for people who choose them. We recognize the importance of a system that makes local food available to all. Local food sometimes comes with a higher price tag. This is where the Good Food Box can make a difference in making fresh local produce accessible to all.
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