Eating good food just got easier

 

By Laura Bohnert

Are you looking for a way to eat healthier and more sustainably within your community? You can get high quality, fresh produce and find a way to stay more actively involved in the community with the Whitecourt Good Food Box Program.

“The Good Food Box program is a total non-profit program with a goal to provide fresh, quality, nutritious foods into family and individual diets—while promoting community involvement,” explains Fay Arcand, program co-ordinator for Family and Community Support Services (FCSS).

Families and individuals who want to purchase fresh produce can do so at a reasonable price through the Good Food Box Program.

“Registration is on a month to month basis,” Arcand explains, “and at $20 per bag (or month), anyone can register.”

The boxes always contain fresh produce from local grocery stores, says Arcand. “We always provide a recipe with the GFB that uses the ingredients provided in the bag, or sometimes health tips.”

“This program began in 2011,” Acand explains, “with New Horizon Grant seed money.”

The program, in addition to creating a means of ensuring local families had access to affordable fresh produce that still contributed to local grocery stores, was also created to help reduce social isolation within the senior community, says Arcand.

“The community involvement aspect is volunteering to ‘stuff’ the boxes,” Arcand continues. “Through this program, we are able to provide intergenerational volunteering with seniors and teens from our local high schools.”

“Things are going very well,” Arcand emphasizes. “We have between 35 and 40 participants per month, although participation tends to change throughout the summer months as we find participants are either away from home or grow their own fresh produce.”

“This program is important to our community. It ensures that participants will always have a variety of tasty, fresh, and nutritious fruits and vegetables in their homes,” Arcand concludes. “Our newsletter also provides inspiration for meal and snack ideas with the recipes. Not only does volunteering help to keep prices low, but it also helps to build community spirit.”

Registration is required by the second Wednesday of the month. If you are interested in placing an order, or if you are interested in volunteering to pack Good Food Boxes, call 780-778-3637 to speak with Fay Arcand.