Donna Antonishak and Diane Fleming started Good Food Box North Okanagan in 2000 as a way to provide healthy food at an affordable price to people in the community.
Now, 24 years later, the two are celebrating with their volunteers, farmers and fellow board members as a successful pilot project comes to an end.
The Good Food Box serves Greater Vernon as far north as Enderby and out east to Cherryville, providing quality produce at a reduced price or with a sponsorship.
The group recenlty held a picnic at Kin Beach to celebrate the improvements to the Good Food Box operation that came by way of the pilot, which will conclude at the end of June.
"We wanted to invite people, volunteers, supporters, sponsors, anyone that wanted to join us to celebrate the fact that we've had a good year, and we hope to continue doing the same," said Antonishak, the Good Food Box Society's president.
The purpose of the one-year pilot was to make the Good Food Box operation more efficient in terms of distribution and management. The pilot has also allowed the group to procure a cargo trailer to help with storage and delivery of boxes, and a cube van to take more than 150 boxes out to participating schools.
There are two sizes of food boxes people can purchase. The larger box costs $20, and the society is able to fill it with produce that would add up to about $50 at a retail store.
"Because we can buy in quantity, we get the option of good wholesale costs," Antonishak said.
Boxes are commonly filled with five pounds of potatoes, a couple pounds of carrots and onions, tomatoes, lettuce and fruit in season. Over the winter the boxes are packed with bananas and oranges, and in the fall the team distributes harvest vegetables.
In addition to its board, the Good Food Box has over 80 volunteers that operate once a month out of All Saints Anglican Church on 27th Street. The group ran out of space at All Saints, so they recruited another church, St. John's Lutheran, and now have a second large depot there.
Spallumcheen mayor Christine Fraser is the Good Food Box's secretary. She also does deliveries and helps with fundraising.
Fraser's mother was a longtime volunteer with the Good Food Box.
"Once I moved back home from working out of town, I started helping her, and I've been helping ever since," she said.
Fraser said about six years ago, the Good Food Box was "in real jeopardy," having been dropped by the association that was running it. But in 2018 the group started their own non-profit society so that they wouldn't be at risk of shutting down again.
"It's been super successful," Fraser said. "We have a really dedicated group of people that are committed to helping people in the community.
"It saves you almost 50 per cent from what it would cost you to buy in a grocery store, so it's great value for everyone. It's not just a program for people in need, it's a program for everybody."
The demand for the Good Food Box's service has skyrocketed since the pandemic. Pre-COVID-19, the society was distributing 300 to 500 boxes a month. This past month, they distributed more than 1,300 boxes.
Vernon councillor Kelly Fehr was at the celebratory picnic to show his support for the program. He said the Good Food Box Society applied for a discretionary grant, and at a recent council meeting, the group was given almost the entire amount they requested.
"The Good Food Box does a tremendous service for our community," Fehr said. "As the cost of food continues to rise ... its harder and harder for people to put nutritious food on the table, so programs like the Good Food Box are vital in our community."
Much needed funding has come the society's way over the course of the pilot. Community Foundation of North Okanagan has provided nearly $15,000 for the Good Food Box to be able to do strategic planning, hire a consultant to improve the service, and hire an assistant program manager to oversee the program's operations.
Antonishak thanked the Good Food Box's funders, the North Okanagan branch of United Way and the Canadian government, for helping to make the program possible.
The Good Food Box North Okanagan has a website for people to order boxes online. Visit goodfoodbox.ca to learn more or order a box.
