Duane Hicks
While the day for pick-up will remain the third Wednesday of every month, those who regularly order the “Healthy Living Food Box” each month should know that starting Feb. 4, they must turn in their order forms and cardboard totes on the first Wednesday of the month.
As well, orders only will be accepted at the Sunset Country Métis Hall and not the Northwestern Health Unit office, as it has been for some time.
Anne-Marie Armstrong, health educator for the Sunset Country Métis, said yesterday the reason for the change of date and location is due to some internal changes—and it may only be temporary.
“When we first started, [registration] was done only at the Métis office only on the first Wednesday of the month,” she explained. “Then, we were given the opportunity to change it over to the health unit and open it up so they could pay at any time as long as it was on or before that first Wednesday of the month.
“What’s happened is one of the key people [at the health unit] has gone on [maternity] leave, so there was personnel changes.
“There’s just a few things, little kinks here and there, and as a committee we decided that we had a change we had to make.
“This may be only for the interim, we’re not sure,” Armstrong admitted. “But for now, the easiest thing is for us to go back to the one day a month, and do it at the hall, which is where the pick-up is.
“So bring your order and your totes to the hall on the first Wednesday of the month.”
People can drop by the Sunset Country Métis Hall (located at 714 Armit Ave.) from 8:30 a.m.-5 p.m. on the first Wednesday of the month. The cost will continue to be $20, and people are reminded to bring in their reusable cardboard tote which they got their fruit and veggies in the month before.
The food boxes will continue to be readied for pick-up on the third Wednesday of each month.
Armstrong noted the program, which is partnership between the health unit, Sunset Country Métis, Gizhewaadiziwin Health Access Centre, and Valley Diabetes Education Centre, has been running for just over two years now and continues to be very successful, levelling off at a average of 500-650 people per month.
She credited its continuing success to the partners, their suppliers, and especially the volunteers, who come out every month to pack hundreds of boxes.
“It is a volunteer-driven program. We do the administration stuff, get the lists ready and ordering done, but without the volunteers to help us on that third Wednesday of the month, it would be a very hard task for us,” Armstrong stressed.
“They come out in the cold, out in the rain, out in the sun. . . . They are the key to the success we’ve had.”
Armstrong said volunteers “come from all walks of life,” whether they’ve been high school students wanting to work off volunteer hours needed to graduate or 4-H members, and she welcomed anyone to lend a hand on the third Wednesday of every month.
Food boxes are packed starting around 8:30 a.m. so they’re ready in time for people to start picking them up at noon.
For those who might not be familiar with the program, the Healthy Living Food Box is meant to provide local families with fresh food to encourage them to eat healthy. The boxes contain enough fruits and vegetables, and often rolls or bread, to feed a family of four—a value of at least $40 in each tote for a cost of only $20.
Anyone with questions is invited to call Armstrong (274-1386) or Becky Holden (274-9827).
