The Healthy Living Food Box program is back in full swing after closing for April and May due to COVID-19, and starting in August, the program will be welcoming back its volunteer base.
Janet Drennan, registered dietitian at the Gizhewaadiziwin Health Access Centre and the coordinator of the program, said the food box stopped running in April and May. The program then resumed again in June when the province started lifting COVID-19 restrictions.
Now that the province has allowed indoor gatherings up to 50 people, the volunteers who used to help with the packing pre-COVID can now come back to help.
“In June and July, the Health Access Centre staff have packed the boxes,” Drennan said. “We usually have a large base of volunteers that come and help, but with the COVID, we used the help from the Health Access Centre Staff. For August, we can bring volunteers back in with physical distancing and masks.”
There are four partners that work together to put the food boxes together: the Northwestern Health Unit, Sunset Country Métis, Valley Diabetes Education Centre and Gizhewaadiziwin Health Centre.
The food box program operates from Sunset Country Métis Hall at 714 Armit Ave. You can order on the first Wednesday of the month. Food boxes are $20 and pickup is always the third Wednesday of the month between 12 and 4 p.m.
“They purchase the box and the boxes have to be prepaid so we know the number that we have to make up. So everything has to be prepaid and preordered,” Drennan said. “In the box, it usually ranges from 8 to ten items for the $20. It could be a variety of different fruits and vegetables. We try to access and provide some local produce as well.”
The last food box contained bananas, apples, broccoli, cauliflower, local potatoes, cucumbers, lettuce, celery, mushrooms, green onions and garlic. The box also includes recipes for meals that use the ingredients in the box. Tomatoes, peppers, cabbage, carrots, onions, zucchini, kiwi, lemon, cantaloupe and oranges have also been included in the past.
“A lot of people say one box is a lot for one person. It depends how many fruits and vegetables you eat regularly. So with the food box, they are trying to encourage you to have more fruits and vegetables. It would probably be good for a family of four.”
The food box program is open to anyone. It began in November 2006 with the goal of encouraging households to incorporate more fruits and vegetables into their daily food intake.”The advantages of the food box program would be more food for less money,” Drennan said. “We have in the past priced out the food box at the grocery store and it can range anywhere from $25 to $40 for what you get for $20.”
Donations are also welcome, said Drennan. Donated boxes are given to families in need or to different organizations who are connected with those in need, she added.
There is also the option of buying gift certificates to give others during the holidays or on special occasions, Drennan said. “They are not gift cards, they are paper gift certificates. It is one food box at a time. If somebody has the gift certificate they need to come down and order their food box and bring in the gift certificate with them when they come to order their food box.”
The payment form also allows for tailored packaging if there are special dietary restrictions or allergies.
“We have a few people with some dietary considerations and we do take it into consideration or if they have an allergy then we don’t put the food in the box,” Drennan said. “But if it is something that they don’t like, we encourage them to share it with a family member, a friend or a neighbour.”
Drennan said food boxes can be a practical option if people do not have the time to go grocery shopping. “You can buy as many as you want,” Drennan said. “There is no limit on how many you can buy and there is no limit on who can purchase them.”
“I’m happy to have the program back up and running,” Drennan said. “If anybody has any questions they can call me here at the health access centre.”
For more information or to place an order for a box, call Drennan at 274-3131.
