Submitted by Joanne Rodgers, BPEG
The Bruce Peninsula Environment Group (BPEG) meeting on August 3, 2022 at the Rotary Hall focused on accessibility to local and sustainable food and nutritious whole foods. There were presentations from Eat Local Grey Bruce and Good to Go Guided Meal Program.
Eat Local Grey Bruce (ELGB)
Jeannine Kralt of Eat Local Grey Bruce (ELGB) says over the past two years, demand for the service has more than doubled. This not-for-profit cooperative is an online Farmers Market currently with over 60 producers. Priority is given to local, organic and sustainable food producers in Grey Bruce. Eat Local Grey Bruce aims to support the local economy, increase food security and food sovereignty for the area, offer quality and nutritional foods and reduce the environmental footprint. Suppliers are required to abide by regenerative, sustainable farming practices.
Another initiative is to reduce waste in terms of both food and packaging. They plan to move away from single use plastic packaging and re-introduce the use of insulated bags. In the future they hope to use mason jars and grocery bins for food distribution.
There is a yearly base membership of $35 plus HST. Customers can order online from Fridays at 7 a.m. to Sundays 11:30 p.m. Customers are not obligated to order every week and there is a minimum order size of $15. Payments can be made by Visa, Mastercard or E-transfer. Delivery is on Thursdays to pick-up points at the Fitz Hostel in Lion’s Head and at The Meeting Place in Tobermory. Home delivery is available to those with accessibility needs. The delivery fee is $6 +HST for pick-up points and $12.50 +HST for home delivery. Financial assistance is available via ELGB’s Solidarity Model.
For more details, please go to: https://eatlocalgreybruce.ca/
Good to Go Guided Meal Program
Beige McIntosh of The Meeting Place Tobermory outlined the Good to Go Guided Meal Program. The program promotes the culture of cooking and introduces ways to cook nutritious whole foods. Each week there is a new recipe mostly using plant based ingredients. Everything needed to prepare the meal is packaged in a kit. The meal is suitable for four servings. Customers are required to place their orders online one week in advance, it is pay-what-you-can but a suggested donation is $15 per kit. Pickup is Wednesdays at the UPI in Ferndale and at the Meeting Place in Tobermory on Thursdays. Customers can order on a per week basis, or per month or only for the week/recipe they are interested in.
For more information: https://tobermorymeetingplace.com/good-to-go/
Another program offered by The Meeting Place Tobermory is Eat Local Connect which subsidizes people in need, giving them access to nutrition-dense foods by allowing them to buy directly from Eat Local Grey Bruce. Once approved, each account will have a pre-paid amount determined by the number of people in the household. Applicants can apply at https://tobermorymeetingplace.com/eat-local-connect/
Next BPEG Meeting: Turtle Trackers, learn about Parks Canada’s efforts to protect the Peninsula’s Turtle population; Rotary Hall 7p.m. on Sept 7, 2022
All are welcomed.
