The Good Food Box Manual: How To Start A Progam in Your City

The
Good Food Box:

A Manual
How To Start A Program In Your Community
First Edition by
Mary Lou Morgan
and Kathryn Scharf
Second Edition by
René Biberstein
and Mark-Jan Daalderop
FoodShare would like to thank the Heifer Foundation International for making this second edition possible.
We would also like to acknowledge the financial support of the Ontario Ministry of Health for the first
edition. The opinions, results, and conclusions presented in this manual are those of FoodShare, and no
official endorsement by the Ministry of Health is intended, nor should one be inferred.
We gladly authorize the reproduction of portions of this manual for non-profit, educational purposes.
© 2008 FoodShare Toronto
Published by:
FoodShare Toronto
90 Croatia Street
Toronto, Ontario
Canada m6h 1k9
416.363.6441
info@foodshare.net
www.foodshare.net
ISBN 978-0-921030-28-7
Table of Contents
• Executive Summary.................................................................................................................5
• Preface and Acknowledgments by Zahra Parvinian. .................................................................7
• Introduction to the First Edition by Mary Lou Morgan.............................................................10
• Introduction to the Second Edition by Debbie Field. .............................................................. 13
Understanding The Good Food Box: Is This The Right

Program For Your Community?
• History of The Good Food Box.............................................................................................. 17
• Philosophy. ...........................................................................................................................18
• Good Food Box Guiding Principles........................................................................................ 19
• Week in the Life of FoodShare’s Good Food Box Program......................................................20
• Our Customers: Who are they and why do they purchase The Good Food Box?....................22
• Good Food Markets, Another Option. ...................................................................................24
Starting Your Own Good Food Box Program

• Choosing Goals for Your Program. ............................................................................... 25
• Identifying Your Target Group and Making the Program Suit Their Needs.................. 27
• The Fresh Produce Distribution Industry .................................................................. 28
• Competitive Analysis................................................................................................ 29
• Marketing Plan – The 5 P’s....................................................................................... 31
• Management Structure............................................................................................. 35
• Stages of Expansion.................................................................................................. 36
• Financial Plan........................................................................................................... 41
Guide To Produce Sourcing And Management

• Produce Sourcing..................................................................................................... 45
• Buying Practices.......................................................................................................46
• Box Contents and Produce Mix................................................................................48
• Ordering Spreadsheets and Technique...................................................................... 51
• Presentation of Boxes............................................................................................... 51
• Sample Box Contents............................................................................................... 52
• Produce Management Basics.................................................................................... 53
• Organic Good Food Boxes.......................................................................................54
Table of Contents 3
Human Resources and Volunteer Coordination
• Volunteers......................................................................................... 57
• Staff. ................................................................................................. 57
• Good Food Box Drop-off Coordinators.............................................. 58
• Packing Day Volunteers.....................................................................60
• Coordinating a Packing Day............................................................... 61
The Good Food Box Newsletter

• Why Add a Newsletter to the Good Food Box?. ........................................... 63
• Writing a Newsletter That Speaks to Your Customers.................................... 63
• Newsletter Resources................................................................................... 64
• Does the Newsletter Get Read?.................................................................... 64
Profiles of Other Good Food Box Programs

• Montreal...................................................................................................... 65
• Saskatoon.....................................................................................................67
• Innisfil.......................................................................................................... 68
The Evolution of the Good Food Box

• The Origins of the Good Food Box Program...................................... 71
• FoodShare Programs 2008................................................................. 75
Appendices
• Good Food Box Coordinator Package...........................................................81
• Sample Ordering Spreadsheet...................................................................... 84
• Frequently Asked Questions. ....................................................................... 85
• Produce Buying Policy..................................................................................87
• Good Food Box Order Form. ...................................................................... 89
• Produce Storage Guidelines......................................................................... 90
• Good Food Box Sales Figures.......................................................................91
• Local Produce Statistics. ...............................................................................93
• Good Food Box Yearly Sales Trends..............................................................97
• Good Food Box Newsletter........................................................................101
• Good Food Box Flyer.................................................................................105
• Annual Good Food Box Farmers Meeting Flyer...........................................107
4 The Good Food Box

Executive Summary
T
he Good Food Box is a non-profit fresh fruit and vegetable distribution
system operated by FoodShare Toronto. It runs like a large buying club,
with centralized purchasing and co-ordination. Individuals place orders
for boxes with volunteer drop-off coordinators in their neighbourhood and pay
between $12 and $32 for their box, depending on the version they choose.
FoodShare’s customers purchase top-quality fruit and vegetables from local farm-
ers and the Ontario Food Terminal, which volunteers pack into boxes at FoodShare’s
warehouse. Each box contains the same mixture of produce, though the contents
change with each delivery, depending on what is in season and reasonably-priced at
the time. FoodShare’s truck drivers deliver the boxes to the neighbourhood drop-off
locations, where the local volunteer coordinators ensure that customers pick up their
boxes. Established in 1994 with just 40 boxes, the Toronto Good Food Box program
now distributes just under 4,000 Good Food Boxes each month.
The Good Food Box Guide is designed to provide direction to individuals and
organizations who are interested in using this type of system to improve food access
for themselves and people in their communities, particularly those living on a low-
income. It also encourages community development, promotes healthy eating and
supports the local agricultural economy.
Executive Summary
Over the last 14 years, Good Food Box organizers have learned many lessons about
the philosophy and logistics of running a large-scale distribution system, with both
centralized coordination and community-based input and support.
The guide begins with a look at the history, philosophy and principles of the Good
Food Box program. This is followed by information on how to market the Good
Food Box, how to find funding, how to promote the program and what equipment
and resources are needed.
Also in the manual are sections on produce buying, volunteer management and
creating a newsletter. Examples are provided of newsletters, promotional pamph-
lets, profiles of other Good Food Box programs, sample box contents, work rhythms
and growth mechanics. Since 1994, dozens of other Canadian communities have
developed their own versions of the Good Food Box, responding to local needs and
circumstances, all working towards increasing access to good, healthy food.
Executive Summary 5
6 The Good Food Box
Preface and Acknowledgments
July 21, 2008
W
hen I was growing up in Iran, my grandmother always said that we should
eat a rainbow of vegetables each day. Her advice to “pick vegetables of
different colours” stemmed from her belief that eating all of the colours
of the rainbow would keep us healthy.
I think of my grandmother’s message each week and try and create this rainbow
in each and every Good Food Box that we pack – purple eggplant, dark green kale,
orange carrots and red strawberries.
A rainbow of people makes the Good Food Box happen. Our staff and volunteers
are from all over the world, are of all ages, are from all backgrounds and have many
Preface and Acknowledgments

colourful personalities. In the old auto-body shop of an abandoned high school,
which we have transformed into a bright and clean warehouse, we pack the Good
Food Box with an amazing team.
The Good Food Box takes a rainbow of skills as well. Back home in Iran, I studied
business management and here in Canada, I became a social worker. This combina-
tion of skills has been an asset in managing the social enterprise that is the Good
Food Box. It takes the mind of a business person and the heart of a social worker to
understand that while our project is first about increasing food access and is therefore
about providing a social support, we have to operate as much like a business as pos-
sible.
I want to thank our staff for all their hard work in making the Good Food Box
program a success. Thanks to our office staff, Delsie Hyatt and Cafeon Nembhard
for their terrific customer service and their outreach efforts that have helped the
Good Food Box and Fresh Produce program grow and shine. Thank you to Moorthi
Senaratne for his work in the warehouse where he patiently supervises our interns,
receives produce from farmers and helps coordinate packing day.
Thank you to Mark-Jan Daalderop for his work ordering produce from over 15 dif-
ferent suppliers. This is a difficult job, somewhere between science and art, because of
the many conflicting interests in making the box a success.
Thanks to Bill Jenei who coordinates FoodShare’s Fresh Produce and Good Food
Box deliveries. He has helped enormously in improving the efficiency and reliability
of our service. Thanks also to our drivers: Edward Scott, Rajah Subramanian and
Marcus Rak, and Driver’s Helpers: Doug Whittle and Ron Hardy who courageously
battle the chaotic streets of downtown Toronto to deliver fresh produce to commun-
ities.
preface and Acknowledgments 7

Many thanks to the Good Food Box team for their dedication and all the colours
that each staff member gives to the program.
Thanks also to Daniel Hoffman, the Youth Program Coordinator, for the care he
takes in integrating all the youth interns into the Good Food Box program.
Thank you to Jesús Gomez and Sybil Pinnock, of the Kitchen and Catering pro-
grams, for the amazing home cooked snacks and lunch they prepare for everyone. No
packing day would be possible without them.
Thank you to Mike Nevin, our Composting Facilitator, who makes sure that all of the
organic waste generated by the Good Food Box program is turned into soil and used by
our Urban Agriculture team in community gardens. Thanks to Angela ElzingaCheng,
Ravenna Barker, Ayal Dinner and Ian Aley for their work in animating Good Food
Markets, bringing fresh produce stalls to neighbourhoods throughout the city.
The work of promoting healthy food in our schools is enhanced by the outreach
efforts of the student nutrition team. Thank you to Lori Nikkel, our Student Nutrition
Manager, Meredith Hayes, our Field to Table Schools Coordinator, and the Toronto
Partners for Student Nutrition staff members: Fiona Bowser and Ulla Knowles.
Thank you to Gloria Padilla, FoodShare’s Financial Manager, Nora Long, our Good
Food Box Bookkeeper, Zola Dyer, Donor Relations and Foodlink Coordinator and
Anna La, Fundraising and Volunteer Coordinator, who all maintain the financial and
fundraising infrastructure of the program.
And of course, a big thanks to Debbie Field, FoodShare’s Executive Director, for all
she has done to develop the Good Food Box program over the years and helping us
secure funding for its operation.
The Good Food Box could not happen without the cooperation of all of our staff and
all of the hundreds of volunteers who help us pack the boxes each week and coordinate
the drop-off locations.
We also want to thank Heifer International, especially Colleen Ross and Chris Kru-
ger of Heifer Canada, for the funding of this second edition of the Good Food Box
Manual. The first edition, originally funded by the Ontario Ministry of Health, was so
popular that it went out of print and we have been photocopying it for years for those
that request a copy.
We first began working with Heifer International seven years ago when they funded
our bee project, which has been so successful. We thank Heifer Canada for funding us
to “pass on the gift” of how to organize a Good Food Box program.
8 The Good Food Box

The vision of Heifer International is a world of communities living together in
peace and equitably sharing the resources of a healthy planet. Through Heifer’s “pass-
ing on the gift” philosophy, communities and families share their livestock, know-
ledge, resources and skills, creating and expanding networks of hope, dignity and
self-reliance. Heifer works in Canada, and around the globe, towards social, eco-
nomic and political justice.
Heifer International commits to helping families, communities, organizations,

partners and movements in their struggle to achieve food sovereignty and sustain-
able livelihoods. It supports sustainable food systems, the recovery of cultures, local
knowledge, spirituality and the environment, fostering justice and equity through
participation, solidarity, and advocacy. For more information please see www.heifer.
org.
Mary Lou Morgan and Kathryn Scharf wrote the first edition of this manual and
have since moved on to new jobs and new opportunities. Mark-Jan Daalderop and
René Biberstein took the lead on this second edition. Many thanks to Mark-Jan and
René for all their hard work on making this manual happen. Thanks to Anna La and
Adrienne De Francesco for their meticulous copy-editing. A special thanks to Laura
Berman of GreenFuse Images for designing this manual and producing beautiful
photographs for FoodShare.
In my years at FoodShare I have had the pleasure of “passing on the gift” of how
we operate the Good Food Box to many people across Canada. Just recently we have
been supporting a group in Montreal who have started a box program there. It is so
satisfying to know that others want to start a Good Food Box program in their com-
munity. We hope this manual answers your questions and that you are successful in
your process.
Good luck in creating your own Good Food Box program; may it be a rainbow,
filled with healthy produce, beautiful experiences and wonderful people.
Zahra Parvinian
Good Food Box and Kitchen Program Manager
July 21, 2008
preface and Acknowledgments 9

Introduction to the first edition
November 5, 1997
I
n many ways, the Good Food Box is FoodShare Toronto’s seminal project. All
the other FoodShare programs build on its strengths, echo its philosophies and
circle around its rhythms. With virtually no advertising besides word of mouth,
we have grown from the original 40 boxes packed in February of 1994 to selling just
under 4,000 boxes each month.
I believe our strength lies in the food itself. Eating a gorgeous shiny purple egg-
plant or a sweet apple, the sight of a farmer proudly presenting mixed baskets of
yellow and red heritage tomatoes, picking a beet from the dirt, a meal shared – all of
these experiences have the power to awaken our senses, feed our basic need for food
and connect us to each other. These experiences are especially important to people in
Introduction to the first edition
the city, who may be living in stressful conditions, are disconnected from nature and
separated from each other.
Time and time again, I have seen volunteers who come to pack the Good Food
Box go home after six hours of hard physical work exhausted but exhilarated. So
often these volunteers make a point of thanking us on the way out the door. Thank-
ing us for the chance to meet and eat with others, for the chance to do meaningful
work and for the opportunity to contribute to our community. On the receiving end,
mothers report their children’s excitement when the Good Food Box arrives, people
proudly phone to tell us of their success with the latest recipes and people comment
on the stories of where our food comes from. I believe the colours, quality and sea-
sonal nature of the produce is directly responsible for these good feelings. Working
with others, being connected to our neighbourhoods and to a larger network of like-
minded people, also enhances our well being.
At FoodShare, we didn’t start out to create an alternative food distribution system.

After all, Canada has chains of powerful and efficient retail grocery stores and thou-
sands of successful corner stores. Produce from all over the world is available to us
and Canadians spend on average, only 14 percent of their income on food; this is the
lowest amount in any developed country. Canadian farmers produce food efficiently
and there is often excess food produced. Canadians also export billions of dollars
worth of food to other countries.
These facts would lead us to believe that everything is fine with our food system
and that in Canada no one should be hungry or malnourished. In fact, many children
go to school without breakfast. In Toronto, 120,000 people visit food banks each
month; food banks have opened at universities and even in farming communities.
Reports of high cholesterol and obesity in young children are constantly surfacing.
10 The Good Food Box

Most of these problems cross all income levels. In the long run if everyone improves
their diets, our population’s health would improve and health care costs would fall.
Can programs like the Good Food Box make a difference in the food, health and
agricultural system? What are the issues and challenges we face? Over the years at
FoodShare we have listened to parents struggling to feed their families and learned
that the reasons are complex. Paying for food is a problem when you don’t have
enough money, unless you are a very skilled shopper and a resourceful from-scratch
cook. A common myth is that a roof over your head and food in the cupboards are
peoples’ first two priorities. In reality, when there is not enough money, food doesn’t
make it onto the list of priorities. It becomes the elastic band for all other pressures.
Families pay for shelter and emergencies first. Rent, a hydro bill or medical expenses
come before food. Field trips at school or running shoes sometimes take precedence
over home cooked food, as parents want their children to belong.
Changing personal situations like cuts in welfare rates, caring for sick or aging
family members and the rising costs of living can leave people with less money to buy
food. Some people may not have a place to cook, store or grow food. People may be ill
or have personal situations, which make it hard for them to get or prepare nutritious
food. Some people have lost the opportunity to learn skills that used to be passed
down through the generations; immigration and family breakdowns are some of the
reasons this happens.
We all know we should eat better. The Canada Food Guide, dietitians, The Cancer
Society and The Heart and Stroke Foundation, all talk and write about improving
our diets, but The Good Food Box delivers. The increasing popularity of the Good
Food Box reinforces our own strong belief that this straightforward approach works.
People who have received the Good Food Box more than 6 times report an increased
consumption of fresh fruits and vegetables and a positive change in acknowledging
that a healthy diet is possible even on a limited budget.
Parents and children are overwhelmed with advertising for fast foods. The food
industry spends millions to promote processed food because that is where profits are
highest. We are promoting the benefits of fresh produce, food in its most basic state,
prepared and eaten at home. The newsletter gives recipes, nutritional information,
stories about the history of food, explanations about where our food comes from and
how it is grown. We have developed strong relationships with local farmers and our
large volume purchases have earned us respect.
Our primary focus is to purchase food that is in season and is grown as close to
home as possible. There are several reasons for this. Local food is generally more
affordable and money is not spent getting the food to a market hundreds of thousands
of miles away. After we find out what is on the market we supplement the product
selection to provide the variety of fruits and vegetables that we have all grown accus-
introduction to the first edition 11

tomed to. With experience, we get to know and trust the farmers and suppliers. We
also feel that food grown close to home is produced under conditions and standards
over which we have some measure of control. Fair labour laws, reduced pesticide use
and environmental standards are important to us. The Ontario government has a
plan to reduce pesticide use by half by the year 2000 and encourages farmers to file
environmental farm plans.
The rhythms of the Good Food Box have established themselves over the years.
Orders and payments are taken, collated, produce is ordered, food received, packed
and delivered. The Good Food Box is paid for in advance and delivered to a neigh-
bourhood drop-off point, which is run by a volunteer drop-off coordinator. Volun-
teers also help to pack the boxes. In all these ways the Good Food Box breaks down
barriers to getting affordable, nutritious food. It’s a simple idea that a community can
take and adapt to its own reality. Good Food Box programs have started in many cit-
ies and towns in Ontario by people who are interested in food security issues.
In October 1997, groups running Good Food Box programs across the province
got together to discuss our similarities and differences. We compared customer num-
bers, types of boxes, buying sources, newsletters and volunteer supports. It was a won-
derful opportunity for us to meet. Our solution-oriented approaches to the problems
of food insecurity are complex and integrated. Many are experimenting with growing
food, providing job readiness skills to volunteers and even setting up small commun-
ity supported businesses like Niagara’s Gift Baskets and FoodShare’s Field to Table
Catering Company.
Our common ground involves the connection between growing food and eating
it, the relationship between family and the community and the interplay of health,
nutrition and money. Our bottom line is that we believe that food is a cause for joy
and celebration.
Mary Lou Morgan

Founder of the Good Food Box

Introduction to the second edition
July 21, 2008
M
uch is the same, yet some things are different than they were in 1997
when FoodShare published the first edition of The Good Food Box
Guide.
In Toronto, the realities that led to the development of the Good Food Box still
exist. Poor access to affordable, healthy food for low-income communities, limited
Introduction to the second edition

market access for local farmers and promotion of pre-packaged, convenience foods by
the dominant players in our food system, all remain profound problems.
But things have changed as well.
First and foremost, the food crisis has escalated in ways that even the most pes-
simistic food critics could not have predicted. Who in 1997 could have foreseen food
riots in 2008, caused by soaring food prices? World hunger aggravated by growing
poverty has resulted in increased food insecurity instead of the promised “end of
hunger.” Meanwhile tens of thousands of Indian farmers have committed suicide in
the past decade1 and the Farm Line2 hotline was set up to support Ontario farmers
in dealing with financial and emotional difficulties, including the escalating rate of
farm bankruptcies. We are also witnessing a pandemic of obesity3 and diabetes, partly
fueled by a corporate fast food system that cares more about profit than health.
Rising gas prices, biofuel mania, global climate change, drought, trade imbalances
and continued war have created a staggering global food crisis:
• 1.1 billion people go to sleep hungry every night;

• For the first time in human history, the same number of people, 1.1. billion, go to
sleep over-nourished from too much of the least healthy foods4;
• Agriculture is increasingly economically and environmentally unsustainable.
At the same time, interest in healthy and local food has grown exponentially over
the past decade. Everyone is talking about food and the need to change the food sys-
tem. Many of the practical lifestyle solutions, grassroots programs and policy propos-
als promoted by FoodShare a decade ago, are now accepted as main stream solutions.
Canada’s food guide has changed; a healthy diet is now based on a more servings of
1 Food First: A Bitter Harvest: Farmer Suicide in India, Development Report, 2007 (https://www.foodfirst.org/en/
node/1611)
2 Farm Line: When You Need Someone to Talk To, 2008 (http://www.thefarmline.ca/whoweare.html)
3Health Experts: Obesity Pandemic Loom, 2006 (http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/14657885/)
4 Gary Gardner and Brian Halwell: Overfed and Underfed, World Watch Paper, 2000 (http://www.wellfedworld.org/PDF/
Overfed%20and%20Underfed.pdf)
introduction to the first edition 13

vegetables and fruits a day. Local, organic and fair trade have all become more accept-
able and a new generation of young people and immigrants are interested in farming
and producing food for the local market.
This heightened interest in food, though positive in terms of the growing interest in
the Good Food Box and FoodShare’s work, has exacerbated the inherent complexities
within the program. Is it always a win-win situation between the needs of low-income
consumers and local farmers? How can the Good Food Box buy as much local as
possible even if it costs a bit more, when so many Good Food Box customers have
lost buying power over the past decade? How do we balance various environmental
agendas? Should we select imported organic produce from southern California or
conventionally grown Ontario produce? What about the tastes and traditions of new
Canadian customers born in the tropics who care deeply about imported produce like
mangoes in the winter? Where does organic, still close to double the price of conven-
tional produce, fit into a program designed to improve low-income individuals’ access
to healthy food?
These changes over the past decade – increased global food problems and interest
amongst broad layers of society in a new food system – make it more urgent than ever
for government involvement.
What if governments all around the world agreed to put “food first” rather than
last in social policy? What if they subsidized basic food items such as vegetables and
fruits, rice, grains and beans, sold throughout the country? These kinds of subsidies
were successful in ensuring better food access for the poor in India’s Kerala state5
before the World Bank pressured the government to stop them. Subsidized open-air
Sacalao markets in Belo Horizante, Brazil6 are one of several programs that the local
government supports to improve food security.
What if healthy foods were cheaper, in all grocery stores, than packaged foods,
reducing the rates of obesity, diabetes and a variety of illnesses caused by eating
unhealthy foods? What if farmers who produced for the local market were guaran-
teed stable and adequate prices while low-income consumers were guaranteed afford-
able prices and the government made up the difference?
In the meantime, what if Good Food Box programs, which model these solutions
in a community-based setting, were funded by governments at all levels? What if
everyone, in every part of Canada, was able to access the Good Food Box? We are
confident their health would improve as they increased their consumption of fresh
fruits and vegetables. Market share for local farmers would improve, since the Good
5 Poykayil Simon George, International Food Policy Research Institute: Costs and Benefits of Food Subsidies in India, 1988
(http://www.ifpri.org/pubs/books/ppa88/ppa88ch16.pdf)
6 Cecilia Rocha: An Integrated Program for Urban Food Security: The Case of Belo Horizonte, Brazil, 2000 (http://www.envir-
eform.utoronto.ca/conference/local-food/cecilia-rocha.doc) and The City that is Ending Hunger, 2006 (http://www.yesmagazine.
org/article.asp?ID=1398)

Food Box prioritizes local buying. There could be environmental benefits too, by
working with farmers to reduce packaging and transportation and to promote sus-
tainable growing practices. Since the Good Food Box does not deliver directly to
individuals but only to groups of ten or more, there are also social benefits in terms
of building community cohesion.
Government funding would reduce tensions between the needs of low-income

consumers and farmers, by providing funds to ensure that farmers get a fair price,
while still keeping the Good Food Box price affordable enough for low-income con-
sumers.
The benefits of the Good Food Box have only increased in the fourteen years since
it began. Although it is a small community based program, the Good Food Box is
built on the principle that everyone deserves subsidized, healthy food and has great
potential to influence policy solutions for a myriad of food security issues.
In order to share our experience, we were delighted when the Heifer Foundations
supported us in republishing the Good Food Box Guide, one of the eight manuals
we have published to share what we have learned about how to organize successful
grassroots food programs.
The Heifer Foundation’s concept of “passing on the gift” is central to the practice
of non-profit organizations so that others don’t have to reinvent the wheel. It is not
a cookie cutter model, as each community’s situation is different and therefore each
program across the country varies, sustained by the their own organizational and
financial realities, but we hope this manual will serve as a resource for inspiration
and learning.
A few years ago I participated in a panel at the Food Security Conference in Alberta,
with a Registered Dietician from Community Food Connections in Medicine Hat,
Alberta. She held up three manuals – FoodShare’s Good Food Box Guide, The ABC’s
of Baby Food: Making Baby Food from Scratch and How Does Our Garden Grow:
A Guide to Community Gardening Success. We had never met before, but she had
found our manuals helpful in the creation of their Good Food Box, baby nutrition
and gardening programs.
Though we can pass on the logistics of how we organize packing day, it is harder to
pass on our sustainability model. People always ask about how they can finance the
program. Across the country we all struggle with the economics of operating food
programs since there is no federal and very little provincial or local funding. We wish
we could “pass on the gift” of a model of financial sustainability. In our case, living
in a large city, we can access private donors, foundations and grants from the City of
Toronto for the Good Food Box program.
introduction to the second edition 15

In the United States, the Department of Agriculture funds community-based food
programs like the Good Food Box. When we started the Good Food Box we received
a few years of Provincial funding through a partnership between the Ontario Min-
istry of Agriculture Food and Rural Affairs and the Ministries of Education, Com-
munity Services and Housing. Agriculture and Health are Federal and Provincial
issues and it is important that they are involved.
To grow the Good Food Box we need increased funding. The more boxes we dis-
tribute, the more funds needed. Those starting a program will need to find sources
of sustainable funding. In the long run, we hope government funding will be there
to help. In the short term, we encourage groups to seek funding from everyone –
faith-based organizations, individuals, the private sector, family foundations and the
government – when possible.
We hope this second edition of the manual will help to increase interest in starting
Good Food Box programs and that readers find it useful. Please stay in touch with
us as we work toward government support for food programs and as we build a more
sustainable, equitable and just food system.
Debbie Field
Executive Director

1
Understanding the Good Food Box:
Is this the right program for your community?
The History of FoodShare’s Good Food Box Program
FoodShare was founded in 1985 by then Mayor of Toronto, Art Eggleton, and
others concerned about the growth of hunger in our city and the many food banks
that had taken place in the wake of the recession of the early 1980’s. FoodShare’s
original mandate was to coordinate emergency food services and to collect and dis-
tribute food. We were also responsible for the Hunger Hotline, which was established
Understanding the Good Food Box

as a volunteer-run referral program for people seeking food services in their neigh-
borhood. Another key part of FoodShare’s mandate was to advocate for policies that
would ensure adequate employment and the income necessary to enable all people to
meet their basic needs.
In the late 1980’s, FoodShare staff began to share the frustration of many that
the problem of hunger was not diminishing. Income inequality and unemployment
were, if anything, increasing. Food banks – originally intended as a stopgap solu-
tion – appeared to be here to stay. We heard from food bank users that the food they
received was often limited in quantity and quality, and rarely included fresh produce.
A strong tradition against resorting to charity means that many feel ashamed when
they are forced to use a food bank – sometimes to the point of going hungry rather
than doing so. Food bank organizers have stated that food banks are not a sustainable
response to hunger and that they want to “put themselves out of business.”
So FoodShare began to explore self-help models like cooperative buying systems,

collective kitchens and community gardens that would have the potential to address
short-term issues of household hunger, while also providing longer-term benefits by
building the capacity of individuals and communities.
The Good Food Box program was created as a cooperative buying system with a
focus on local and seasonal fresh fruits and vegetables. In January of 1994, we packed
forty Good Food Boxes in the basement of our office on Queen Street West. Now,
in 2008, we pack and distribute just under 4,000 boxes per month in a 7,000 square
foot warehouse with a walk-in cooler and forklift. We have also grown to have almost
180 active neighborhood-based drop-offs.
We have seen the number of weekly orders rise over the years. As a result, we are
now able to get better prices on produce due to increased purchasing power and can
pass these savings onto our customers. We have also been able to increase the number
Understanding the Good Food Box 17

of farmers from whom we purchase directly, especially for our organic boxes.
The larger our orders are, the more feasible it is for farmers to work with us.
The Philosophy Behind the Good Food Box

We believe that everyone deserves affordable, healthy and sustainably pro-
duced food. Communities should not be dependent on handouts of food, nor
should handouts be necessary. In the long run, government needs to make food
a right and subsidize basic foods for the entire population. In the meantime,
“Food security cooperative models of food distribution, like the Good Food Box, are created
exists when to improve access and affordability of fresh produce and to help strengthen
all people, at local farm economies.
all times, have
Over the years, we have broadened our focus to look at the entire food sys-
physical and tem – how food is produced, distributed and consumed. We see hunger as
economic access just one symptom of a food system that is geared to treating food primarily as
to sufficient, safe a commodity. FoodShare believes that access to food is a basic human right
and nutritious because, like air or water, it is fundamental to our health and survival. But
the question is how to make this right a reality. Should food be subjected to
food to meet their the same rules of market distribution that govern, say, soap or toothpaste? Or
dietary needs and should governments help to ensure that basic foods are available to everyone in
food preferences the same way that the health care system in Canada provides subsidized health
for an active and care to all Canadians? We believe there is a role for not-for-profit food distribu-
tion mechanisms, of which the Good Food Box is one example, in helping to
healthy life.” ensure that all people have the basic human right to access food. We believe
that the government should support programs like the Good Food Box to
Food and Agriculture make this right a reality.
Organization of the
United Nations What we’ve come to realize is that the “what” and “how” of food access is
also important and that it’s not just any food that we’re talking about. We try to
promote an awareness that fresh, whole foods are key to health, well-being and
disease prevention, and to illustrate this principle through all our programs.
How people get their food is also important. Food distribution systems that
involve communities and help to create neighborhood leaders have a great
potential to enhance individual and community empowerment, by leading
people to feel that they have control over this very basic part of their lives. All
our programs are based on this community building principle. Again, because
of its material, cultural and social importance, food is special in its power to
mobilize people to action.
The Good Food Box – while subsidized by FoodShare through individual

donations, foundation and government grants – aims to give its customers a

stake in the food distribution process. It is not a for-profit enterprise, nor is it
based on charity. It is a bulk-buying club that uses public subsidy to try and
create a positive situation for consumers in the city and for farmers, by allowing
farmers to earn better prices for their crops, while allowing consumers in the
city to pay wholesale prices. Like all of FoodShare’s programs, it does not dis-
tinguish between rich or poor, because we believe that everyone needs to eat
healthier foods and increase their consumption of vegetables and fruit. We
have learned from years of work in low-income communities, that people living
on a low-income don’t like participating in means-tested programs.
“A person who
It is obvious that the Good Food Box program cannot solve the problems has health has
of food insecurity alone. However, we see the Good Food Box as a good start.
At the very least, the box can improve people’s access to healthy food, support
hope, and one
farmers, bring people together and strengthen communities. We hope it can be who has hope
a conversation starter about the kind of system we want to build in which every- has everything."
one has access to healthy, affordable, local and sustainably produced food. Anonymous
Good Food Box Guiding Principles

Start with the food!
Food included in the Good Food Box is of the highest quality. It is geared
towards being personally and culturally acceptable to the widest group of
people possible, and is selected and arranged in order to appeal to all of the
senses. Aesthetics matter. Handle the food carefully. Choose produce for col-
our and variety and thoughtfully arrange the produce for maximum appeal. A
beautiful box reflects the fact that the Good Food Box is not a handout but a
high quality product.
Improve the affordability of healthy food

Customers pay for a portion of what it costs to produce the Good Food Box,
FoodShare and it’s various funding sources make up for the rest. Customers
benefit from the cost savings of bulk buying and the time saved from this dis-
tribution method. This means purchasing high quality, fresh food is within the
reach of many more people than through the regular retail system.
Make the Good Food Box fun

A large part of the Toronto Good Food Box’s success arises from the sheer
fun that people have receiving the box. Opening the box is a surprise each
time, “What’s in it this time?” Customers have even reported that their chil-
dren are more interested in and willing to eat the Good Food Box food because
of the novel method by which it arrives.
understanding the good food box 19

Support local and organic agriculture
We believe that to create a sustainable and affordable food system we need to invest
in our local farmers and support sustainable farming practices. A healthy farm econ-
omy helps to boost urban economy and helps to ensure we have access to affordable
local produce. In order to support one another, city dwellers and farming commun-
ities need to work towards a shared vision for food access. The Good Food Box creates
an opportunity for customers to learn more about their local farmers and influence
the variety of produce and how it is grown.
Make participation easy for everyone

Be aware of, and make the box meet the needs of low-income people and people
on social assistance. For example, in Toronto communities, that means requesting
payment in advance and delivering toward the end of the month, when money and
supplies are running low. Families with little money for food take a risk when paying
in advance to purchase a Good Food Box, so quality is of utmost importance. If the
box arrives full of wilted vegetables, this can have a severe impact on a family’s food
for a week and can dissuade a family from future participation. Damaged food may
also call up associations of “seconds,” furthering stigmatization and reducing the
chance of positive word of mouth advertising – an important component for success.
Most importantly promoting increased fresh fruit and vegetable consumption is a
worthy goal for people of all income levels, and the participation of diverse people in
this program is a major component of its success.
Balance revenue & subsidy to achieve financial sustainability

Ideally a Good Food Box program will both improve access to fresh produce and
generate the revenue necessary to cover all costs. This is rarely possible due to the
financial limitations of low-income communities, the cost of supporting volunteers
and local farmers and the cost of creating educational materials. A combination of
subsidy and revenue are likely necessary.
A Week in the Life of FoodShare’s Good

Food Box Team
Here is a description of a typical week here at our FoodShare warehouse.
The sun rises on a snowy and cold Wednesday morning. The Good Food Box
team arrives, they exchange comments on the weather, fill the coffee maker with
fresh grounds and prepare for the beginning of the Good Food Box cycle. The fax
machine chimes with orders, inboxes are filled, and the telephone rings with custom-
ers calling from living rooms and offices. The database quickly fills with orders, while
the team meets to plan the contents for each of our seven different boxes.

Thursday a few more late orders arrive, along with apologies. The final number of
boxes is printed and the warehouse begins to stir. Our green plastic Good Food Boxes
are counted, labeled and arranged in preparation as a group of volunteers from the
Center for Addiction and Mental Health arrives to wash our used boxes. The equip-
ment is polished, greased, and the packing supplies are fully stocked. The produce
buyer calls farmers and starts to accumulate information on what is available, what
is in season, and what is of excellent value. The empty spaces in the newsletter fill up
with recipes, farmer profiles, and articles on eating healthily, and food security.
On Friday, the produce buyer calls farmers and places the orders. The newsletter is
finished and printed out.
On Monday, at a very early hour, one of our drivers picks up our produce from the
Ontario Food Terminal and brings this produce back to our warehouse. The farmers
arrive all at once, with overloaded pick-ups and large trucks. The empty warehouse
fills with the color and aroma of a farmer’s field. A moment later the warehouse is
mostly empty, the cooler now full. The prices, quality, size, and origin of the pro-
duce is recorded and used to make any last minute adjustments to the contents of
the boxes.
Tuesday morning the staff starts early in order to arrange produce into pack-
ing assembly lines and set up pre-packaging stations for loose produce that is to be
bagged. The volunteers arrive between 9 and 9:30 a.m. The volunteer coordinator
signs in volunteers, gives them name-tags and helps orient new ones. The warehouse
assistant keeps all produce well stocked and manages the supply and flow of produce
throughout the day. Volunteers are set up in the packing assembly lines and are shown
in detail how to pack the boxes to prevent the produce from getting damaged and to
make the boxes look presentable. A driver arrives at noon to start delivering boxes to
community drop-off locations and picks up the previous week’s empty boxes. Pack-
ing continues until all boxes are packed, usually about 3 p.m, with a half-hour break
for lunch at 12:30 p.m. Volunteers are given a large box of produce to take home as
our token of appreciation.
The volunteer drop-off coordinators receive the delivery of boxes from the drivers
on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday, which are then picked up by members of his/
her community. The coordinator is responsible for collecting payments from cus-
tomers, placing their collective order and making sure they pick up their boxes. The
drivers return from their route between 3-7 p.m. and unload the empty Good Food
Boxes destined to be washed and repacked for next week. While the boxes are being
delivered our office staff also answers calls from customers and drivers if any issues
arise.

Here is a chart summarizing our work rhythms for the week.
Weekly Work Rhythms Chart

(Based on a Good Food Box schedule of one delivery per week)
Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday

• Staff meeting • Prepare the pack- • Drivers deliver • Start calling • Create box
• Receive pro- ing assembly lines boxes to coor- farmers to see contents
duce and pre-packaging dinators what is available • Order produce
• Produce is stations • All orders must for what price
checked for • Greet volunteers be in by 12 • Plan and write
quality and • Pack boxes until noon for the newsletter
size to make finished next week • Take inventory
sure there is • Drivers deliver • Feature veg- and restocking
enough for boxes to coordina- etable selected of packaging
each uniform tors based on what materials
box • Clean up is in season
• Preparation • Create truck and local
of packing routes for the
signs, printing week
of newsletters
and content
sheets
Our Customers: Who Are They and Why

Do They Purchase a Box?
Our experience leads us to believe that a typical Good Food Box customer is a
middle aged female, who takes on the responsibility for providing food for herself
and a spouse or family. They live in Toronto and their family earnings fall below or
are at the median income. They are motivated to eat healthier and provide healthy
food for their families, are knowledgeable about the benefits of supporting local agri-
culture and demand a box that contains local and/or organic produce. They also
come from a variety of cultural backgrounds and are interested in items they can use
in their home-cooking. They are interested in the Good Food Box because it offers
value, is convenient, and gives them a feeling they are supporting a shared vision for
food access.
In November 2007, a survey was distributed to Good Food Box customers over a
two-week period. Its purpose was both to inform the content of the Good Food Box
Manual and to help FoodShare better understand the demographics and opinions of

Good Food Box customers. 354 Good Food Box households returned the survey, or
24% of those surveyed. Here are several of the questions and responses that you may
find interesting.
What are your main reasons for purchasing a Good Food Box?
Reason Responses Percent

Support local farmers 304 86%
Low cost 226 64%
Helping me eat better 211 60%
Freshness 209 59%
Convenience 194 55%
Quality 187 53%

Supporting organic farmers 153 43%
Connection to my community 134 38%
Other 50 14%
Total 1,668
This reveals that the top three reasons customers purchase the Good Food Box are
also FoodShare’s top three program goals: to support local farmers, make food more
affordable and promote healthy eating habits. Among the reasons cited, there was also
a high appreciation of the box’s contents; over 50% of those who responded noted
that quality, freshness and convenience were reasons for buying the box. Reasons in
the “Other” category included: wanting to financially support FoodShare, wanting to
reduce packaging, the surprise and variety of the box, being forced to cook more and
supporting non-GMO (genetically modified organism) products.
What is your favorite thing about the Good Food Box?

• It is local and organic (comment from customers of the Organic Good Food
Box).
• The cost is low.
• It keeps me healthy by forcing me to eat more vegetables or cook more.
• It teaches my children about nutrition.
• It’s convenient and saves time.
• It’s delivered to my house (in the case of some coordinators and Meals on
Wheels participants).
• The newsletter and the recipes, especially, are excellent.

• The volunteer drop-off coordinator is great and picking up the box provides a
chance to visit (one respondent said that their coordinator organized weekly
potlucks for Good Food Box customers).
• The quality of the produce is high (some said higher than most stores).
• It supports FoodShare.
• It makes me feel connected to my community.
• It’s an exciting surprise each time. Many said it’s “like Christmas.”
• The variety of the box.
• It forces me to try new things.
Good Food Markets, Another Produce

Distribution Choice
Good Food Markets share the same philosophy and principals as the Good Food
Box program. The main difference is that instead of distributing the produce in boxes,
the produce is sold to community organizations to sell to their neighborhoods in the
form of a market. Many communities are interested in having markets but making
linkages with farmers who would find it financially viable to invest in the start-up of
small markets is very challenging. For this reason the Good Food Markets have the
ability to fill this need. Over time patronage and popularity will increase, thus creat-
ing a potential site for a farmers’ market. If you are interested in learning more about
Good Food Markets please inquire about FoodShare’s Good Food Market manual.
Our research has shown that a Good Food Market customer spends on average
$7-10 each time they shop at the Good Food Market. Since the Good Food Box costs
between $12-32 per box, it may be that the Good Food Markets are a better vehicle
than the Good Food Box for reaching lower income community members. Good
Food Markets are often managed and further subsidized by community partners
who also choose the produce that best suits their neighbourhood’s needs.

2
Choosing Goals for Your Program

In the beginning stages of FoodShare’s Good Food Box program, an advisory com-
mittee was put together with representatives from different sectors such as churches,
farms and private businesses. A real learning process took place as each sector shared
their perspective. The farmers came to an understanding that the problem being
addressed by the program was not simply about food distribution but also about
hunger and its complex causes like the lack of income, lack of access to stores, and
cultural and individual attitudes about food. At the same time, the rest of the com-
mittee learned about agricultural issues: how weather affects crops, how systems and
different levels of distribution work and how food is graded.
As the group worked together, it realized that it had to modify its goals. Initially,
the primary purpose was to set up a more direct buying relationship between the
urban poor and farmers – to shorten the distance between field and table. There was
also the hope that seconds and other blemished produce that farmers could not sell in
the market place could be distributed at reduced costs to low-income communities.
As it turned out, the early orders were on too small a scale to make it worth while
for farmers to participate. As well, focus groups with low-income community mem-
bers revealed that people were not interested in produce that did not look as good as
what was available in stores. Therefore, our approach shifted to purchasing vegetables
and fruits that people wanted to buy through the Ontario Food Terminal with the
future hope of supporting local farmers once the Good Food Box program grew. As
we expanded, we were able to make more direct relationships with farmers. In 2006,
with just under 4,000 boxes per month, 54% of the produce FoodShare purchased
was local, and 20% was purchased directly from farmers.
As the Good Food Box became more established and structured, the need for an
active Advisory Committee decreased and FoodShare’s staff and Board of Directors
took on this function. However, we would suggest from our experience that it is very
important that you establish an Advisory Committee when you start the Good Food
Box. The Committee could include representatives of low-income families, farmers,
agency supporters, faith-based organizations, local politicians, business leaders and
others who might support the development of the Good Food Box in your commun-
ity.
It is important to decide what the goals of your program will be before you begin.
FoodShare has been able to deepen its goals because of the large number of boxes we
pack (purchasing directly from farmers has become more feasible) and the increased
starting your own good food box program 25

number of different boxes we offer (such as organic, pre-cut and portioned
produce and fruit boxes, which better serve a diverse clientele). We started with
a focus on healthy, affordable food that would be used by the widest range
of cultural groups. We have since broadened our goals to include purchas-
ing produce from local farmers, supporting sustainable farming practices and
increasing convenient prepared produce for aging, ailing or busy individuals.
We would also eventually like to work with local farmers to grow culturally
specific crops, like okra and calaloo, in order create boxes that would appeal to
various cultural groups. Below is a list of goals you may want to consider when
planning your Good Food Box program.
Making fresh food affordable, especially for low-income

communities
To offer competitively priced produce, you will likely need to source produce
through high-volume, consolidated supply-chains, which offer lower prices on
produce. To meet the needs of your consumers, you may also want to offer
types of produce that are used by most customers on a regular basis, even if
they are not seasonal. Note that produce purchased directly from farmers can,
in some cases, be less expensive than through a consolidated supply chain and
we at FoodShare are always looking at these direct options when possible.
Promoting healthy food

We offer a box of quality fruits and vegetables that improves overall health
by encouraging the consumption of more servings of fresh vegetables and fruits
each day. A health focus can be enhanced if you provide nutritional informa-
tion and recipes with your boxes. You may also want to include produce with
a low glycemic index or provide organic produce known to have less chemical
residues.
Supporting local farmers

We do our best to prioritize local produce, putting it in the box whenever
it is feasible. Even in the winter, stored local items such as carrots, onions and
apples are available. Since the variety of produce during the winter months
is very limited and the local supply of Ontario fruits, even in the summer
months, is limited, FoodShare has never produced a “Local Only Box.” How-
ever, because the demand for local produce has increased, we are discussing the
idea of a local box as one of the options for customers. Keep in mind that find-
ing farmers willing to supply you with produce depends on how economical it
is for them to transport it to you. The larger the box program the larger your
orders and the greater the likelihood that local farmers will find it financially
sustainable to deliver to you.

Supporting organic agriculture
Improving access to organic produce and supporting farmers who grow
organically is important for maintaining soil fertility and decreasing our
exposure to synthetic fertilizers and pesticides. Organic produce, however, can
be prohibitively expensive for low-income communities and therefore you may Barriers to
not be able to achieve your goal of improving the affordability of produce if you
choose to source organic. FoodShare has opted to create a separate organic box,
accessing Good,
which has different aims than our regular Good Food Box. There are, however, Healthy Food
times when organic produce is available at a comparable price to that which is
conventionally grown. In these situations we would choose the organic product • Insufficient
over the conventional one. income
• Affordable
Offering culturally specific fruits and vegetables grocery retailers
You may want to target certain cultural groups by creating boxes that contain are inaccessible
culturally specific fruits and vegetables, especially if these groups have barriers by affordable
to accessing this type of fresh produce. Working with farms to grow cultur- transportation
ally specific fruits and vegetables, with the assistance of someone with growing • No access to
knowledge of these crops, can improve access to culturally appropriate produce a kitchen to
and provide employment and community development opportunities. prepare food
• Insufficient time
Increase convenience of eating healthily to prepare food
Pre-cut produce, in portions that are measured based on the Canadian Food • Insufficient skills
Guide requirements, can help make it easier for seniors or people recovering
to prepare food
from chronic illnesses to eat more servings of fresh fruit and vegetables.
• Food labels
are hard to
Identifying Your Target Group and understand
and are missing
Making the Program Suit Their Needs information
necessary to
Although a Good Food Box program is based on universal access to food, the
make good food
reality is that you will also be serving the needs of very specific groups (i.e.
choices
low-income families, farmers, or busy individuals who want to eat healthier).
A successful program not only requires knowledge of your target group but • Insufficient
an understanding of what would appeal to them. Here are of some sugges- knowledge
tions to help you shape your program to meet the needs of your customers: of nutrition,
agriculture, etc,
• Understand why individuals in your desired group will use the pro- to make good
gram and be effective at promoting these benefits (i.e. mothers inter- food choices
ested in feeding their families healthy food, individuals with a keen
interest in eating healthily). At FoodShare, we know that a large
number of our customers are low-income, single mothers. This means
we often include information on child nutrition and recipes for kid-
friendly foods.
Starting Your Own Good Food Box Program 27

• Understanding the existing barriers your target group face (i.e. if many indi-
viduals living on a low-income feel that they lose their dignity by using pro-
grams specifically geared towards low-income communities, you may want to
consider a program that is accessible to everyone).
• Partnering with community or private agencies who have access to and

knowledge of the target group you wish to serve (i.e. churches, community
centers, health food stores, health centers) is extremely helpful. These agencies
can offer resources, advice and support, to help you reach out to new custom-
ers. Building a partnership with a local agency to further subsidize the cost of
the box can help make the boxes more accessible to those living on very low
incomes.
• Adding other related programming at pick-up locations, like soup and meal
programs, nutrition classes or wider health education campaigns, can increase
the appeal of participating in the Good Food Box. If your program has the
resources you can also consider running these programs yourself.
The Fresh Produce Distribution Industry

The Good Food Box is an alternative way of distributing fresh produce. Under-
standing the current trends that are affecting this industry will help you design a
program that achieves your objectives while being competitive in the marketplace.
Below are some current trends in the fresh produce distribution industry.
Consolidation of suppliers and distributors

In order to lower the cost of produce and maintain a competitive advantage over
other grocery retailers, many grocery stores are reducing their number of suppliers.
The suppliers that they choose must be able to supply a larger amount of produce,
which results in a cheaper price per unit. Large suppliers in regions with longer grow-
ing seasons are attractive for grocers and reduce the amount of staffing the grocery
store must allocate to purchasing since there are less accounts to take care of. The
drawback is that Canadian farmers with smaller operations have difficulty getting
their products on grocery store shelves.
This type of consolidation has resulted in a monopolized food system, with few
owners who each have a great deal of control over what is sold and produced. The cur-
rent situation is unfair to local farmers and is one of the reasons that new cooperative
mechanisms like the Good Food Box are so important to farmers so that they have
alternative venues to sell their produce outside the current distribution system.

Convenience
Canadians have less time, fewer domestic skills and less of an inclination to devote
time to food related chores than previous generations. As a result there is an increased
demand for foods that can be prepared in a short period of time. This is not a new
consumer trend, however, it has evolved over time. When convenience foods were
first introduced, consumers were willing to accept a lower quality and poorer taste for
the ability to prepare a meal in a short period of time. But today, consumers require-
ments for convenience foods are more sophisticated than the speed of preparation.
Today, convenience foods must also be easy to purchase and clean up, nutritious,
flavorful and of good value.
Direct marketing of local produce

The direct marketing of produce, a food system where fresh produce is directly
distributed from producer to consumer, can be achieved through initiatives such as
U-picks, food box programs and community shared agriculture projects. The good
news is that these types of initiatives are increasing in number in North America. An
increase in the number and popularity of farmers’ markets in Canada is evidence of
this trend.
Sustainable agriculture
Farming practices that protect natural resources and support the agricultural com-
munity have become increasingly important to producers and consumers in recent
years, as concern for the environment and safeguarding our food supply rises.
Competitive Analysis
FoodShare mainly competes against a produce distribution system that relies on
large scale consolidated supply chains that offer low prices. The produce from these
supply chains often ends up in large super markets, which are most often accessed
by car or public transit. A number of the Good Food Box drop-off locations are
in low-income neighbourhoods, far away from any grocery stores. In some cases, a
convenience store is the closest food outlet to a social housing complex where people
live. The Good Food Box program tries not to compete with farmers’ markets, farmer
food box programs or private sector organic home delivery companies that provide
special box programs to individual consumers.
What advantages does the Good Food Box have over a large
supermarket chain?
The Good Food Box offers:

• fresh and healthy food
• an overall lower cost of produce (see Table 1 below)

• a large percentage of local produce, sometimes directly from farmers
• only high quality produce
• the convenience of delivery close to home
• a community activity that can decrease social isolation
• a program that customers can feel good about supporting
• newsletters and other useful resources
Table 1. Comparison of the Large Good Food Box (cost: $17) to three grocery stores.
This study was completed in August of 2007.
* Locally produced
Large Good Grocery Source/ Grocery Source Grocery Source/
Food Box item store #1 quality store #2 /quality store #3 quality
6 Corn* $1.49 ON/ good $ 1.20 ON/ good $1.08 ON/ very
poor
1 Bag Carrots* $1.99 ON/ good $1.29 ON/ good $1.29 ON/ good
4 lbs Potatoes* $1.99 ON/ good $ 1.71 ON/ good $1.00 ON/ good
1 Bag Barlett $3.99 ON/ good $ 4.99 ON/ good $3.99 ON/ good
Pears*
1 Bag Apples* $3.99 ON/ good $3.49 ON/ good $1.99 Not local/
good
1 Cantaloupe $2.49 Not local/ $1.49 not local/ $1.49 not local/
good good poor
1 Pint Mushrooms* $1.99 ON/ good $1.99 ON/ good $1.49 ON/ good
1 lb Plum $0.99 ON/ good $0.99 ON/ good $0.79 ON/ good
Tomatoes*
1 English $1.49 ON/ good $1.29 ON/ good $0.99 ON/ good
Cucumber*
2 lbs Onion* $2.49 ON/ good $1.49 ON/ good $1.29 ON/ good
1 Bunch Broccoli* $1.29 ON/ good $1.29 ON/ good $1.29 ON/ poor
1 Romaine $0.99 ON/ good $0.99 ON/ good $0.69 ON/ poor
Lettuce*
1 Bunch Bananas $1.18 Not local/ $1.18 not local/ $0.99 Not local/
good good poor
Total $26.36 $23.39 $18.37
Savings/box $9.36 $6.39 $1.37
Savings/year $224.64 $153.36 $ 32.88

(based on 2 boxes
per month)

What disadvantages are there to the Good Food Box compared to
a large supermarket chain?
• The Good Food Box doesn’t allow the consumer to select the fruits and vege-
tables they want to buy. The Good Food Box team decides on the contents of the
box based on our goals, the best prices in any given week and our knowledge of our
customers’ preferences.
• The Good Food Box price can still be too expensive for some community
members. Families with a low income may not be able to invest $17 for a Good Food
Box and may only have $5-10 of expendable income on hand at any time. These
individuals would benefit from a Good Food Market more than a Good Food Box or
from a program that is supported by a local organization that can add another level
of subsidy. For example customers could pay $10 and a local church could make up
for the $7 difference.
• Due to the delivery system, the produce can lose some freshness in transit
and may cause a consumer, purchasing the box for freshness and quality, to return to
another food retailer.
• The Good Food Box only offers fresh produce, therefore a consumer will still
need to make the trip to the grocery store for packaged items, the protein of their
choice, such as meat, cheese, fish, beans or tofu and other items to fill out their diet-
ary requirements.
Marketing Plan – The 5 P’s

Product
The box should sell itself. Price and quality are the two biggest selling points of the
box, and it is impossible to prioritize one over the other because they are so closely
intertwined. A top quality box avoids arousing any negative feelings that low-income
customers may have about receiving second-rate goods. Thus the box itself is its own
best advertisement. Aside from the actual quality and value of the box, presentation is
key to producing a perception of value. This means that the box must be packed care-
fully, with the heaviest items on the bottom to avoid damage (and subsequent spoil-
age), and that contents must be arranged attractively. Have an array of colours visible,
place vegetables like broccoli face up and ensure that the box itself is well cleaned.
This will lead to positive word-of-mouth advertising, which is the best kind.
Price
Produce sales are our largest source of income for the Toronto Good Food Box
– over $500,000 per year. Of this amount, a portion is the margin. It is calculated
using a percentage formula in order to determine the percentage of profit.
Margin = (Selling price – Cost price) / Selling price x 100

If you’re a for-profit business and enough sales are made, the margin should cover
all expenses and include a profit for the company. Generally the higher the margin,
the less goods that have to be sold. Since produce is inexpensive, a huge volume of
sales must be made to break even.
At the retail level, a margin of 33-100% is applied to produce, depending on what

the market will bear. There are many players and steps involved in the produce supply
chain and each step requires financial input. A farmer grows and harvests potatoes by
the ton and receives approximately 6.5 cents per pound. The packing house washes
and puts the potatoes in a 10-pound bag and adds another 15 cents and sells it to a
wholesale company. The wholesaler then sells the bag for $1.15 to the supermarket,
who in turn markets that same bag of potatoes for $1.99 to $2.99. Each sector takes
their margin. The food system in Canada is very efficient and power is heavily con-
centrated at the retail level where the largest amount of money is made. The Good
Food Box and other FoodShare entrepreneurial programs compete in this setting.
FoodShare aims for a 25% or greater margin, depending on the box. The margin
covers the cost of delivery, a portion of the operating cost and produce. Grants and
donations cover all infrastructure costs such as rent and equipment, including salar-
ies. In 2008, a $17 Good Food Box contained $12.24 worth of produce at wholesale
prices. This includes the produce buyer’s fee. Another 10 cents is assigned to cover the
cost of replacing the recyclable boxes and 10 cents for the newsletter. The remaining
funds cover the cost of delivery.
It is important to cover as much of our expenses as possible, yet still have good
prices to attract a low-income customer. The Good Food Box costs $17 but has a
value of anywhere from $18 to $30 in a retail store. The customer saves money, has
the box delivered close to home and has banked money by paying in advance. In
addition, the food is of excellent quality. The savings are a significant incentive for
people to continue buying from the program. One of the central challenges is to keep
prices low enough that you can sell the box to people who have little money. It must
be a good enough deal – good enough to persuade them to spend scarce money on
fresh fruits and vegetables when there are so many other competing needs.
In a strictly business situation all costs including salaries are covered by the selling
price. In our case, the margin that a low-income customer can afford to pay cannot
cover all the costs involved and so, the Good Food Box program, despite its efficiency,
requires external funding. Growth in customer numbers will result in a bulk buying
advantage and an economy of scale, but there is a plateau beyond which it is very dif-
ficult to reduce costs.
The scale and complexity of a Good Food Box program in a large urban city like
Toronto requires both a reasonable margin and subsidies in order to keep growing.
While volunteers are a central part of the project, they can only be responsible for so

much. For example, to use volunteers to make deliveries could result in back
injuries or legal complications over the long term. Realistically, the coordina-
tion of such a large fleet of volunteers would itself demand a full time pos-
ition.
Why it’s
Placement/Delivery area important to
Depending on your transportation and human resources you may need to
restrict the area where you can deliver the Good Food Boxes. Targeting insti-
brand your
tutions with higher traffic, storage capabilities and flexible delivery times will Good Food Box:
help to maximize the number of boxes and make it easier for delivery. If you are
motivated to make healthy fresh produce available and accessible to those of Good Food Boxes
low-income, determine the areas in your city or town that have a greater need with your group’s
for this program. We decided to focus on the Greater Toronto Area. logo can:
• Distinguish
Promotion
your program
• Flyers
Materials that specifically target low-income people often scream “poverty,” from others.
because non-profit organizations often lack the resources to produce promo- • Be an
tional materials. Early research for the Good Food Box showed that when advertisement
people saw a rough, hand-drawn, photocopied flyer, they assumed that the
for quality.
quality of the produce would be inferior. This can present a problem if Good
Food Box supporters decide that they want to help promote the program in • Protect your
their own building and draw up their own materials. It is a good idea to pro- customers
vide people with the necessary promotional materials, so that the image of the and your
program is consistent and is associated with quality. As in corporate advertis-
group.
ing, it is generally a good idea to try to keep a consistent look in your advertis-
ing in order to build a “product image.” If you have to change your logo or • Be used in
pamphlet, try to keep as many design elements as possible the same. displays and
to advertise
• Signature boxes
your program.
Re-usable plastic boxes can be printed with the Good Food Box logo and
can act as advertising. • Be used to
market new
• Media products.
Pursuing the local media is an excellent way to gain publicity. The Good
Food Box has had some excellent coverage by receptive journalists; for example,
local television shows such as CBC’s Marketplace and on TV Ontario have
provided a public stage to promote the program. This type of advertising is free
and has proven effective.
However, journalists may not always be capable of seeing or portraying more

subtle messages, and they may be more inclined to portray the pathos of pov-
erty than community development or empowering messages. A negative mes-

sage about poverty can be counterproductive, preventing new people from signing up
and making existing customers feel bad about their participation. However, once you
are aware of this tendency to create a “charity” message, you can make sure that your
input to journalists is clear and represents the program and its participants in a digni-
fied way. In Toronto, generally, the stories that have produced the best response have
been the ones that focus on the food, not on the people involved (the latter tending to
lead to patronizing or embarrassing “character studies”).
It is true that once the media is involved with your program, you lose some control
over the message. At the same time, even if what they do with your message is not
everything you might hope for, you may still derive benefit from the coverage, simply
by getting your name known and tucked away in people’s heads for later reawaken-
ing. Repeating the same message over and over eventually gets the message out and
makes an impression on the public.
Before trying to attract media attention, make sure that you have the systems in
place to deal with the response, which can be overwhelming – create an intake form,
be prepared to answer all calls, know how to connect individuals to existing drop-offs
(if you intend to do this).
Buying ads in mainstream papers is usually too expensive. There is, however, a
multitude of local community papers and newsletters (e.g. environmental organiza-
tions, churches, service clubs and residents’ associations) that will print a small article
for you or include a pamphlet in their mailings.
• Community presentations
Good Food Box staff have done countless presentations to community groups that
have expressed an interest in the program. Now that the program is better known, we
are responding to presentation requests more often, rather than asking communities
if we can present to them. A community, it seems, is more likely to have a successful
Good Food Box drop-off location when they already have a heightened interest and
is ready to commit time and energy into improving food access. Outreach can be a
lot of work, but it is worth talking to any group that asks. Though it may come to
nothing in the short term, often the group will reappear just as you are on the verge
of forgetting you ever talked to them.
To gain acceptance for the Good Food Box, it is often a good idea to promote it
through an agency who is already offering programming – for example mums and
tots groups or a seniors community centre – and is therefore trusted by commun-
ity members. In Toronto, promoting the program through welfare workers has not
worked for us, perhaps because this point of contact is simply too far removed from
the actual organizing process in the community or perhaps because of the negative
feelings associated with this particular environment.

If you have a box ready-made, you can take it along and raffle it off at the presenta-
tion. Creating a sample box, if you don’t have one around from a recent delivery, can
be problematic. It costs a lot of money to do on a regular basis, is difficult to lug to
the meeting on public transit and can create the expectation that people will get the
exact box that they saw at the meeting. It’s better if people make a leap of faith and
are then pleasantly surprised when they see their first box.
Social marketing and the 5th P
Social marketing is based on using either a product or advertisements to influence

behavioral change. While the Good Food Box is a product, it also embodies the hope
that people will change their attitude and behavior when it comes to their relation-
ship with food. The Good Food Box has the ability to create behavior change in
several ways by encouraging the participants to do the following:
• To consume a greater amount of fresh fruits and vegetables.

• To spend more time cooking at home and to use a wider variety of produce
thanks to added recipes.
• To learn to use and choose locally grown produce.
• To learn and use organically grown produce.
• To engage in discussions around food related issues with community members.
• To participate in food related events (e.g. pot-lucks) with other Good Food Box
customers.
Policy
Another component of social marketing is to create behavioural change by work-

ing with various levels of government to create policies that will help you achieve
your goals. For example, giving a food allowance to the citizens of a city, province or
nation that could only be used at farmers’ markets or registered programs would pro-
mote direct farm to customer transactions. This would increase the incentive to pur-
chase local produce, thereby helping to restore a viable farming sector and improve
the availability of produce for low-income communities
Management Structure
The Good Food Box needs a strong non-profit organization to operate the program
or needs a strong organization that agrees to be the contractual partner and host.
A host organization can help by offering in-kind staff time, such as fundraising or
bookkeeping support or by providing infrastructure (e.g. photocopier, fax machine,
space).

Currently, our Good Food Box program operates as one part of a larger fresh pro-
duce distribution operation, which runs three programs: the Good Food Box, Fresh
produce (delivery to schools and other agencies) and Good Food Markets. The man-
agement structure is as follows.
Good Food Program Manager
Good Food Program Coordinator Lead driver
Fresh Produce
Project Coordinator
Volunteer and Customer Warehouse Assistant Drivers
Service Coordinator
Volunteer Drop-off Youth Interns

Packing Day Volunteers
Coordinators
Stages of Expansion
The following is a description of the stages of expansion that FoodShare’s Good
Food Box went through to get to its current size. An increase in human labour and
equipment were necessary at various key points in order to facilitate expansion.
Ongoing evaluation, revision and improvement of systems apply throughout.
40 boxes per month
• Small rental truck or equivalent

• Computer and printer for the newsletter
• Small donated space, boxes packed by staff in the basement of FoodShare in
banana boxes in the third week of the month
• Produce purchased by professional produce buyer at the Ontario Food
Terminal, picked up and brought to FoodShare by our driver
• Simple newsletter
• Boxes delivered by staff member in a rented truck
• Promotional material prepared
• No lunch provided for volunteers
• Presentations were made to small groups of interested people

200 boxes per month
• Packed by staff in a warehouse loaned by North York Harvest (a food bank)

• Staff time spent getting enough banana boxes in which to pack produce
• Produce purchased by professional produce buyer at the Ontario Food Ter-
minal
• Produced received on a loading dock and transferred by skid into the ware-
house
• Produce delivered by staff member using rented van and dolly
• Bread and cold cuts for volunteer lunches
• Postcards designed and used for promotion
• Public speaking opportunities with small groups
• Financial books were done by volunteer, four days a month
600 boxes per month
• Moved to warehouse loaned to us by the City for two days a month

• Customers asked for a smaller box, so the $12 small Good Food Box was cre-
ated
• Purchased knives and digital and hanging scales
• Continued building a regular volunteer work force, mix of incomes and life-
styles
• Produce purchased at the Ontario Food terminal and occasionally directly
from a farmer
• Wooden loading dock, uneven floors, great funky atmosphere
• Boxes moved down old wooden tables as they were packed
• Beginning of composting fruit and vegetable waste, separation of cardboard
from other recyclables
• Customers asked for re-usable boxes
• Improvement of newsletter
• More forethought about lunches prepared by staff person
• Two trucks needed, a refrigerated 16-foot cube van – donated, and one
rented
• Drivers were paid compensation
• Purchased pump trucks, dollies and a portable computer
1,000 boxes per month
• Moved to permanent warehouse at 200 Eastern Ave. provided by the City,

with three phone lines
• Staff purchased produce, picked it up and delivered it to the warehouse
• Set up a roller system to make box packing easier

• Had a packaging station and cupboard full of bags and elastics
• Installed refrigeration for produce
• Formalized recycling of all waste
• Financial books done by FoodShare staff
• Set up a database using Microsoft Access program to manage coordinator
data
• Small extended cargo van purchased with a grant from the City
• Regular volunteer lunches made by the new Field to Table Catering program
at FoodShare
• Customers asked us for deliveries twice a month because of welfare cuts

• Tested several boxes: Caribbean, Basic and Mom-to-be (all later discon-
tinued)
• Full-time bookkeeper hired for FoodShare, accounts created for each drop-off
site
• New training program took over preparation of volunteer lunches
• Two drivers on staff, casual drivers and helpers paid
• Switched to professional buyer at the Ontario Food Terminal, produce deliv-
ered at no extra charge
• More produce purchased directly from local farms and delivered in bins
• Unwritten policies discussed by staff and were formally recorded
• Started working on volunteer drop-off coordinators’ manual
• Coordinators’ meetings helped to provide input for the manual
• Steady group of volunteers came in on a regular basis; notable change in vol-

unteer mix, more low-income individuals participating, that needed the Good
Food Box given to them at the end of the day
• Packing done each week
• 4 full time drivers hired
• Established Fresh Produce program, bulk produce delivered to schools for stu-
dent nutrition programs
• Good Food Market program started
• Set up arrangement with the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health’s
(CAMH) Vocational Rehabilitation Association for weekly washing of boxes
• Experimented with Wellness Box (still being distributed) and Dry Goods Box
(discontinued)

• We moved into a larger space (an under-utilized high school, operated by the
Toronto District School Board)
• We purchased a forklift
• Created a database program for ordering using Microsoft Access (improved
ordering accuracy and our ability to record the history of produce sourcing)
• Increased direct farm relationships and produce sourcing
Packing location
Having access to a warehouse space where the boxes can be packed is necessary.
This can be in the form of a church basement, community centre room or any public
space that can be donated for this purpose. As the program expands the amount of
space and resources required will also grow. Currently, FoodShare occupies a 7,000
square feet warehouse with a 1,000 square feet walk-in cooler and two loading bays,
and uses a forklift.
Trucks and deliveries
Developing an effective delivery system is important to maximize resources. Food-

Share’s drop-off locations are organized based on three things: the day the coordin-
ators receive deliveries, geographical areas and desired times of delivery (in our case
we try to only offer morning or afternoon deliveries although there are special cases).
A driver who has a good knowledge of your city would be an ideal candidate to help
organize the routes.
Re-usable boxes
The signature green boxes that FoodShare packs its produce into help to reduce
waste, make the program look more professional and help to ensure that there are
boxes ready to use each packing day (previously, it was challenging to find enough
cardboard boxes to pack with).
The drawbacks to using the boxes are that coordinators must return them to the
driver each week and that they must be washed prior to every use. Because of the
volume of boxes we currently distribute, an effective inventory system needs to be
established to help us track down missing boxes and encourage the return of these
boxes. Coupled with damage over time, replacement boxes must be purchased every
few years.
Staff
Staffing costs are the single greatest expense of our Good Food Box program; yet,
they are absolutely vital for this program to succeed. With the size of the Toronto

Good Food Box program, it would be difficult to find volunteers with enough time
and incentive to do the work of distributing just under 4,000 boxes per month.
Another reason is that paid staff provide greater continuity. From the customer’s point
of view, consistency is important and gives them confidence in the program. When
quality of service is an important focus, it also helps to have staff accountability.
Systems and software
As the Good Food Box increased in operation size, it became clear that custom
software was needed to keep track of the distribution and payment system. Barry
MacMaster, a Good Food Box drop-off coordinator, who is also a freelance pro-
grammer, designed program-specific software for us. After consulting with the Good
Food Box staff, Barry produced a standalone database application based on Microsoft
Access.
The database solved a number of problems that the Good Food Box program had
been experiencing. As the number of customers grew, it was no longer possible to rec-
ord orders and tabulate bills on paper, and staff were spending an inordinate amount
of time trying to keep track of all the records. Furthermore, the system was becoming
less intuitive and relied on certain staff members’ memory and special knowledge of
the process. The database supported a system that could easily be taught to new staff
and allowed the data management workload to be shared.
Ultimately, the database provides the following functions:
• It keeps track of the addresses and contact information of volunteer drop-off

coordinators.
• It allows each order to be entered digitally and calculates bills for volunteer
drop-off coordinators. Each drop-off has an account and payments can be
entered as they are sent in.
• It generates potential routes for drivers by grouping together nearby drop-off
locations.
• It allows data to be accessed from a number of different computer terminals at
FoodShare, because it is run on the organization’s server network.
As the program evolves, Barry continues to adapt the database to our needs. While
it may not be necessary for small Good Food Box programs to develop custom soft-
ware, it is likely that some form of a database be set up for record keeping.

Financial Plan
A combination of subsidy and revenue are likely to be necessary to cover all costs
of running a Good Food Box program. Other than the high cost of salaries, non-
traditional costs also require significant staff time and resources. Some of these non-
traditional costs are listed below.
• Volunteer support and development: providing lunches, supporting groups as

they form neighborhood drop-off locations, facilitating volunteer training and
organizing volunteer appreciation activities and events.
• Dissemination of information to the community and customers: writing and
distributing newsletters, holding education and training workshops.
• Environmentally sound and socially just practices: reducing packaging, com-
posting, buying locally, respecting boycotts while ensuring that you are not
burdening low-income people with an untenable level of financial responsibil-
ity for these concerns.
• Dissemination of information to other organizations: helping researchers,
addressing groups, writing educational material and sharing success stories
with other communities.
• Political action: lobbying policy-makers, supporting or organizing events that
involve and educate the public around hunger, poverty, the environment and
collective action.
These types of activities are usually not reflected in a business plan, but they are
vital for an operation like the Good Food Box. Collective bulk buying power, effi-
ciency and a small margin have taken us part of the way to financial sustainability,
but for a program aiming to reach large numbers of low-income people, fundraising,
volunteers and agency partnerships are key to continued survival.
FoodShare’s Good Food Box program has developed over time so that customers
pay for the food that goes into the box, the box itself and the delivery. The overhead
costs are covered by external funding from private donations, grants, volunteer sup-
port and in-kind donations of staff and materials. Diversifying our funding sources
has made the program less vulnerable to cuts or reductions from any one source.
Customers seem to accept the community-business dynamic. They feel that they
can demand a certain level of service, while still understanding that there are other
elements to the program that make it unlike a conventional retail business. The con-
tents of the box are the same for everyone. This helps create efficiency by minimizing
waste and creating an economy of scale. An ordinary business might avoid limiting
consumer choice or asking consumers to pay for a box of unknown contents.

In our situation, the margin that a low-income customer can afford to pay cannot
cover all the costs involved in operating the Good Food Box.
Funding and fundraising
If you plan to cover wages, you have to think about getting not just funding, but
funding that is stable and ongoing. The Good Food Box receives funding from Food-
Share’s direct mail campaigns (i.e. from individual donors). This can be expensive
initially but may be a fundraising method worth exploring. You’ll have to take into
account that direct mail is complex and it takes time to gather momentum. Food-
Share supports the Good Food Box program with resources such as an accountant
and lawyer, the organization’s credit rating, money for capital purposes and many
others.
FoodShare has found that the Good Food Box is a program that donors respond
to well. Individual donors, government and foundations respond to the innovative
way that the Good Food Box helps struggling families get by, strengthens commun-
ities and helps people access healthy food. Donors are happy to see money used for a
very concrete, positive and proactive solution to hunger. This has allowed us to raise
money specifically for the program.
Even still, some donors may be reluctant to support a program that is not exclusively
for low-income groups. But our experience tells us that many low-income commun-
ities are discouraged from participating in programs that are stigmatizing; one way to
ensure that the program is inclusive is to make it universally accessible. This means
anyone can participate, regardless of their income level. There are very strong reasons
for maintaining the program’s universality. Though studies show that higher income
groups tend to eat more healthily, they still fall well short of the recommended seven
to ten servings of fruit and vegetables per day. Also, mixed neighborhood drop-off
sites can encourage bonds of community across various income levels.
Governments, foundations and in-kind funding
Our advice is to seek funding at all levels of government, starting with the local
government, moving up to the province and if possible, the federal government. Try
for in-kind support from them whenever you can. The food industry is also a natural
alliance, but their support will most likely take the form of letting you buy wholesale
from them, allowing you to use their space for packing or letting you return excess
produce. It is also useful to build partnerships with local businesses, foundations and
individual donors. As long as you don’t have to compromise your program, look fur-
ther than just your traditional political allies.

When making decisions about allocating time and effort to fundraising, Food-
Share staff keep in mind that it can be a lot of trouble to raise a small amount of
money (e.g. bake sales, special events such as concerts or dances, or tracking down
small in-kind donations of equipment). It is often more worthwhile to put the time
into planning strategically for large donations, creating innovative partnerships or
finding volunteers who have the talent to help.
Private sector food retail funders
Many of the Good Food Box programs outside of Toronto have approached private
sector food retailers for support (e.g. wholesale ordering, space, etc.). You may won-
der, or they may ask, why they should give you support when you are only going to
enter into competition with them. Some will support the project out of community-
mindedness and others will need persuasion.
Traditionally, retailers have had little interest in low-income consumers; consumer

focus groups exclude those who make under $25,000 per year. A demographic study
of our customers in 1995 revealed that almost one-third of Good Food Box custom-
ers have a household income of under $15,000 annually, and just around half earn
less than $20,000.
What you can tell them about the Good Food Box
• It targets customers with low-incomes.

• It will generally not detract from sales to higher income groups because when
people have money they expect and demand choice.
• The Good Food Box helps people stretch their food budget, but it is not their
only source of food.
• It captures dollars, which were previously not being spent on fresh produce.
• The Good Food Box introduces many people to an improved diet.
• The Good Food Box improves personal nutrition and will reduce health care
costs in the long run.
Proving the benefits to funders
When applying for funding, there is a need to outline the potential benefits of
the program. Research carried out by Smaller World Communications has provided
some evidence that may be useful to new Good Food Box projects starting up. The
research shows that Good Food Box customers actually do increase their intake of
fresh fruit and vegetables. Therefore, communities not only benefit from increased
food access, but also benefit from a reduction in disease and long-term health costs,
given the evidence of the health benefits from increased fruit and vegetable consump-
tion.

Other potential benefits of the program include: community development, reducing
social isolation, encouraging the formation of mutual support networks, providing
peace of mind to customers concerned about the source of their food, and food and
nutrition skill development through newsletters and seminars. Good Food Box drop-
off sites can also become the basis for other food access projects such as community
kitchens or gardens.
Show them what the Good Food Box program can do!
When presenting to funders – current or prospective – show them a box. If possible,

even bring one with you to a meeting. Be a bit theatrical. Invite them to a packing day
and introduce them to volunteers. When funders visit or any time you have a public
event, serve food that reflects your philosophy of healthy, delicious, inexpensive home
cooking. Socializing with people over food is a powerful way to break down barriers
and make people feel good. Don’t be afraid to speak from the heart about what food
means to you and what the program means to customers.

3
Guide to Produce Sourcing & Management
How you manage produce will have a huge impact on both your customers’ satis-
faction and on your produce expenses. Finding produce sources that offer reliability,
quality and the variety of produce you demand will also be key in enabling your
program to meet its objectives. What you purchase and who you purchase it from
Guide to Produce Sourcing & Management

will develop over time.
Produce Sourcing
FoodShare uses a variety of sources for fresh fruits and vegetables: directly from
farmers, cooperatives and wholesale distributors.
When FoodShare’s Good Food Box program began, the vision was to source high
quality, unmarketable produce directly from farmers. This, in theory, would help to
increase the income of farmers and make produce more affordable for Good Food
Box recipients. The reality was that for a variety of reasons, this was easier said than
done. Firstly, most farmers are integrated into large procurement arrangements mak-
ing it easier to sell their whole crop to one source than it is for them to do business
with a number of small operations.
As well, because the number of Good Food Boxes we were packing in 1994 was
still relatively small, farmers found that the transportation cost negated any profits
that they would earn by selling to us. Transportation is a huge consideration in prod-
uct sourcing and is often the limiting factor to purchasing directly from farmers. For
a single destination trip, most farmers need to sell at least $1,000 worth of produce
to make their trip worthwhile. Farmers who deliver to a number of customers in
the same general area can afford to process smaller orders. Below is a list of different
sourcing options and the advantages and disadvantages of each.
Direct from farmers:

• Advantages: Fresh, local, no middle distributor allowing farmers to earn
more per unit sold, less packaging.
• Disadvantage: Limited variety, must order enough to make it profitable for

farmer to deliver, non-local items unavailable, inefficient mode of transporta-
tion via small truck, car, etc.
• Farmer links: Local Food Plus (Ontario): www.localflavourplus.ca

Food Link (British Columbia): www.foodlinknanaimo.com
Food Link (Ontario): www.foodlink-waterlooregion.ca
Food Link (Ontario): www.kingstongreens.ca
Guide to Produce Sourcing & Management 45

Wholesale produce distributors:
• Advantages: Great variety, imported cultural foods, low prices, one stop shop-
ping, competitive pricing.
• Disadvantages: Local product not always available, buying produce can be
challenging without a buyer who knows the distributors, large amounts of
packaging.
• Wholesale Links: Ontario Food Terminal: www.oftb.com
Cooperative distributors:
• Advantages: Fresh, local, often offer greater variety of products, allows farmers
to pool resources (transportation, storage, etc.), decreases competition amongst
coop members.
• Disadvantages: Imported items not available.
• Cooperative links: Coop Ontario: www.coopsontario.com
Produce auctions:
• Advantages: Fresh, local, possibility of low prices, meet the farmers who grow
your food.
• Disadvantages: You must find transportation for the produce yourself, pos-
sibility of high prices or unavailability of what you need.
• Auction links: Elmira Produce Auction (Ontario):
www.foodlink-waterlooregion.ca.
Buying Practices
Once you have found sources for your produce, it is important to create a buying
strategy to help you make your purchasing decisions. For example, if a local farmer
is selling spinach for double what you can pay for California spinach from a whole-
sale source, which do you choose? Below are the ordering priorities that FoodShare
attempts to satisfy. If we had our wish, we would satisfy all of these ordering priorities.
In general, we believe that increasing healthy food access, by distributing high quality,
affordable produce, is our primary goal. Our other goals include supporting a local
and sustainable food system, decreasing transportation, choosing fair trade products
(when we purchase imported produce) and reducing waste.
Priorities (in order of importance for our desired program goals)
• Quality
a) Acceptable size, no deterioration of product (mold, soft spots, rotting).
b) Used within appropriate shelf life (see appendix for storage guidelines for pro-
duce).

• Value
a) Prices paid for conventional and organic produce are lower than current
retail prices.
b) Produce purchased directly from farmers should not be more than 10-15% Did you know:
more expensive than the price offered by a wholesaler.
• About 11 percent of
c) Organic produce should only be put into conventional boxes if the organic
produce is not more than 10-15% more expensive than the price offered by the world’s surface
a conventional wholesaler or conventional farmer (whichever is lower). is covered by
arable land.
• Appropriateness
a) Fruits and vegetables are known and used by the majority of cultural
• Canadians use 2.5
groups.
b) Any unfamiliar fruits and vegetables are accompanied by recipes and times the amount
information. of agricultural
land per person
• Local and Seasonal than the world
a) Support local supply and distribution networks – purchase as much as pos- average, yet many
sible as close to home as possible – Ontario first, then Canada.
b) Feature in-season produce.
Canadians go
hungry.
• Sustainable Growing Practices
a) Certified organic (always for organic boxes). • The FAO believes
b) Support Local Food Plus certified producers (Ontario). that, even in face
c) Discourage genetically modified seeds.
d) Encourage heritage varieties.
of urbanization,
there are sufficient
• Packaging under-utilized
a) Purchase in bins and bulk to reduce packaging, use paper bags over plastic lands to meet our
when suitable. food production
b) No waxed produce.
requirements.
• Fair trade
a) Purchase fair trade products if available. Food and Agricul-
Visit www.transfair.ca for more information on Fair trade products ture Organization of
the United Nations,
For example, if we had to make a decision whether to put local broccoli at 1997
$14.75 per case, imported broccoli at $15.75 a case, or local organic broccoli at
$25 a case in our large Good Food Box, we could use our priority list to help
us decide. We also know from experience that the local farmer who is selling
broccoli at $14.75 often sends us spoiled produce. Following the priorities, and
assuming we had no other alternatives, we would choose quality over locally
produced, and value over sustainable growing practices. In this particular
scenario, local farmers would not benefit directly. Maintaining a program that
offers customers value and quality will allow us to thrive and grow, and reach

all of our goals. If the food box had poor quality food or was too expensive the pro-
gram might fail which doesn’t help anybody.
Box Contents and Produce Mix

Strive for a mixture of heavy staples, leafy greens and a variety of fruits. The weight
of the box can be an important indicator of value to people, but at the same time you
need a variety of tastes, textures and colours to make the box interesting and nutri-
tious. Reaching a balance between cultural, local, and price preferences is difficult.
A good general principle is to remember that the food cannot appear too frivolous
or challenging, for example, despite their nutritional value, radishes and parsley are
perceived by many as garnishes, not food that fills you. Sometimes you may find that
low-income customers may be concerned that you are wasting money if you include
an item that they ordinarily consider too expensive to purchase. We discovered this
from the many telephone calls we received when we included beautiful boxes of
strawberries in a January Good Food Box. As it happened, we had gotten them for a
good price, but we neglected to mention this in the newsletter. So if there’s a special
reason that you’re putting in a particular item – because it’s in season or “on sale” – it
is worth explaining this to customers.
We try to put in one special item each time that is either normally a luxury (e.g. a
mango or strawberries) or is slightly challenging (e.g. sprouts or rapini). Most custom-
ers love this element of surprise every time; it’s like finding a little gift in their box.
One of the frequent reservations we hear before people decide to buy the box is “will
it include only low-value items like carrots, onions, and potatoes?” To reassure people
about the variety and value of its contents, it helps to make sample lists available as
part of the promotional material (always making clear that this is just a sample, and
that the contents vary every time). Including an item that may be considered “exotic”
by a number of your customers also requires that you educate your customers about
the nutritional value and possible uses in the newsletter. More than one challenging
item per box is probably too much, since they may decide that they don’t like a food
or can’t prepare it.
Taking ethnic diversity into account
You need to know the ethnic groups to which your customers and potential cus-
tomers belong, and learn something about these groups’ eating patterns. Aside from
the fruits and vegetables that are specifically linked to one cultural group, each group
may prefer a particular variety of a fruit or have different criteria for quality.
We have discovered that producing ethno-specific boxes is very labour intensive

and they are difficult to promote without strong ties to the community in question.

In this area, our experience with the Caribbean Food Box compared to the Afri-Can
Food Basket is illustrative. The Caribbean Box was introduced by FoodShare as a
variation of the Good Food Box for $20, but never sold very well, despite the high
quality of produce. The Afri-Can Food Basket organizers approached FoodShare
about starting their own box as a community development project for the African
and Caribbean communities. They started a small office in the FoodShare ware-
house, tagged onto the buying structure, but did all their own packing and promo-
tion. Because of the organizers’ ties and connection to their community, they were
able to integrate the Afri-Can Food Basket more successfully into their community.
Ultimately, however, the Afri-Can Food Basket organization began to shift its ener-
gies away from food boxes and toward community gardening and so that box is no
longer available in Toronto.
The importance of quality
Not only must there be the appearance of quality in the box, according to vari-
able notions of value but also actual quality. Buying the highest quality produce is
not much more expensive than buying inferior quality seconds or discards, though
the gap in customer appreciation between the two is huge. Obviously, food that is
spoiled, spoiling, or about to spoil is a loss to the customer.
Contrary to popular opinion, produce is not very expensive, especially in Canada,

one of the countries where people spend the lowest percentage of their income on
food purchases. The staple Ontario crops, like carrots, onions, potatoes, apples, etc.,
are available almost all year round, and their cost is fairly stable (i.e. a two-pound bag
of carrots costs approximately $0.66 at any time of the year). Big fluctuations in cost
occur with imported items, depending on other countries’ growing conditions and
local seasons, so it pays to learn about agricultural conditions and seasonal variations
in other countries in order to know roughly what you should be paying for items at
various times.
Having someone involved in your program – a buyer, staff person, wholesaler or

experienced volunteer – who knows about the agricultural system, food prices and
food storage and handling, is vital to ensuring that you put out a quality product.
When we do receive complaints about damaged or spoiled items, our practice is

to offer a credit that can be used towards the customer’s next box. From our point of
view, this is more feasible than driving around the city replacing items. However, we
do have to remember that a low-income person may need that food right away and
we try to respond accordingly.

In every Good Food Box we try to meet the following criteria:
a) Staple foods (e.g. potatoes, carrots, onions, apples)

b) Something new or different to push the food experience
c) Luxury items (that people would not buy themselves)
d) Salad items
e) Combination of vegetables that work well together in many recipes
f) A selection of fruits (three varieties)
g) Packed in clean, re-usable boxes and lids
h) Beautiful appearance
i) Newsletters with recipes featuring a local vegetable or fruit
j) Content sheet with local produce marked with an asterisk, also noting different varieties
Below is a chart that shows the types of produce most desired by customers of
the FoodShare Toronto Good Food Box.
A Good Food Box Top Ten

160
140
Number of requests by customers
120
100
boxes
80
60
40
20
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Ordering Spreadsheets and Technique
FoodShare’s Good Food Box team uses several Microsoft Excel spread sheets to cal-
culate the number of cases of produce that need to be ordered for packing day.
You will find a copy of one of our spreadsheets in the appendix for reference.
Presentation of Boxes
Box contents should be presented with the customers in mind. Creating a box that is
aesthetically appealing and reduces spoilage or product damage is our goal. Creating
an attractive box starts at the ordering stage. A mix that is very colourful will natur-
ally look more exciting and is often perceived to have value and be fresh. Putting labels
facing upward also gives the impression that the box was packed with care. If you are
using cardboard boxes to hold the produce, pay special attention to the cleanliness of
the boxes, the labels on the boxes themselves, and their capacity to carry weight. We use
a three layer approach to putting fruits and vegetables in the box.
Layer one:
Root vegetables, cabbage, squash, melons, celery, apples and pears. Place bags flat on
the bottom with the label pointing upwards.
Layer two:
Tomatoes, cucumber, zucchini, peppers, mushrooms, broccoli, beans, bananas, and
grapes. Place any smaller items in a bag to prevent them from rolling to the bottom and
getting damaged when they are moved around on delivery.
Layer three:
Lettuce, spinach, berries, and any other greens. The lid of the box should be put on
immediately after the last items are inserted. This will reduce the green leaves’ exposure
to air, which will dry them out and cause them to wilt. A good fitting lid will help pre-
serve these items. Berries such as strawberries must be covered so they do not roll out of
their box and get damaged.

Sample box contents
August 28th – August 31st, 2007
* Ontario produce
LARGE Good Food Box Contents

6 Corn*
1 Bunch Carrots*
4 lbs. Potatoes*
1Bag Bartlett Pears*
1 Bag Apples*
1 Cantaloupe
1 Pint Mushrooms*
1 lb. Plum Tomatoes*
1 English Cucumber*
2 lbs. Onion*
1 Bunch Broccoli*
1 Romaine Lettuce*
1 Bunch Bananas
LARGE Organic Box Contents

6 Corn*
1 Bunch Kale*
1 Bunch Leek*
1 Spring Mix*
3 Hot House Tomatoes
1 Sugar Melon*
3 lbs. Apples*
5 Peaches
2 ½ lbs. White Potatoes*
WELLNESS BOX Contents

2 Corn*
1 Bag Broccoli*
4 Bananas
1 Bag Celery*
1 Bag Spring Mix
4 Peaches*
1 Red Onion*
4 Potatoes*
1 Pint Cherry Tomatoes
1 Bag Carrots*

1 Pint Mushrooms*
½ Cantaloupe
4 Oranges
SMALL Good Food Box Contents

4 Corn*
1 Bunch Carrots*
½ Basket Peaches*
½ Basket Tomatoes*
1 English Cucumber*
2 lbs. Onion*
1 Bunch Broccoli*
1 Romaine Lettuce*
1 Bunch Bananas
SMALL Organic Box Contents

4 Corn*
1 Bunch Kale*
1 Bunch Leek*
1 Spring Mix*
2 Hot House Tomatoes
1 Sugar Melon*
1 ½ lbs. Apples*
3 Peaches
FRUIT Box Contents

1 Bag Apples*
1 Bunch Banana
1 Bag Pears*
1 Cantaloupe
1 Basket Peaches*
Produce Management Basics

There is a science to properly storing and keeping produce fresh for the maximum
amount of time. Most of the produce you will purchase will be stored for only several
days and therefore will not need the kind of attention and environmental control that
many produce distributors must use. It is still important to understand the basics
behind proper storage of produce so you can maximize freshness by storing produce

in as close to ideal conditions as possible. Here are some guidelines to help ensure you
are delivering high quality produce.
1. Deliveries of produce to the warehouse should be as close as possible to the pack-

ing date of the Good Food Boxes. Our produce is delivered one day prior to pack-
ing.
2. Check the quality of produce before you purchase the product (e.g. at an auc-
tion or Food Terminal) or check the quality of produce before you sign for the
delivery. Also make sure that your volunteers or staff who are packing the box
check the quality before putting the items into the box. Often the place where the
produce is cut from the growing plant will give you a good idea of its freshness.
3. Put all items into the refrigerator immediately, except for potatoes, onions, garlic,
and bananas. Put potatoes, garlic and onions in a cool dark and dry space (keep
onions and garlic separate from potatoes). If you do not have a cool, dark and
dry space, put the potatoes, onions and garlic into the refrigerator. Bananas will
discolor in the refrigerator if stored for more than a few days. Be warned that
bananas ripen very quickly when they are warm and close together. Separate
boxes of bananas to prevent them from ripening too quickly. See the guidelines
in the appendix for more details on proper produce storage.
4. Use the list of produce shelf life in the appendix as a guide of when it is appropri-
ate to use older produce from an earlier packing day.
5. Keep all greens covered at all times, especially outside of the refrigerator. The air
will pull the moisture from the leaves causing them to wilt and look terrible.
6. If you run short of a certain produce item for your boxes, substitute with left over
items that will not last until the next packing day.
7. Find a use for the left over produce that will not last until the next packing day.
Sell, donate or offer these items to your volunteers or to a local food bank.
8. Compost the items that are spoiled and return these nutrients back into the food
system via community gardens and farmer’s fields.
Organic Good Food Boxes

Organic production is a system that integrates “cultural, biological, and mechan-
ical practices that foster cycling of resources, promote ecological balance, and con-
serve biodiversity.” (Source: USDA, National Organic Program.)

The majority of Good Food Boxes sold each month contain conventional
produce that we purchase directly from farms and the Ontario Food Terminal.
However, we also distribute the organic Good Food Box in small ($22) and
large ($32) sizes. In an average month we sell 3,000 to 4,000 Good Food
Boxes, about 750 of these are organic or 20 percent of the total. The primary
goal of the Good Food Box is to ensure access to good, healthy produce with a
focus on creating a box that low-income communities can afford. Many organic
practices simply
Our experience is that some of our consumers find organic attractive because make sense,
they want to know where and how their food is produced, and believe that regardless of what
organic food is healthier for themselves and the environment. We agree that overall agricultural
with the intensity of the environmental crises facing the planet, reducing pesti-
cide use, decreasing fertile soil loss, decreasing transportation of food and
system is used.
decreasing packaging are all important goals.
Far from being a
FoodShare supports the distribution of organic food because we believe that quaint throwback
there are long-term health problems associated with the overuse of pesticides to an earlier time,
and herbicides. The problem with organic food is that it is still prohibitively
organic agriculture
expensive for the margin we need to work in for the Good Food Box.
is proving to be a
In the past decade, there has been tremendous growth in interest in organic serious contender
food, and corresponding growth in the organic food industry. While “organic” in modern farming
was recently considered a fringe interest, it is now a household term. However, and a more
organic products remain more expensive and are just as likely to be imported environmentally
as conventional produce.
sustainable
The reason that organic is generally more expensive is because of the more system over the
labor-intensive nature of chemical-free methods of production and the still long term.
comparatively small scale of the organic market. This means that higher prices
are the only way to make organic agriculture viable. Many people believe that
David Suzuki
as the market grows and the organic food system becomes more efficient, prices
will decrease and become more accessible to low-income people.
In short, we have learned to be practical. We know that we can’t change

the agricultural and distribution system, support low-income farmers and low-
income consumers all at the same time. From what we have learned from our
own experience, we would say that some, or all, of the following factors may
help groups to obtain organic produce inexpensively enough to be accessible
for low-income consumers:
• Build a relationship with an organic farmer (or farmers) who believes in

the concept of alternative distribution enough (and can afford) to support you
by giving you lower prices.

• Make the commitment to a farmer to buy a predetermined amount of their
crops in an upcoming season, thereby lowering the risk for the farmer and increasing
their incentive to offer you a lower price.
• A geographical situation that puts you close to your sources, and/or an abil-
ity to pick up produce, thereby eliminating costly and difficult deliveries to far-off
places.
• An order that is large enough to get you a price-break (assuming there is
enough supply available).
Whenever organic produce can be purchased cheaply enough or when we have an

excess of a certain organic item, we will put these items into the conventional box.
This way, customers who cannot afford the organic Good Food Box can at least get a
sample of some of its items.

4
Human Resources & Volunteer Coordination
Volunteers
Human Resources & Volunteer Coordination

If you decide to incorporate volunteers into any of the essential functions of run-
ning your program, it is important to take your time and to do so carefully. Before
building a volunteer team, think long and hard about the infrastructure that is neces-
sary to support them and how each of them can have roles that are effectively aligned
with the organization’s mission.
Volunteers are invaluable to growth and the sustainability of a program but it

is important to recognize that creating and maintaining a volunteer program can
be challenging and requires energy, time and resources. Unpaid staff are inherently
less accountable because generally speaking, volunteers will contribute their leisure
time (i.e. they may also work another job or go to school) and will not have as much
training or experience as staff. Volunteers will require support, direction and man-
agement. A recruitment process is also necessary to ensure that we select volunteers
that will provide committed support to the program and that will gain meaningful
experiences from working together.
Staff
Though FoodShare’s Good Food Box program relies heavily on the work and
enthusiasm of volunteers, from coordinators to people who pack the boxes, its success
also rests on the consistency and dedication of its paid staff. FoodShare has managed
to create several stable jobs, but job creation has never been our main goal. To cre-
ate even one job is very difficult. Though providing employment would be a worthy
project in itself, the primary goal is to increase food access for as many people as
possible.
Flexibility is a key attribute of our staff: everyone has to be willing to do every-

thing, from going out to speak to groups who are interested in the Good Food Box
to packing boxes, to changing their roles as the program evolves. FoodShare staff
are also flexible in their hours of work, staying late as needed to pack boxes or make
presentations, then taking time off in lieu to make up for this. Stress levels can also
be very high due to the pressures of meeting deadlines and dealing with product or
delivery problems.
FoodShare’s preference is to hire staff from the communities that we serve (espe-
cially those who have shown tremendous dedication and leadership yet have barriers
Human Resources & Volunteer Coordination 57

to employment). These community members have the advantage of first hand know-
ledge of food insecurity and often can better identify the needs of the communities
that we serve. If you decide to hire community members with growth potential, and
you have the energy and resources to train them, you may choose to go this route.
This may place a lot of pressure on the more experienced members of the staff, but it
brings welcome diversity and sensitivity to the program. Ultimately, it’s your choice.
Good Food Box Drop-off Coordinators

Community members coordinate Good Food Box drop-off locations and are respon-
sible for placing the orders on behalf of the participants in their group. Coordinators
must also collect payments, pay FoodShare, and coordinate the distribution of the
full boxes to the participants when they arrive. Community coordinators play a key
role in promoting the box and selling the idea to their neighbors. Ideally, volunteer
drop-off coordinators are well connected and respected in their community, show
strong support of the Good Food Box concept, and can offer reassurance of the qual-
ity and value of the pre-paid produce.
Volunteer drop-off coordinators have the satisfaction of meeting their neighbours

and bringing good, healthy food to their neighbourhood. A free Good Food Box is
also offered for every ten boxes that are delivered to their drop-off as a type of honor-
arium. From the point of view of the FoodShare staff, cost efficiency is best served
when a large number of boxes are delivered to each location. It simply costs too much
to make deliveries of less than ten boxes. To some extent, free box incentives help
keep order numbers up, but we have also found that from an individual or agency
point of view, numbers of not much more than ten boxes seem to be optimal. If a
drop-off point gets too large for one person to coordinate easily, a good solution is to
divide up into smaller groups of ten and recruit more drop-off coordinators.
Initially, coordinators usually phone in to inquire about the Good Food Box and
how they can be involved. They are asked to recruit their own friends or neighbours
to make a minimum order of five boxes. After that, they have the option of making
their drop-off location “open” or “closed” to referrals. If the location is open, we will
direct interested potential customers in the neighbourhood to it. If it is closed, we
leave it up to the coordinator to recruit more members.
One issue to be aware of is that handling money can present particular problems
to low-income people. Keeping a lot of cash in the house can be worrisome, and for
people on social assistance, depositing it in a bank account can appear as though they
are receiving extra income. Money orders and cheques cost money. One solution to
this type of problem is for a neighbourhood agency to take the cash and then issue
its own cheques.

Drop-off coordinator volunteer guide
As a general principle, it is good to implement procedures for drop-off coordinators

from the very beginning. That being said, coordinators do need to feel that they have
the ability to run their drop-offs in a way that is appropriate to their personal and
community circumstances, to allow for some flexibility. Our tendency has been to be
overly flexible (allowing coordinators to pay balances later, allowing customers to take
the reusable boxes home, delivering a missing tomato, etc.). While this flexibility has
its virtues, it can also threaten the very existence of the program by increasing admin-
istrative costs, or at the very least, by creating an uncomfortable level of chaos. See the
appendix for an example of the information package we give to new coordinators.
Host sites
Host sites for the Good Food Box drop-offs vary from front porches, to co-ops,
social housing buildings, daycares, churches, parent-child resource centres and com-
munity centres. It is helpful when a local agency can make a commitment to support
the drop-off, especially by helping to find a substitute coordinator if the original
one leaves. Although reliable ordering and money management are functions often
best served by local agency staff, there is often reluctance from agencies because of
staffing shortages. Agency coordination can also undermine the community develop-
ment angle of the project. The best combination is when a community volunteer and
agency staff person work together. Generally, it is not a good idea to distribute the
Good Food Box through programs that attract people from a long distance – the box
is heavy (it weighs up to 50 pounds) and most clients use public transit. Connecting
people to a drop-off near their home is a better idea.
Host sites often work the Good Food Box into other programming, or use it as
a take-off point for other food related programs. Agincourt Community Services
Association in Scarborough is a good example of both. They started by operating a
food bank, then added a Good Food Box drop-off site, community kitchen, skills
exchange program and community garden. Participants are often involved in more
than one program.
We have several agency stops that have a food bank. It has always been our goal
to make sure that every food bank offers the Good Food Box as one option. But
although this can be fruitful, it can also be problematic due to negative associations
of food banks as being places for food emergencies and handouts and not places you
go to for fresh produce.
There is also the problem of the cost of the Good Food Box. Although the Good
Food Box can help a low-income family stretch a modest budget and increase access

to affordable, healthy food, the Good Food Box does cost between $12 and
$32 and can be too expensive for very low-income communities.
Several churches in Toronto that also operate food banks have developed
an innovative way to support low-income access to the Good Food Box. One
church in particular increased the subsidy and covered an additional $5 of each
$12 small Good Food Box, asking that customers only pay $7, thus making it
more affordable.
Packing Day Volunteers

FoodShare relies heavily on volunteers to pack and clean the boxes, maintain
the warehouse and most recently, to help write the newsletter. Each week, at
least 20 volunteers come to the warehouse to help with packing. Once people
Volunteers are come a few times and find out that it’s fun, they come regularly and the word
seldom paid, begins to spread. We now have a large pool of more than 20 volunteers and
not because therefore have created a volunteer schedule that ensures that there aren’t too
many volunteers on any given day and that there is enough work to make the
they are experience meaningful and engaging.
worthless, but
because they The guiding principles for Good Food Box volunteer management are that
are PRICELESS! volunteers deserve to be treated with respect, and that we should try to under-
stand and consider their needs. Observation and interaction has led staff to the
conclusion that volunteers help out for a number of reasons. It could be because
Anonymous they want to support a program they believe in, to get out of the house and
counter social isolation, to give structure to their lives or because they need the
free Good Food Box that is given to them as compensation.
Volunteer responsibilities and expected behavior
A lot is expected from volunteers, as well. They must go through a recruit-

ment process (nowadays, there are more willing volunteers than spaces), show
up on time and be prepared to work from 9:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. A fair amount
is needed from them physically (although not all volunteers must do heavy
lifting).
A staff person with a strong personality and a loud voice is a great asset
as a packing day coordinator. It is important that the coordinator maintains
control of the situation, ensures that people are respectful to each other, that
all volunteers are treated the same, and that everyone follows proper safety
procedures. With good systems and equipment, FoodShare has found that 30
people can pack 1,000 boxes in six hours, with an hour for lunch.

Volunteer compensation
Volunteers receive a Good Food Box for helping out, though some give it away or
donate it back to FoodShare. This system was introduced not so much as a way to
encourage volunteering through some form of payment, as it was to recognize the
economic reality of the many low-income volunteers who are involved. The free box
is an “honorarium,” a token of thanks for volunteers’ highly appreciated and neces-
sary contribution. A delicious and nutritious lunch is also served to volunteers during
their shift.
Coordinating a Packing Day

Organization and strategic planning are key element to an enjoyable and product-
ive packing day. Having at least 3 people per 100 Good Food Boxes will allow you
to finish packing in about 4 hours. Preparing and posting on the wall packing post-
ers that outline exactly what goes in each box is great for a quick reference. Setting
up pre-packaging stations, where bulk food is divided into the appropriate portions
ahead of time is also helpful. Newsletters and content sheets should be printed and
snacks and beverages prepared, prior to each packing day.
Our packing day starts at 8 a.m. The produce is moved by skid and is placed 2-3
feet away from two 15-feet roller racks. On either side of the rollers, leaving room to
walk in between, the skids are placed in order of the different levels of packing (for
example: root vegetables at the beginning of the line, tomatoes in the middle and
lettuce at the end).
While the assembly lines of produce and rollers are being set up, volunteers start to
arrive between 9 a.m. and 9:30 a.m. They are welcomed, given name tags and given
a moment to have a coffee or tea, wash their hands and say hello to other volunteers.
The volunteers set up at the pre-packing stations where they start pre-packing the
bulk produce into the appropriate portions. When all the items of a particular Good
Food Box (7 different types: Large, Small, Fruit, Wellness, Large Organic and Small
Organic) are ready, volunteers are set up in assembly lines and given an item or two
to put into each box. Special attention must be made to make sure that each volunteer
is given a job that corresponds to his/her abilities, strength and speed.
The staff coordinator calls out each item from the packing posters and makes sure
that a volunteer accounts for each item. The staff coordinator reminds the volunteers
that the produce must be handled with care and touched only by their clean hands.
The coordinator also stresses that any produce that is of poor quality does not go into
the box. The organizer then packs the first box on the line, explaining where each of
the items go to maximize space, beauty and reduce spoilage and produce damage.

Two volunteers are asked to put in newsletters and transfer the boxes off the line and
onto a skid.
The real trick of a packing day is keeping a large group of volunteers engaged and
happy. This can be achieved by planning ahead. Decide on the order you wish to pack
your different types of boxes and focus on finishing all the pre-packing required for
those boxes according to that schedule. Once these items are pre-packed and the line
is started, any additional volunteers who are not needed in the assembly line can pre-
pack for the next box.
We give volunteers one fifteen-minute break and several short breaks as we organ-
ize the next line or stations. We provide fresh fruit, coffee, tea and water throughout
the day.
Volunteers are given a “brief” or “pep talk” during each packing day, which orients
them about safety and food handling issues and reminds them of the importance of
their work. It also helps to give them a greater understanding of the principles, oper-
ation and ethics of the Good Food Box, by explaining where the food comes from,
what the good deals are at the moment and what’s in season. If a farmer drops by, she/
he will often take a moment to chat with the group.
Around noon, volunteers are invited to join the staff for a prepared meal. The meal
includes the recipes from the week’s newsletter with the feature vegetable highlighted.
Eating lunch together is one of the activities that help create the remarkable degree of
camaraderie that reigns on packing days. Over time, volunteers have come to know
each other, and there is a lot of joking around, singing and fun. There are now enough
regular volunteers that they impart a sense of continuity and calmness to the proceed-
ings.
FoodShare staff try to create an atmosphere where there is respect for the food itself
– not allowing it to be thrown around or handled too roughly. The beauty of the food,
and the sense of bounty created by a warehouse full of food can act as a healing influ-
ence on people who are undergoing a lot of stress in their lives. But, in the same vein,
it is important that the volunteers feel they can participate in this bounty, by having
the opportunity to eat and take food away with them.
When all of the boxes are packed and put into the refrigerator, the warehouse is
cleaned up and the volunteers are given a Good Food Box to take home.

5
Why Add a Newsletter to the Good Food Box?

The newsletter is a very important part of the Good Food Box. It allows customers to
understand more about our vision and mission, and helps customers to get to know the
staff who are putting the Good Food Box together on a regular basis. The newsletter can
be an effective way to educate customers about nutrition, local and sustainable agricul-
ture.
The newsletter also helps us to communicate with our customers about who is growing
our food, packing the boxes, and how we make our ordering decisions. Here are some
benefits of including a newsletter in our boxes:
• Recipes and information on how to use and store produce allow us to include a larger

variety of fresh produce in the boxes including more unusual vegetables like rapini or
beets.
• Articles on current food issues allow FoodShare to educate customers about the bene-
fits of healthy eating, supporting local agriculture, and making healthy food more
accessible.
Writing a Newsletter That Speaks to Your Customers

Like all other parts of the Good Food Box process, the newsletter is very deliberately
put together. It speaks in a simple and easy to understand language though it is often
about complicated issues. The newsletter is written in a voice that is accessible to a wide
readership and contains content that is applicable and useful to lives of the Good Food
Box customers.
The amount of time and resources will have an effect on how well you are able to
capture the attention of readers. A newsletter can be as basic as cutting and pasting cited
articles and recipes from the internet or as advanced as writing articles yourself and
including tried and tested recipes. We publish a Good Food Box newsletter every other
week so we have a generous amount of time to write articles and test recipes.
In our case, it is always one page, double-sided and includes:

• A featured vegetable or fruit, including its history and nutritional analysis.
• Two to three recipes, usually including the featured vegetable or fruit.
• An article about an upcoming event or an emerging food policy or political issue.
• The dates of the next delivery and how to contact staff.
• The names of the farms we are buying produce from that week.
The Good Food Box Newsletter 63

5 Newsletter Resources
The newsletter is a great way to educate your customers about the food in their
boxes and current news and trends that affect our access to fresh and healthy food.
Here are several sites that offer current food security news and e-news mailings.
• www.foodshare.net
• www.toronto.ca/health/tfpc_index.htm
• www.gtalocalfood.ca
Does the Newsletter Get Read?

FoodShare conducted a survey in November of 2007. We asked participants to
answer several questions regarding the usefulness of the newsletter. Here are the ques-
tions and results.
1. Do you read the newsletter?

Opinion Responses Percent
Yes 329 93%
No 24 7%
No response 1 0%
Total 354 100%
2. How do you feel about the newsletter?

Like the recipes 261 74%
Like the vegetable profile 242 68%
Like the article 216 61%
I never look at it 12 3%
I don’t care for it 5 1%
I find it too hard to read 0 0%
Total 736
3. Do you use the recipes in the newsletter?

I sometimes try the recipes 235 66%
I try most recipes 57 16%
I never try the recipes 51 14%
I try all the recipes 7 2%
No response 4 1%
Total 354 100%
The newsletter remains a very successful part of the box. It is a good way to com-
municate with customers and is considered a value-added component of getting the
box. The questions above reveal that nearly all Good Food Box customers read our
newsletter. See the Appendix for several examples of the Toronto GFB Newsletter.

6
The Montreal Good Food Box:

Name of program: Bonne Boîte Bonne Bouffe / Good Food Box
Location: Montreal, Quebec
Contact info: Jamie McDonald, regional coordinator (514) 344-4494
bbbb-gfb@moissonmontreal.org
Boxes per month: approximately 1,000
Program start date: September 11th, 2007
Area served: island of Montreal
Price and type of boxes: Large $16
Medium $10
Small $7
Mixture of vegetables and fruit, conventionally grown
Margin on each box: ± 22%
Price comparison to local retailers:

A savings of 20-30% on the price of the small box, 25-35% on the price of the
medium box and 35-50% on the price of the large box.
History:
The Montreal Good Food Box is a food security program that has been serving
the Notre-Dame-de-Grace community since September 2003 and expanded into
a regional program in September 2007. The idea arose from a conference held in
March 2002 where a number of community groups from the area agreed that a col-
lective food-buying program would be the next logical step to address food security
and make healthy food more accessible in the area.
Where do you get your produce?

From a fruit and veggie distributor
How do you do your deliveries?

We divide Montreal into East, Central, South & West zones. We do the Central
runs on Tuesday afternoons, the South & West on Wednesdays and the East on
Thursdays. For now, we deliver once every 2 weeks. As we get more orders, we will
start doing deliveries each week to open up delivery time for new neighbourhoods.
Profiles of Other Good Food Box Programs 65

6 How do you run your packing day?
We receive our produce on Mondays and pack on Tuesdays. Our truck driver starts
to place the produce around the packing tables early on Tuesday morning. Volun-
teers start coming in around 9:00 a.m. and continue placing the produce around the
tables. Once everything is in place, volunteers take their places (approximately 6-8
people per table and one table for each box size) and determine who is putting what
in the box. Each person is instructed to make sure the person before them has put
their item in the box before putting their own and to discard any produce that is not
of top quality or isn’t fresh. We usually finish packing around 12:00 noon. The boxes
for Tuesday deliveries are immediately loaded in the truck as they are produced.
Partnerships
We have an advisory committee made up of various community organizations
working in food security that make various decisions about where the program is
going and how.
How are you funded?

Centraide finances the employee salary (regional co-ordination); Moisson Mont-
real lends us a space for storing, packing, and refrigerating the boxes, an office, and a
truck for deliveries; and Fond de bienfaisance des employés de Bombardier finances
other aspects of the program. We are currently seeking other financial partners to
expand the program further.
What are some success and challenges that you wish to share with other
Good Food Box programs that are starting?
Successes:
We’ve been able to go from 300 boxes to 1,000 boxes per month in a 6 month per-
iod using very little publicity other than word of mouth and have found that seeing
the boxes with the fresh produce inside is publicity enough to get people interested
in buying the box. Partnering with community organizations has been a good way
of implementing the program in various neighbourhoods. We’ve also been able to
involve health organizations that subsidize boxes for pregnant women. Many volun-
teers also do home deliveries for the elderly or people with reduced mobility.
Challenges:
Stabilizing our volunteer force and finding a reliable delivery person have been sig-
nificant challenges to overcome. Dealing with the sporadic and fast development of
the program has also been quite a challenge.

The Saskatoon Good Food Box
Name of program: CHEP’s Good Food Box
Location: Saskatoon, SK
Contact info: (306) 655-5387 or (306) 655-5619 or
goodfoodbox@chep.org
Boxes per month: 1,200 on average
Program start date: 1997
Area served: Saskatoon and area
Price and type of boxes: Regular Fruit and Vegetable - $17.00;
Small Fruit and Vegetable - $12.00;
Mini Fruit and Vegetable - $8.00;
Large Fruit - $20.00;
Small Fruit - $12.00;
Organic Fruit and Vegetable - $30.00
Margin on each box: approx 25%
Price comparison to local retailers

A savings of about 25%
History:
It started in 1997 with about 40 boxes and has grown since then.
Where do you get your produce?

We purchase from local producers as much as possible and a wholesaler (The Gro-
cery People) when local produce isn’t available.
How do you do your deliveries?

The deliveries are done on the afternoon of the packing day. Depending on the
number of boxes being packed we have one cube truck and a cargo van, or two
cube trucks and the van (for when orders are over 600 boxes). The city is broken up
into West, East and North routes, with the North and West routes combined when
orders are smaller. Each route has a driver and driver helper and they are each paid
an honorarium and gifted a Good Food Box for their work, with the exception of
one driver who is a CHEP staff person and paid a salary. If everything goes well
the deliveries take about 4 hours. We request that groups have 10 boxes ordered for
delivery but we are flexible.
How do you run your packing day?

We rent a gymnasium in a local church for 2 days each packing week. Tuesday is
pre-packing day and we have volunteers come to wash boxes (Rubbermaid tubs), pack
the potatoes and make sure the gym is set up for packing day. On packing day (Wed-

nesday) the produce arrives from the producers and is unloaded by volunteers. The
gym is set up with two different production lines, one for the fruit and vegetable boxes
and one for the fruit boxes. One of the coordinators directs the people unloading the
produce to the table where it will be sorted. The tables are labeled with each different
type of produce and the amount that goes into each box (e.g. the number of regular
boxes to be packed times the amount of carrots that goes in each one). The volunteers
sort and bag the produce if necessary and then we break for snack. After snack each
volunteer takes a place on the production line and the boxes are packed and taken
directly out to the delivery trucks. The remaining boxes are lined up along the wall
for pickups in the afternoon. If everything goes as planned the boxes are packed and
on the trucks by noon and lunch is served for all the volunteers.
How are you funded?

The United Way of Saskatoon
What are some successes and challenges that you wish to share with other
Good Food Box programs that are starting?
Successes:
For volunteers we have arrangements with a work experience class at a local high
school and with an adult education program. The high school class comes to wash
the Rubbermaid boxes and helps on packing day. The adult education students come
on packing day and help with packing and often work as driver helpers or clean up
the hall. These arrangements provide the students with work skills and experience
and provide a reliable source of volunteers for the Good Food Box.
Challenges:
We have struggled with getting the produce from the warehouse to our packing
site. The delivery truck was often late or the produce wasn’t ready at the warehouse
when the truck arrived. This threw off our whole packing day and was stressful for
the coordinators and volunteers. We recently received a grant to purchase our own
refrigerated cube truck and now we can pick up the produce the day before packing
day and keep it refrigerated overnight.
The Innisfil Good Food Box:

Name of program: The Innisfil Good Food Box
Location: Innisfil Ontario
Contact info: Lori Nikkel (416) 363-6441 ex 230
Boxes per month: approximately 100
Area served: Innisfil area

History
It began innocently enough. As a long-time employee of FoodShare and Manager of
the Student Nutrition programs, which enables students across Toronto to access healthy
food at school, I have always loved the Good Food Box and known how important a
program it is for so many reasons. Schools I work with love ordering produce through
the Fresh Produce program and it really helps children eat more fresh vegetables and
produce.
One day while reading the local Innisfil paper, I came across an advertisement
requesting participation in the development of a Good Food Box program in Innisfil.
The first meeting was held at the local library and had a great turnout, even the Deputy
Mayor and a journalist from the local paper turned up. More importantly we had a
great cross-section of our community and everyone was eager to get started.
Initially we went around the group and identified what brought everybody out to this
meeting. The reasons varied from helping low income individuals, supporting local
farmers, getting more involved in community development initiatives, and improving
community health by promoting a diet with abundant fruits and vegetables.
Our membership included a member from the Barrie Community Health Centre,
a resident school expert, a Barrie Good Food Box volunteer, a recipe guru, a Doctor, a
Youth coordinator, a volunteer recruiter, and two individuals who really wanted to start
a farmers’ market but thought a Good Food Box program would be a good place to
start.
Finding Produce sources

I guess the most important question was who was going to supply us with the best
quality fruits and vegetables that we wanted to put in the box. We knew some of
the suppliers that other Good Food Boxes were using and we knew some local farm-
ers. Thus, we struck a committee to investigate the best possible source for the bulk of
the produce. The committee also researched smaller providers that would be able to
supplement the box with local produce. After thorough investigation, we found a great
provider for all our fruits and vegetables who really believed in local food and agreed to
source from smaller growers as much as possible in each season.
Creating education materials for the box

In addition to the great produce, we wanted to include some education into the box.
As we had a couple of doctors on the committee, we developed a “Doctor’s Corner”
section of the newsletter to educate us about the nutritional importance of the food in
the box. We also had several wonderful home chefs who provided the newsletters with
family recipes, and another member who would use the newsletter to link current media
stories to the box.

Finding a location to pack the boxes
Another very important component of our endeavor was finding a location to pack
the Good Food Box. We knew a few things.
1. The location had to be free.
2. The location had to be central to the population.
3. It had to be big enough to pack up to 100 boxes.
4. The location had to be insured.
After much discussion about schools, town space and churches we agreed that
the local Lions Hall would be the most suitable place. Now that we had chosen this
location, we needed to make sure they would choose us. So we asked to be invited
to the next Lions Dinner to explain what the Good Food Box was and how import-
ant partnering with them was for us. As you can imagine there were a few questions
because many residents use the hall for many things. But after we answered all the
questions, we were delighted to hear the Lions roar (indicating their acceptance of us
using the space).
Setting up an ordering system

How would people place their orders? With only volunteers, most of whom worked
all day, it was difficult to identify one place for the orders to be dropped off. And
then it came to us. We couldn’t take the orders, but the local businesses could. They
were at their workplaces all day. We called up the local Business Association and
spoke with the President requesting some time to speak at the next meeting. We were
a little nervous. Why would a business want to take on more work? The local busi-
ness immediately realized how important this would be for the community and were
opening their doors to include us. Not only were they more than happy to be an order
and collection site they were soon asking us how to donate.
Finding and managing volunteers

One of the members of the committee volunteered to be the volunteer coordinator.
She knew how and where to get people (this included a local volunteer web-site that
we were able to post on and advertise to high school students).
Boxes or bags?
We decided to use cloth bags instead of boxes to fill as we found the bags a little less
cumbersome for the people to carry, and we didn’t have the facilities to wash boxes.
Thus, everyone receives 4 bags. The bags have their names on them and everyone is
required to drop off 2 empty bags each time they leave with 2 full bags. Additional
bags cost extra.
What I learned?
I learned that there is nothing a committed group of citizens can’t accomplish.

7
The origins of the Good Food Box program

In 1991, the Toronto Food Policy Council (TFPC) hired Mary Lou Morgan and
Ursula Lipski to carry out a feasibility study to develop a project that would bring
together farmers and inner city dwellers. The Toronto Food Policy Council is a cit-

izen sub-committee of the Toronto Board of Health, made up of representatives from
different sectors, including farmers, anti-hunger activists and representatives from
the food industry. They believed that there were flaws in the way that the local food
system connected city buyers with rural farmers. The complex nature of the economic
relationship meant that low-income people in the city could go hungry while food
rotted in the fields. There was also a huge gap in understanding between the farmer
and the city-dweller. The average citizen in downtown Toronto had little idea what
foods were in season or whether or not there had been a flood or drought. They were
also unaware of the type of pressures being exerted on Canadian farmers, including
the globalization of agriculture, corporate concentration and suburban land-use pat-
terns. Many farmers were deeply moved by urban hunger and wanted to do some-
thing about it. The idea of more direct farm to consumer marketing, which later
became known as Field to Table, was first conceived by Nan Hudson and farmers Jeff
Wilson, and Terry Daynard. They wanted to create a practical way of helping solve
some of the problems faced by farmers and low-income people with inadequate food
access.
Mary Lou had worked in many sectors of the food industry-from running her own
market garden, to food wholesaling and co-founding the successful Toronto worker
co-op natural food store, The Big Carrot. Ursula’s background was in the commun-
ity sector as an anti-poverty and food access activist. The TFPC hired both of them
for the direct farm to consumer project, bringing together their business, community
development and alternative food systems knowledge. With money from their budget
and from a United Church project, the two women carried out a detailed feasibility
study, involving discussions with community agencies, potential customers of the
project and Ontario farm organizations.
Mary Lou and Ursula read notes from a trip that Rod MacRae and several other
public health colleagues had taken to Sao Paulo, Brazil, the year earlier. The PT (Par-
tido dos Trabalhadores or The Workers’ Party of Brazil), then in power at the muni-
cipal level in Sao Paulo, had implemented a wide range of innovative subsidized food
programs including Sacalao markets, which provided high quality produce at half
their retail cost in low-income neighbourhoods. The Brazilian model influenced the
Field to Table travelling food truck that was at the centre of Mary Lou and Ursula’s
feasibility study.
The Evolution of the Good Food Box 71

7 The feasibility study showed that Field to Table was a viable option. Given the
TFPC’s catalytic and facilitating role in project development, it made sense for a
community agency to take on the role of overseeing day-to-day implementation.
The FoodShare Board invited the Field to Table project to operate under the aus-
pices of FoodShare, and following extensive discussion of the structure of such an
arrangement, FoodShare took over day-to-day operations, with an advisory commit-
tee chaired by a TFPC member to provide overall direction. FoodShare participated
in setting the direction of the project, paid the two salaries and offered the necessary
infrastructure of office and accounting.
At about the same time, Debbie Field became the Executive Director of FoodShare
Toronto. Debbie had a background in community activism, as well as a history in
municipal politics. Her political connections have subsequently helped FoodShare to
obtain valuable political and in-kind support from the City of Toronto.
Poverty, emergency relief and the search for alternatives

FoodShare had originally been set up by former Toronto Mayor Art Eggleton in
1985 as a response to the recession of the early 1980’s and the resulting rise in food
bank use. The mandate had initially been “to end hunger in Metro Toronto” and
activities centered on solving the hunger crisis through advocacy for better welfare
rates and a higher minimum wage. The volunteer-run Hunger Hotline, a food bank
referral service, was set up to dispense emergency food advice. But as time went on
and food banks became a fixture, there was a realization that social justice would
not be achieved quickly enough to deal with the problem of hunger. Lack of income
might be the most important factor in causing hunger, but it was not the single cause
of food insecurity.
In the late 80’s and early 90’s, FoodShare began to develop programs based on
the long term food security model rather than on the emergency food relief model.
There were community kitchens, community gardens and buying clubs, all modeled
on similar programs in the developing world and geared toward ensuring that people
had dignified access to healthy food at all times. These projects looked to long-term
solutions, but their impact on people’s short-term household food security was lim-
ited. The major difficulty was getting large numbers of people to buy into the chal-
lenging notion of collective action. When the Field to Table project began, the Food-
Share board and staff saw the project as a direct and practical way to help improve
individual families’ short-term household food security problems, while also working
on the longer-term goal of building a healthier, people-based food system.
It is not the belief or intention of FoodShare that progressive food programs can
replace emergency aid programs in the short term (or at least, not without a massive

infusion of community and institutional support); nor can they replace welfare reform
or the need for a more equitable socioeconomic system. So FoodShare has continued
to maintain the Hunger Hotline (now called FoodLink) and to work on advocacy
through alliances with organizations that work towards eradicating poverty.
Markets, buying clubs – and a new idea

The first produce distribution project established by FoodShare and the Field to
Table project was a travelling community market. Mary Lou and Ursula ran 20 mar-
kets per week out of a truck, all in low-income neighbourhoods, many in the parking
lots of social housing buildings in the northern parts of Toronto, where food access
was a problem and grocery stores were few and far between. In the winter some of the
host buildings asked that staff create a market in the lobby of the low-income build-
ing. We also supplied pre-order buying clubs and school food programs with fresh
fruit and vegetables.
The flaws in the market and buying clubs projects soon became apparent. The
community markets were very labour intensive, expensive to run and as a result, dif-
ficult to offer on any large scale. The buying clubs also required a lot of labour, in this
case from the volunteers who ran them. They had to put together complicated orders,
divide up cases between participants, organize pre-payment and worry whether par-
ticipants were actually saving money, compared to buying “specials” at the super-
market. Buyers would sometimes be shocked to discover that the bananas they had
bought through their buying club turned out to be more expensive than those offered
at their local supermarket. What participants learned is that grocery stores use “loss
leaders” (below cost prices) on fresh produce, to lure in customers. Another problem
with the buying clubs was that cases were only sold in full, and often this was more
than a community could use or afford.
FoodShare staff became committed to evaluating the impact that the project was
having on the community. They soon began to feel frustrated at the limitations they
were discovering. But their experience with markets and buying clubs had given them
the benefit of learning firsthand about some of the ways in which poverty affects
food security. FoodShare observed the cycle of dwindling funds and food from mid-
month to month-end for people on welfare; and the demoralization caused by having
to rely on food banks. For low-income people, food was often not a source of pleasure
and comfort, but of worry and stress.
In the meantime, staff had heard about a California-based program called “Share”,
which was running in 22 states and serving over 11 million low-income people. They
began to consider the possibilities this model suggested. Share would help new towns
and cities set up a “franchise” of their program. The disadvantages of becoming a
franchisee to Share were that groups had to buy all produce through them (i.e. mostly

U.S. grown produce) and they took a dollar per box themselves to cover overhead
costs. The selection of the food in the box was also based on an attempt to provide the
materials for whole meals, and often included meat and processed foods. FoodShare
decided to make some changes in the operation of the travelling food truck. They
would focus on local, fresh and unprocessed foods for both nutrition and environ-
mental reasons and also because meat is more expensive in Canada and requires strict
temperature control. They would call their program the “Good Food Box”.
In February of 1994, the first 40 Good Food Boxes were packed by staff in the
boardroom of FoodShare. It took an entire day to assemble the boxes! As the project
has grown, observation, experience and formal evaluation have contributed to the
evolution of some fundamental principles on which the Good Food Box is based. Yet
the basic system remains: people pre-pay between $12 and $32 to their coordinator
and then one week later receive a box of fresh fruit and vegetables at a lower price
than if they were to purchase them at the supermarket. The box is delivered to pre-
arranged community drop-off points. Volunteers, who live within the community,
receive the produce at these drop-off points, and also co-ordinate money collection
and organize the orders.
The Good Food Box helps other FoodShare programs grow

The Good Food Box has also developed a number of spin-off projects, including
the Focus on Food Youth program, the Fresh Produce program for schools and agen-
cies, Field to Table Catering, the Toronto Kitchen Incubator, and most recently the
Good Food Markets, which are a version of the previous produce markets that oper-
ated in the early years of the Field to Table project.
Today in 2008, as we publish this second edition of the Good Food Box Guide,
annual sales of the Fresh Produce program for schools and agencies amount to over
$500,000 a year, almost the same annual sales of the Good Food Box.
There are now eleven Good Food Markets operating, often in the same commun-
ities where the Field to Table travelling truck sold produce 16 years ago. In 2007, sales
from Good Food Markets were over $60,000, up from $20,000 in 2006.
Having a warehouse, experienced dedicated staff, relationships with farmers, and

an account at the Ontario Food Terminal allows FoodShare to develop a variety of
produce distribution options of which the Good Food Box is one. FoodShare’s goals
remain the same: to improve access to healthy, affordable, culturally appropriate and
sustainable food. We have a variety of programs that all work toward this goal using
a variety of distribution mechanisms.

FoodShare Programs 2008:
Student Programs
FoodShare has been addressing the issues of Student Nutrition for a number of
years. We believe that food education and access are critical to the health of all chil-
dren and youth and support this in the following ways:
Field to Table Schools

FoodShare believes that all children and youth should learn to grow and cook healthy
food. Through the Field to Table Schools program the food system is brought to life
with hands on activities and workshops. Students from JK to Grade 12 learn about
composting, school food gardens, nutrition, basic cooking skills, local and global
food systems and more.
Teachers can arrange in-class presentations, access resources and activity ideas
through monthly teacher training workshops or book a field trip to the FoodShare
Centre. When booking a field trip to FoodShare, teachers can choose from a menu
of activities rooted in the curriculum and workshops, ensuring an appropriate and
meaningful experience.
The Learning Centre provides students and teachers with hands on training in our
kitchen, compost operation, Good Food Box warehouse and urban agriculture pro-
gram while acquainting them with the behind the scenes activity of one of North
America’s largest food security organizations.
Meredith@foodshare.net / 416-363-6441 ext. 240
Student Nutrition Programs

FoodShare works with the Toronto Partners for Student Nutrition to support over
500 local Student Nutrition Programs. FoodShare helps to ensure that 84,000 chil-
dren and youth in the City of Toronto have access to healthy, culturally appropriate
breakfast, snacks and lunches in their school or local community site. We believe
that all children and youth require healthy food to maintain sound bodies and alert
minds. Universal Student Nutrition Programs allow children access to healthy foods,
help to develop life-long healthy eating patterns and reduce the incidence of social
isolation within a community. FoodShare assists parents and volunteers running
these programs by building community capacity through workshops and training
sessions giving them the tools to achieve long-term sustainability for the programs.
Lori@foodshare.net / 416-363-6441 ext. 230
Fresh Produce program

The Fresh Produce program helps to make produce affordable and accessible for
student nutrition programs in Toronto’s elementary and secondary schools. Although

FoodShare feels it is always best to purchase from a local provider for high quality,
local produce (like a farmers’ market) this is not always possible as a school’s need
may be too large and transportation is often a challenge. Through the Fresh Pro-
duce Program FoodShare can order produce directly from local farmers and from the
Ontario Food Terminal and distribute this produce to schools all over the city. Our
knowledgeable staff work directly with organizers to determine the best products that
will ensure their programs can run efficiently and successfully.
Cafeon@foodshare.net / 416-363-6441 ext. 242
Community Food Programs

“Good Healthy Food for All” is vital to a community’s well being. No matter what
socio-economic status, background, or means, we believe that all individuals and
families should have access to healthy food though purchasing and/or developing
their own sustainable means.
The Good Food Box program

The Good Food Box is an alternative distribution system that makes sustainable,
local, and affordable produce more accessible to Toronto’s communities. Professional
evaluation of the Good Food Box shows that participating in the program helps
people access a more nutritious diet.
The Good Food Box makes top-quality, fresh food available in a respectful and
dignified way, fosters community development and promotes healthy eating. Cus-
tomers pay the cost of the food itself, while distribution overheads are subsidized. For
example, our family sized Good Food Box, priced at $17, saves our customers $5-$10
off the retail cost of quality produce. The cost saving comes from purchasing large
quantities of produce from wholesalers, directly from farmers, by using dedicated
volunteers to help pack boxes and coordinate drop-off locations and by subsidizing
the cost of the Good Food Box.
Supporting local and sustainable agriculture is also an important consideration

for the contents of our boxes. In 2007, our boxes contained between 20-90% local
produce, depending on the season. We also support local organic farmers by offering
organic boxes. Thanks to our dedicated team of volunteers and staff we are currently
distributing about 4000 boxes per month to about 200 neighbourhood-based drop-
offs.
Delsie@foodshare.net / 416-363-6441 ext. 234
Community Gardening and Urban Agriculture

Growing food in urban centres is an idea whose time has come. FoodShare has
several programs to support individuals and groups to grow food in the city.

FoodShare works with community groups to assist them in acquiring the know-
ledge, expertise and resources necessary to start up a community garden. Toronto
now has approximately 120 community gardens located everywhere from city parks
to abandoned lots. In these garden plots gardeners grow food for their families,
beautify their neighbourhoods and get in touch with nature’s cycles.
FoodShare has a sprouting operation and beehives, using appropriate technology

methods and recycled materials to produce organic food and seedlings for sale. This
program also allows us to teach others about sustainable food growing methods.
In 2008 we built on-site demonstration gardens and a new greenhouse producing
organic seedlings and sprouts.
Off-site, FoodShare partners with the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health
(CAMH) to run The Sunshine Garden, a market garden at the CAMH Queen Street
site. Twice weekly, from mid-June to October, we sell just-harvested vegetables at our
farm stand. In the winter, we produce over 200 kilograms of edible pea and sunflower
sprouts in the greenhouse at the Queen Street Site that are distributed to Good Food
Box customers.
Ian@foodshare.net / 416-363-6441 ext. 248
Toronto Community Food Animators

The Animators project engages individuals and communities in bringing to life
food-focused projects, such as community gardens, fresh produce markets and com-
munity kitchens. The project is a partnership between The Stop Community Food
Centre, the Afri-Can FoodBasket, and FoodShare, the project leader. Food Anima-
tors work closely with local leaders and community agencies in Toronto’s low-income,
high priority neighbourhoods such as in North York, Scarborough, and Etobicoke.
In the three years that the Animators have been engaging community residents,
there have been over twenty-one projects initiated, with forty local partners. We
are working together to build local food security, increase leadership and capacity of
individuals and communities and create vibrant public spaces.
Ravenna@foodshare.net / 416-363-6441 ext. 225
Good Food Markets

Neighbourhood based Good Food Markets are one-stand outdoor markets that
sell high-quality and affordable fruits and vegetables. They are located in areas of
the city where farmers’ markets are not yet profitable, but are desperately needed to
improve food access. These market stands not only improve food access and support
local farmers, but they also have the potential to create vibrant community spaces.
FoodShare works in partnership with community organizations to run the mar-

kets. We purchase fresh produce from local farmers and from the Ontario Food Ter-

minal and deliver it to community organizations who run the markets. The markets
feature seasonal and local produce in order to offer the greatest quality and value to
communities.
Mark-jan@foodshare.net / 416-363-6441 ext. 223
Community Education and Information Resources

Education is vital to our ability to take responsibilities for our well-being and our
family’s well-being. The education and information resource projects help commun-
ity members access resources and services designed to improve their physical, mental,
and financial health well into the future.
Healthy Babies Eat Homecooked Food

Making your own baby food is easy and affordable. The best thing is that you
know exactly what’s in it! FoodShare maintains a team of peer trainers who speak
a variety of languages and who go out to community groups to teach Baby Food
Basics. Topics covered include how to prepare and store your own baby food, when
to introduce various foods and the basics of baby nutrition.
Toni@foodshare.net / 416-363-6441 ext. 246
FoodLink Hotline
FoodLink, a partnership with Community Information Toronto (CIT), answers
calls from people looking for food programs in Toronto. Referencing a database of
over 1,400 records, CIT counselors and FoodLink volunteers can refer to the full
spectrum of food programs, from emergency food programs such as food banks and
low-cost meals to community development programs such as community gardens,
seniors congregate dining and peri-natal programs.
Zola@foodshare.net / 416-363-6441 ext. 229
Focus on Food Youth Intern Project

Focus on Food is a program for youth, between the ages of 15 to 30, who are facing
barriers to employment. This program supports the participants to gain the job and
life skills necessary for them to make the transition to school or work.
Participating youth are paid an hourly wage to work in several of FoodShare’s

programs: the Good Food Box program, Field to Table catering, Administration
services and the urban agriculture program. The participants are also taught skills in
finance, computers, nutrition, diversity and conflict-resolution which they can carry
with them into their professional and personal lives.
Morris@foodshare.net / 416-363-6441 ext. 224

Field to Table Catering
Field to Table Catering offers an eclectic menu of fresh, affordable and seasonal
foods for sale to community organizations and others seeking catering for events of
any size.
Revenues generated from sales support the delivery of nutritious soups and meals
to organizations serving the homeless and under-housed, as well as cooking training
aimed at youth participating in FoodShare projects and people living in supportive
housing.
Sybil@foodshare.net / 416-363-6441 ext. 232
Toronto Kitchen Incubator

The Toronto Kitchen Incubator is a fully equipped industrial kitchen made avail-
able for use by entrepreneurs, small businesses and community groups. Started with
funding from the Toronto Economic Development Corporation, TKI is available for
a low hourly rate to members who would otherwise have to make a large investment
in their own facilities. As businesses grow, they move on and make space for others
to move in.
Zahra@foodshare.net / 416-363-6441 ext. 233

Appendices
• Good Food Box Coordinator Package...........................................................81
• Sample Ordering Spreadsheet...................................................................... 84
• Frequently Asked Questions. ....................................................................... 85
• Produce Buying Policy..................................................................................87
• Good Food Box Order Form. ...................................................................... 89
• Produce Storage Guidelines......................................................................... 90
• Good Food Box Sales Figures.......................................................................91
• Local Produce Statistics. ...............................................................................93
• Good Food Box Yearly Sales Trends..............................................................97
• Good Food Box Newsletter........................................................................101
• Good Food Box Flyer.................................................................................105
• Annual Good Food Box Farmers Meeting Flyer...........................................107

APPENDIX:
Information for Good Food Box Drop-off Coordinators
Thank you for inquiring about becoming a Good Food Box Drop-off Coordinator.
With requests for Good Food Boxes sky-rocketing, we need people like you to host drop-off sites
in Toronto.
The Good Food Box program is an alternative food distribution system. Information about the
program and becoming a coordinator is included here in your Coordinator Start-Up Kit. It con-
tains:
• FoodShare Flyers
• A Coordinator’s Customer Master List
• Good Food Box Order Forms
• FoodShare’s Program Overview
• Contact information
The Good Food Box Program

The Good Food Box program is a community-based food distribution system. We buy food at
wholesale prices directly from local farmers and the Ontario Food Terminal and our customers
pre-order the box with their local drop-off coordinator. Volunteers pack the produce into individ-
ual boxes, and the boxes are then delivered through a neighborhood drop-off system.
The principles behind the program include:

• health promotion and food skills education
• supporting local farmers and economy
• making the program accessible to anyone without restrictions
• selling only high quality produce
• promoting seasonal buying and eating
• community development and volunteer support and development
• environmentally responsible management of our food program.
Although we are a non-profit organization, the Good Food Box is not free. Customers pay for
their produce thereby allowing them the power to control their own food needs. It is a universal
program in which anyone is welcome to purchase a box.
Coordinator Responsibilities
As Good Food Box Drop-off Coordinator you:
• keep a customer master list that includes name, mailing address, phone number and for-
ward a copy to FoodShare (first receiving consent from your customers);
• establish guidelines for your group;
Information for Good Food Box Drop-off Coordinators 81

• Group order and payment – collect cash or cheques from your customers, place your group’s
order, and forward the payment to FoodShare;
.• Pick-up – determine a delivery time with FoodShare, receive the boxes at a pre-arranged loca-
tion, manage customer pick-up, store empty containers, and ensure empty boxes are returned
to FoodShare.
Deliveries
The Good Food Box is delivered on a weekly basis, but as the Coordinator, you will determine how
often you would like to receive deliveries. Most groups order every two weeks, although there are
some that order weekly and others who order once a month.
To start your own group, you must order a minimum of 5 Good Food Boxes per delivery. If you order
10 or more boxes at a time, you receive a complimentary Good Food Box for your added efforts.
Good Food Box Types

FoodShare offers 6 different types of produce boxes. We are delighted to bring you:
Type of Box Description Price
Large Good Food Box (conven- -contains conventional produce $17.00
tional) -size suitable for families
Small Good Food Box -contains conventional produce $12.00
-suitable for 1-2 people
Large Organic Good Food Box -contains certified organic produce $32.00
-size suitable for families
Small Organic Good Food Box -contains certified organic produce $22.00
-suitable for 1-2 people
Wellness Box -contains conventional produce $12.00
- pre-cut and washed
Fruit Basket -contains only fruit (conventional) $12.00
The contents of the Good Food Box are selected based on various principles: nutrition, value, afford-
ability, cultural-appropriateness, and whether they local, seasonal and organic. Whenever possible,
we buy from Ontario farmers to support the local economy and the contents of the box change each
week. Below is a sample list of what you might receive in a box.
The contents of the Good Food Box are selected based on various principles: nutrition value, afford-
ability, cultural-appropriateness, local, seasonal and organic. Whenever possible, we buy from
Ontario farmers to support the local economy and the contents of the box change each week. Below
is a sample list of what you might receive in a box.

APPENDIX:
Information for Good Food Box Drop-off Coordinators
Contents for the various Good Food Boxes:

week of September 4-7, 2007
* Ontario Grown
Large Good Small Good Fruit Basket Wellness Large Small

Food Box Food Box Organic Organic
2 green peppers * 1 green pepper* 3lb bag pears* 1 green pepper* 1 red pepper* 1 red pepper*
4 lbs white 2 lbs white 1 bunch bananas 4 white potatoes* 2 green peppers* 1 green pepper*
potatoes* potatoes*
1 red pepper* 1 red pepper* 1 cantaloupe* 2 red peppers* ½ lb sweet colour 1/4 lb sweet
pepper* colour pepper*
3lb bag of 1.5lb bag of 3lb bag apples* 4 bananas* 1 green zucchini* 1 spanish onion*
apples* apples*
1 head romaine 1 head romaine 1 basket 1 pint 1 spanish onion* 1 bunch beets*
lettuce* lettuce* peaches* mushrooms*
2lb bag onions* 2lb bag onions* 2 mangoes 2 yellow onions* 1 bunch beets* 1 bulb garlic*
1 bunch broccoli* 1 bunch broccoli* 1 pint 2 bulbs garlic* 1 bunch basil*
strawberries
3lb bag pears* 1.5lb bag pears* 4 apples* 1 bunch basil* 1 bunch parsley*
1 bulb organic 1 bunch bananas 1 bag cut carrots* 1 bunch parsley* 2 tomatoes*
garlic*
1 bunch bananas ½ basket 0.33 lbs spring 3 tomatoes* 1 Sugar Baby
peaches* salad mix melon*
½ basket ½ basket field 1 bag cut celery* 1 Sugar Baby 1.5 lbs apples*
peaches* tomatoes* melon*
½ basket field 1 pint cherry 3 lbs apples* 2lbs red
tomatoes* tomatoes* potatoes*
1 bag cut 3lbs red
broccoli* Potatoes*
1 bunch
bananas*
If you need help recruiting customers, we would be happy to give a Good Food Box presentation. Why
not be a part of a wonderful movement to ensure food access for all? Call Delsie Hyatt at 416-363-6441
ext. 234 to start your Good Food Box group today!
Information for Good Food Box Drop-off Coordinators 83

84
GOOD FOOD BOX conventional produce 4-Sep-07
APPENDIX:
conventional produce unless marked LARGE SMALL
Amt in Cost in # to Amt in Cost in Sub invento

# in case Case Cost Source Item Unit Cost # to pack box box Order pack box box Order Total ry Select ORDER
25 $7.75 ON Green Pepper $0.31 118 2.00 $0.62 9.44 132 1.00 $0.31 5.28 14.72 1.50 13.22 14.00
25 $22.75 ON Red Pepper $0.91 118 1.00 $0.91 4.72 132 1.00 $0.91 5.28 10.00 0.50 9.50 10.00
10 $2.50 ON Potatoes $0.25 118 4.00 $1.00 47.20 132 2.00 $0.50 26.40 73.60 2.00 71.60 72.00
1 $1.75 ON Pears Barlette $1.75 118 1.00 $1.75 118.00 132 0.50 $0.88 66.00 184.00 184.00 184.00
1 $1.45 ON Apples $1.45 118 1.00 $1.45 118.00 132 0.50 $0.73 66.00 184.00 184.00 184.00
The Good Food Box

6 $20.75 ON Peaches 6/3 $3.46 118 0.50 $1.73 9.83 132 0.50 $1.73 11.00 20.83 20.83 21.00
4 $9.75 ON Tomatoes Local4/3 $2.44 118 0.50 $1.22 14.75 132 0.50 $1.22 16.50 31.25 31.25 32.00
1 $3.50 ON Garlic Organic $3.50 118 0.17 $0.60 20.06 132 0.00 $0.00 0.00 20.06 20.06 21.00
24 $11.75 ON Onion $0.49 118 1.00 $0.49 4.92 132 1.00 $0.49 5.50 10.42 3.50 6.92 7.00
18 $14.75 ON Broccoli $0.82 118 1.00 $0.82 6.56 132 1.00 $0.82 7.33 13.89 13.89 14.00
Sample Ordering Spreadsheet:
24 $12.75 Cal Romaine Lettuce $0.53 118 1.00 $0.53 4.92 132 1.00 $0.53 5.50 10.42 10.42 11.00
18 $13.75 Equ Bananas $0.76 118 1.00 $0.76 6.56 132 1.00 $0.76 7.33 13.89 13.89 14.00
$0.10 newsletter $0.10 newsletter
SUM(F15*G15)/A
SUM(B15/A15) $0.00 box wash $0.00 box wash SUM(T15-
15
SUM(E15*G15) U15)
$0.10 packaging $0.10 packaging
$12.08 Actual $9.07 Actual
SUM(I15+M15+N15+O15+P15+Q15+R15+S15)
$12.24 Target $8.64 goal
SUM(H4:H18)
29% margin 24% Margin
=SUM(17*0.72) =SUM(17-H19)/17
week of September 4-7, 2007
APPENDIX:
Frequently Asked Questions
Customer questions
Can I choose what I want in my box?
The boxes are not customized and most customers like it this way. We get a lot of comments
like “the boxes are like Christmas presents, each box is a surprise.” Because FoodShare de-
cides what to put in the boxes, we are able to reduce the overall cost of our boxes, maximize
freshness, and support local and sustainable agriculture. Our boxes also help to educate people
about the different kinds of fruits and vegetables available by including newsletters with reci-
pes and information about how to use the produce.
If there is a food recall, what do you do?

Our immediate response to a food recall, issued from the Canadian Food Inspection agency, is
to determine the exact item being recalled. We will identify the brand, the variety, and the size,
and then compare this with the produce we obtained. If we identify that we have purchased
the recalled item, all possible customers must be called immediately with information on the
risks and handling procedures outlined by the Canadian Food Inspection agency. Even if we
do not find any recalled item(s), contacting the customers to let them know that the products
they received were not recalled will help alleviate their worries.
Is the produce fresh? Or is it seconds?

Produce is of the highest quality. We do not put seconds into our boxes.
Do I have to order a box every week?

No. You can order as frequently as suits you, with a maximum of once a week.
Coordinator questions
Is the program just for low-income individuals?
FoodShare believes that everyone could eat better. We also believe that a universal program
encourages more people to participate because it does not discriminate. We do, however, target
communities that have the greatest barriers to accessing good healthy produce. We target these
communities by offering presentations and promotional materials to their local agencies.
Frequently Asked Questions 85

Do you deliver on the week-ends?
Our delivery hours are from Tuesday to Friday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Do you deliver out of the Metro Toronto area?

At Present we have two stops in Mississauga and two in Pickering. This is the farthest East and
West of the city we are able to go. We also do not go north of Steeles Avenue. Stops outside of
the Metro Toronto area must be cost effective for us to deliver. Groups must order a sufficient
number of boxes to make the cost of transportation worthwhile.
How much work is it to be a coordinator? Do I get anything for volunteering?

Typically a coordinator spends about 3-4 hrs each delivery week (some coordinators have box-
es delivered weekly, some biweekly, and some once a month). A coordinator is responsible for
finding customers, reminding customers to order and pick-up their box, providing a time and
place for customers to pick up their box, and collecting payments from customers. For every
ten boxes ordered, a coordinator will receive a free large box or a produce credit worth $17.

APPENDIX:
Produce Buying Policy (Good Food Box Toronto)

1. Quality
a. Great taste
b. Acceptable size, good presentation, no deterioration of product (mold, soft spots, rotting)
c. Used within appropriate shelf life
2. Safety and Sanitation

a. Clean boxes and lids (box washers are shown how to wash and put the clean boxes on the floor)
b. Proper packaging and cutting
c. All produce has to be on skids (no fruit or vegetable boxes on the floor)
d. Trained volunteers and staff
3. Good Value
a. Feeling of abundance, weight, colour
b. Practical for making supper
c. Favourable price comparison with the marketplace
4. Variety
a. Staple foods (e.g. potatoes, carrots, onions, apples)
b. Something new or different to push the food experience
c. Luxury items (that people would not buy themselves)
d. Salad items
e. A selection of fruits (minimum three varieties/box)
5. Suitability
a. Items in Wellness Box should reflect participants’ dietary needs (i.e. four cut items, small servings,
limited citrus, a maximum of 40 serving per week)
b. Items in Toronto Healthy Diet Study Box should reflect participants’ dietary needs (e.g. berries,
dark green vegetables, okra, eggplants, fruits and vegetables low in Glycemic Index; no potatoes or
bananas)
6. Purchase local produce

a. Support local supply and distribution networks—purchase as much as possible as close to home as
possible—Ontario first, then Canada
b. Work with farmers to grow products for us
7. Seasonal
a. Feature in-season produce
b. Think about the whole year and how to avoid purchasing out to season (i.e. only buy Ontario
asparagus; and try to buy cranberries from Canada)
Produce Buying Policy (Good Food Box Toronto) 87

8. Education
a. Newsletters
b. Recipes
c. Content sheet with local produce marked with an asterisk, also noting different var-
ieties
d. Farmer information
9. Growing Practices
a. Certified organic/growing organically for organic boxes
b. Transitional and conventional accepted for other boxes
c. Encourage Integrated Pest Management, avoidance of pesticides, fungicides, etc.
d. Discourage genetically modified seeds
e. No waxed produce
f. Encourage heritage varieties
10. Packing
a. Products must be presentable (bunched, bagged and clean)
b. Product-particular boxes should be used (waxed, unwaxed, suitable depth)
c. If possible, avoid individualized stickers
d. Product labeling must be culturally sensitive to our customers (e.g. blood oranges)
e. If possible, purchase in bulk returnable bins to avoid cardboard packaging
f. If repackaging, use paper or plastic bags depending on product
11. Fair Trade

a. Fair wage policies
b. Environmentally sensitive practices

APPENDIX:
Good Food Box Order Form
Good Food Box Order Form 89

APPENDIX:
Produce Storage Guidelines

Table 1. Fruits & Vegetables that require cold, moist conditions
Vegetable Temperature (oF) Relative Humidity (%) Length of Storage
Asparagus 32-36 95 2-3 weeks
Apples 32 90 2-6 months
Beets 32 95 3-5 months
Broccoli 32 95 10-14 days
Brussels Sprouts 32 95 3-5 weeks
Cabbage, Early 32 95 3-6 weeks
Cabbage, Late 32 95 3-4 months
Cabbage, Chinese 32 95 1-2 months
Carrots, mature 32 95 4-5 months
Carrots, immature 32 95 4-6 weeks
Cauliflower 32 95 2-4 weeks
Celeriac 32 95 3-4 months
Celery 32 95 2-3 months
Collards 32 95 10-14 days
Corn, sweet 32 95 4-8 days
Endive, Escarole 32 95 2-3 weeks
Grapes 32 90 4-6 weeks
Kale 32 95 10-14 days
Leeks, green 32 95 1-3 months
Lettuce 32 95 2-3 weeks
Parsley 32 95 1-2 months
Parsnips 32 95 2-6 months
Pears 32 95 2-7 months
Peas, green 32 95 1-3 weeks
Potatoes, early 50 90 1-3 weeks
Potatoes, late 39 90 4-9 months
Radishes, spring 32 95 3-4 weeks
Radishes, winter 32 95 2-4 months
Rhubarb 32 95 2-4 weeks
Rutabagas 32 95 2-4 months
Spinach 32 95 10-14 days
Table 2. Vegetables that require cool, moist conditions

Beans, snap 40-50 95 7-10 days
Cucumbers 45-50 95 10-14 days
Eggplant 45-50 90 1 week
Cantaloupe 40 90 15 days
Watermelon 40-50 80-85 2-3 weeks
Peppers, sweet 45-50 95 2-3 weeks
Potatoes, early 50 90 1-3 weeks
Potatoes, late 40 90 4-9 months
Tomatoes, green 50-70 90 1-3 weeks
Tomatoes, ripe 45-50 90 4-7 days
Table 3. Vegetables that require cool dry conditions.

Garlic 32 65-70 6-7 months
Onions 32 65-70 6-7 months
Table 4. Vegetables that require warm dry conditions.

Peppers, hot 50 60-65 6 months
Pumpkins 50-55 70-75 2-3 months
Squash, winter 50-55 50-60 2-6 months
Sweet Potato 55-60 80-85 4-6 months

APPENDIX:
Good Food Box Sales Figures

Good Food Box Sales by box 2007
1200
1000
800
Boxes
600
400
200
0
Date
M 7
Ju 2
N 5
D 3
Ju 1
Ju 6
Au 0
Au 3
Se 27
19
17
Ja 1
Ja 4
Fe 8
12
M 2
Ju 4
M 2
26
Se 10
24
Ap 9
O 8
M 3
22
18
2
1
3
1
1
2
r2
ay
ly
ov
ec
n
ar
ne
r
ct
Ap
ay
ly
ly
g
g
ov
ec
Ja
n
n
b
ar
ar
pt
pt
ct
ne
Ju
O
M
Good Food Box Small box Small organic box Large organic fruit wellness
Good Food Box Sales Figures 91

Average increase in sales by box 2003-2007
$140,000.00
$120,000.00
$100,000.00
$80,000.00
$60,000.00
$40,000.00
$20,000.00
$-
Good Food School Other Market THDSB Parenting Wellness Total sales
Box sales
$(20,000.00)
Good Food Box School sales Other Market
THDSB Parenting Wellness Total sales

APPENDIX:
Local Produce Statistics

Local vs Imported produce sales 2006
Imported
organic 7% Local conventional
34%
39%
Imported
conventional
8%
Local
conventional
12% direct sale
Local organic
direct sale
Local Produce Statistics 93

94
Local conventional direct farm sales 2006
$45,000.00
$40,000.00
$35,000.00
$30,000.00
The Good Food Box

$25,000.00
$20,000.00
$15,000.00
$10,000.00
$5,000.00
$-
Andrews Scenic Acres Weninger Farmers Lincoln Line Orchards Norfolk Fruit Growers
Local Sales from farms through terminal 2006
$30,000.00
$25,000.00
$20,000.00
Local Produce Statistics

$15,000.00
$10,000.00
$5,000.00
$-
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96
Local organic direct farm sales 2006
$60,000.00
$50,000.00
$40,000.00
The Good Food Box

$30,000.00
$20,000.00
$10,000.00
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APPENDIX:
Good Food Box Yearly Sales Trends

Produce sales
$1,400,000.00
$1,200,000.00
$1,000,000.00
$800,000.00
$600,000.00
$400,000.00
$200,000.00
$-
SB
s
s
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TH
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ta
Pa
W
Fo
ho
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Sc
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2003 actual 2004 actual 2005 actual

2006 actual projected 2007
Good Food Box Sales Trends 97

2003 Actual Produce Sales
1%
1%
0%
0%
7%
25%
66%
1%
1%
0%
0%
6%
Good Food Box School sales Other
Market THDSB Parenting

32%
Wellness
60%
Wellness

1%
1%
0%
1%
10%
51%
36%
0%
2%
2%
2%
Good Food Box School sales Other 9%
Wellness
51%
34%
Wellness
Good Food Box Sales Trends 99

Projected 2007 Produce Sales
2%
0%
4%
3%
9%
42%
40%
Wellness

APPENDIX:
Good Food Box Newsletter

The bi-weekly newsletter of FoodShare Toronto’s Good Food Box Vol.11 No. 17 weeks of August 21 and 28, 2007
working with communities to improve access to affordable and healthy food - from field to table
At the Mercy of Mother Nature:

Good Food NEWS
a story about the gambles of farming
by Mark-Jan Daalderop
When I spoke with one of our farmers on the phone a small crater and dust plume. We all stopped working
recently, he sadly told me that they had not received and stood frozen, trying not to make any motion in
rain in 5 weeks. I remember my own experience of fear that the clouds would see us and move on.
drought and felt sympathy for all the farmers who face
such uncertainty each and every day. The rain thundered down in great streams from the
Here is my story. sky and created rivers between the rows, creating deep
cuts in the fields and flooding in some areas. We were
Two years ago I stood in a field of a small farm in elated, almost to tears of joy. I understood, then, why
Southern Ontario with a garden hose in my hand. I cultures have celebrated the harvest: because there is
was trying to save a row of cabbages that were hang- no guarantee that it will come.
ing limp and desperate for even a drop of water. My
body was tired from the constant pounding of the af- We now rely on the global food system, where
ternoon sun and my throat burned from the dust col- droughts, floods, and major crop losses go almost un-
lected inside. This particular year we were praying for noticed, except maybe in the cost of our food. When
rain, praying each day that the clouds would cover the the dry weather caused a decline in Ontario straw-
molten fireball that burned our skin and made the soil berry production we bought from California…no big
so hot it burned our feet. We had not received a drop deal. This ability to tap into the global food system
of rain for more than 5 weeks and with the intensity of has in some ways increased our food security yet at
the sun our plants were holding on for dear life. the same time has changed the way we value food and
celebrate it.
The summer of 2004, the year before, had been perfect,
just the right mixture of rain and sunshine. The crops
thrived and our market and food boxes were bountiful.
This year we were already getting complaints from our What’s local in your GFB this
food box recipients, and the organization was getting week and the farmers who grew it:
upset that we weren’t growing food. The tension in
the air was thick making everyone irritable and fear- In the conventional boxes:
ful of the worst: losing our crops and losing our jobs. from a variety of Ontario farmers, through the
“This is ridiculous, when is it ever going to rain?” I Ontario Food Terminal:
said frustrated, my friend and coworker responded by corn, carrots, peaches, field tomatoes, cucumber,
saying “ Welcome to the life of a farmer”. onion, broccoli, cauliflower, celery, mushrooms,
and potatoes
At the end of the fifth week of no rain, while watering
the tomatoes, the clouds began to form and the sky be- In the organic boxes:
came dark. We held our breath. This would not be the Pfennings: Corn, Leeks, Eggplant
first time the sky would tease us with the possibility Mike Lanigan: Kale
of rain. The plants started to sway in the warm breeze, Lena Horst: Garlic
the light faded, and a sweet smell of a storm filled my Hope Organics: Tomatoes, Orange Honeydew
senses. A raindrop fell, hitting the dry soil and created melons, Potatoes
rsel ves!
Help us Replant ou
Field to Table Centre

90 Croatia St. Toronto, ON M6H 1K9 t: 416. 363. 6441 xt 221 f: 416. 363 0474 e: info@foodshare.net www.foodshare.net
As of July 31st the Good Food Box is being packed at 90 Croatia St!
Good Food Box Newsletter 101

recipes featured this week: CORN
Maize (Zea mays), also known as corn, is a cereal grain that was
first domesticated from 7,500 to 12,000 years ago in central Mex-
Salsa de Elote ico though that plant was very different from what we now know
as corn. Perhaps as early as 1500 BC, maize began to
Fresh Corn Salsa spread widely and rapidly and was the staple food, or
a major staple, of most the pre-Columbian North
4 ears fresh corn, shucked American, Mesoamerican, South American,
1/2 med white onion, finely and Caribbean cultures. It spread to the rest
chopped of the world after European contact with
1 to 2 minced fresh chiles- the Americas in the late 15th century and
early 16th century.
serrano or jalapeno
1 ripe tomato, seeded The ears are actually female flowers
and chopped and the corn silks are the stigmas --the fe-
1/2 cup fresh cilantro, loosely male plant part that gets pollinated by
packed & chopped pollen from the male tassels. For each silk on which
3 TBS fresh lime juice pollen from the tassel lands, one kernel of corn is pro-
duced.
1 tsp vegetable or olive oil
1/2 tsp salt Corn is a good source of many nutrients including
thiamin (vitamin B1), pantothenic acid (vitamin B5),
In a large pot of boiling water, cook the corn folate, dietary fiber, vitamin C, phosphorous and man-
until just tender, 3 to 4 minutes. Cool under ganese.
running water. With a sharp knife, cut the
kernels off the cobs. Place the corn kernels in Since heat rapidly converts the sugar in corn to starch,
a large bowl. Mix in the onion, chiles, tomato, it is very important to keep corn refrigerated as soon as
cilantro, oil, and lime juice. Season to taste with it is picked. Look for corn whose husks are fresh and
salt. Serve cold or at room temperature. green and not dried out. They should envelope the ear
and not fit too loosely around it. To examine the kernels,
Makes 3 cups.
pull back part of the husk. The kernels should be plump and
tightly arranged in rows. You can test for the juiciness of the
Corn Pancakes corn by taking your fingernail and pressing on a kernel. Corn that
is fresh will exude a white milky substance.
1-1/4 cups flour Store corn in a plastic bag in the refrigerator. Do not remove its
1 tsp baking powder husk since this will protect its flavor. To enjoy its optimal sweet-
1/2 tsp salt ness, corn should be eaten as soon as possible.
2 eggs beaten
1 cup milk Fresh corn freezes well if placed in heavy-duty freezer bags. To
prepare whole ears for freezing, blanch them first for seven to
2 TBS vegetable oil
eleven minutes depending upon their size (larger ears take a lon-
2 cups whole-kernel corn, cooked & cut off the cob ger time to blanch than smaller ones). If you just want to freeze
the kernels, first blanch the ears for about five minutes and then
Sift the dry ingredients together. In a separate bowl com- cut the kernels off the cob at about three-quarters of their depths.
bine the eggs, milk and oil, then mix together with the dry Whole corn on the cob will keep for up to one year, while the
ingredients. Stir in the corn. Do not overmix. Spoon the kernels can be frozen for two to three months.
batter into a preheated, lightly greased griddle or frying
DELIVERIES
pan.
Makes 12 medium pancakes.
for the week of: August 28
Serving suggestions:
orders are due 5 pm Tues. August 21
Serve the pancakes with honey or maple syrup.
Or: Add savoury herbs such as thyme or parsley, and finely
for the week of Sept.4
diced red and green peppers to batter then serve pancakes
orders are due 5pm Tues. August 28
with 1 cup of sour cream or yogurt mixed with a couple of
tablespoonfuls of herbs, chipotle or jalapeno peppers & tel 416. 363. 6441 ext234 fax 416. 363 0474 e. gfb@foodshare.net
citrus juice

The bi-weekly newsletter of FoodShare Toronto’s Good Food Box Vol. 12 No. 1 week of January 8th 2008
Working with communities to ensure that everyone has access to sustainably produced, good, healthy food
Happy New Year!!

Good Food NEWS Thank you so much to all of the volunteers, coordinators,
farmers, and staff that have made this year a success. In
2007 we helped our communities access healthy fresh
produce by packing over 36,000 Good Food Boxes, sup-
plying 85 schools with fresh produce, teaching children
Thank you, also, for being part of a community of people
who believe that good food should be a reality for every-
one. A community that is growing and becoming powerful
enough to create long lasting changes. A community that
already is helping local farmers, helping lower the cost of
about composting, supporting community gardens, kitch- healthy produce, helping feed young minds, helping grow
ens, Good Food Markets and farmers markets in Toronto. inspiring gardens in urban areas and helping educate our
The Good Food Boxes alone have roughly kept $100,000 communities about our food system and how they too can
in the pockets of our Good Food customers. Our ware- participate in making it better.
house moved close to 1 million dollars of fresh produce
this year and approximately 65% of this was Ontario We can never really know exactly how much our actions
grown, and 28% of this produce was sourced from organ- now will influence life in the future. All we can do is forge
ic farms. We also directly purchased produce from over ahead on hope that one day we will see the changes we
13 farmers, adding several new farms to our list. wished for.
Best wishes for a GREAT 2008!

from the GF B Team
(Mark-Jan , Zahra, Delsie, Cafeon , Lori, Moorthi, Sherry, Bill , Ed, Rajah,)
and all the FoodShare staff.
oursel ves!
Help us Replant
90 Croatia St. Toronto, ON M6H 1K9

t: 416. 363. 6441 xt 221 f: 416. 363 0474 e: info@foodshare.net www.foodshare.net
Good Food Box Newsletter 103

recipes featured this week: SQUASH
Arabian Squash Winter squash, members of the Cucurbitaceae family and rela-
tives of both the melon and the cucumber, come in many dif-
ferent varieties. While each type varies in shape, color, size and
Casserole flavor, they all share some common characteristics. Their
shells are hard and difficult to pierce, enabling them to
4 cups cooked squash or pumpkin, mashed or pured
have long storage periods between one and six months.
1 TBS olive oil Their flesh is mildly sweet in flavor and finely grained
1-1/2 cup chopped onion in texture. Additionally, all have seed-containing hol-
1 tsp salt low inner cavities.
2 small bell peppers (one red and one green,
if possible) minced Varieties of winter squash include:
* Butternut squash: Shaped like a large pear,
4 medium cloves garlic, minced
this squash has cream-colored skin, deep
Black pepper and cayenne, to taste orange-colored flesh and a sweet flavor.
1/2 cup firm yogurt * Acorn squash: With harvest green skin
1 cup crumbled feta cheese speckled with orange patches and pale
Optional: Sunflower seeds and/or minced yellow-orange flesh, this squash has a
walnuts, for the top unique flavor that is a combination of
sweet, nutty and peppery.
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Place * Hubbard squash: A larger-sized
the cooked and mashed or puréed squash that can be dark green, grey-
squash in a large bowl. Heat the blue or orange-red in color, the Hub-
bard’s flavor is less sweet than many
olive oil in a medium-sized skil-
other varieties.
let. Add onion, and saute over * Turban squash: Green in color and either
medium heat for about 5 min- speckled or striped, this winter squash has an or-
utes. Add salt and bell peppers. ange-yellow flesh whose taste is reminiscent
Saute about 5 minutes, or until the of hazelnuts.
peppers begin to get soft. Add garlic, * Pumpkins: The pumpkin with the most
black pepper, and cayenne, and saute flesh and sweetest taste is the small sized one
a few more minutes. Add the saute, along known as sugar or pie pumpkin, the latter refer-
with yogurt and feta, to the squash, and mix well. Spread ring to its most notable culinary usage.
into an ungreased 9-inch square baking pan, sprinkle the Modern day squash developed from the wild squash that origi-
top lightly with sunflower seeds and/or minced walnuts. nated in an area between Guatemala and Mexico. Christopher
Bake uncovered for 25 to 30 minutes, or until bubbly. Good Columbus brought squash back to Europe from the New World,
served with Tabouli Salad or with warmed pita bread and and like other native American foods, their cultivation was in-
Spinach Salad with ripe tomatoes. troduced throughout the world by Portuguese and Spanish ex-
plorers.
Baked Cider-Maple Squash Choose ones that are firm, heavy for their size and have dull,
not glossy, rinds. Avoid those with any signs of decay, which
With Apples manifest as areas that are water-soaked areas or moldy. Winter
squash is an excellent source of vitamin A. It is also a very good
2 acorn or pepper squash source of vitamin C, potassium, dietary fiber, and manganese.
1 tsp salt In addition, winter squash is a good source of folate, omega-3
2 large cooking apples; unpeeled fatty acids, thiamin, copper, vitamin B5, vitamin B6, niacin and
1/4 cup butter copper.
1/4 cup maple syrup
1/4 cup apple cider or juice DELIVERIES
Cut squash in half and remove seeds. Sprinkle with salt and ORDER BY:
place cut side down in baking pan. Cover and bake in 375:F - Wed. Jan. 9th for delivery in the
oven until almost tender, about 40 minutes. Peel and cut into
week of Jan 14th
thick slices or wedges. Cut apples in half, core, and cut into
thick slices or wedges. In small baking dish, arrange squash - Wed. JAN16th for delivery in the
and apples alternately and overlapping slightly. Heat butter week of Jan21st.
with syrup and cider. Pour over squash and apples. Bake for
tel 416. 363. 6441 ext234 fax 416. 363 0474 e. gfb@foodshare.net
about 20 minutes or until tender, basting often.

APPENDIX:
good food box flyer
Good Food Box Flyer 105

106
The Good Food Box
• A basket brimming with fresh fruit and How do I get involved?
vegetables delivered to your neighborhood
every two weeks There are two ways: you can become a volunteer co-
How does it work? ordinator by starting a drop-off at your apartment
• Distributed through a network of voluteer- building, church, community centre, daycare, etc. if
run community drop-offs of ten or more you have 8-10 people who would like to buy a box.
We buy directly from farmers and from the Ontario
people Food Terminal. We select only top-quality fruit and OR you can call us and find out if there is a drop-off
vegetables. Volunteers help us pack the food into near you where you can pick up a box.
• Toronto's largest buying club boxes at our warehouse at 200 Eastern Avenue. Our
drivers then deliver the boxes to approximately 200 What is in the Good Food Box?
• A way to bank your money so you can be drop-offs around Metro Toronto.
sure to have food in the house all month Every delivery the selection of fruits and vegetables
The Good Food Box

long Each drop-off has a volunteer co-ordinator who
in the box changes. Basic items such as potatoes,
collects money one to two weeks in advance, takes
carrots, onions, apples, oranges and bananas are
• Supports Ontario farmers responsibility for the recyclable boxes and makes
included in the box most times. We choose the other
sure that everyone gets their boxes. If they have ten
items according to what is good quality, in-season
or more orders at their stop, co-ordinators receive a
• A way to get connected to your and affordable at the time. We support Ontario
free box for helping us out.
neighborhood farmers as much as possible.
Can I choose which items I get?

The Good Food Box $17 The Organic Box $32
No, everyone gets the same thing. If you don't like an
Family-sized selection of affordable Mostly local, certified organic produce. Very item in your box, one option is to trade it with others
fresh fruit and vegetables, with an emphasis on seasonal, lots of root vegetables in the winter. at your stop. And we are happy to hear your
seasonal produce and one or two “interesting” The higher price of this box reflects the higher feedback on the mix of foods in the box at any time.
items each delivery. The small version for production costs that come from producing We also include a newsletter which gives you
singles, seniors or small families is $12. food organically. A smaller version is preparation tips and recipes for more unusual items,
available for $22. as well as updates on FoodShare activities, nutritional
Wellness Box $12 information and news about food issues.
A week's worth of servings of fruit and The Fruit Basket $12
vegetables cut up and measured for you with Just fruit, with an emphasis on what's at its How much money will I save?
love and care. Suitable for seniors and best and in season at the moment.
students. The value of the $17 box at a regular supermarket
ranges between $25 and $27, depending on the store
and the time of year.
APPENDIX:
annual Good Food Box farmers meeting flyer
FoodShare Annual Farmers meeting

“Produce and Policy”
Thursday March 6th, 2008, 9am to 3pm
FoodShare Toronto, 90 Croatia St. (Dufferin/Bloor)
(enter at north west corner of building).
Dear Farmer,
Thank you for your continued commitment, or interest in FoodShare’s mission of working with
communities to improve access to affordable,healthy and local food. This year we hope to partner with
your farm or organization to source fresh produce for one of our three programs: The Good Food Box, The
Good Food Markets, and The Field to Schools program. We would also like to have a strategic meeting to
discuss policy recommendations that would help improve the viability of farming and also improve the
overall health of our communities.
We also invite you to join us for a prepared lunch.
Please RSVP Mark-Jan Daalderop

416-363-6441 ex 223
mark@foodshare.net
Agenda:
9:00 Coffee/tea/snacks
9:30 Introduction of Attendees
10:00 FoodShare’s projects:Planning and partnering
11:30 Policy presentation by Debbie Field, executive director of FoodShare
12:00 Prepared Lunch
1:00 Policy recommendation brainstorm for Municipal, Provincial and Federal governments
2:00 Tour of new Facility
2:30 Big apple crunch activity with 100 grade 3/4 students (chance for students to meet the farmers)
annual Good Food Box farmers meeting Flyer 107


The Good Food Box Manual: How To Start A Progam in Your City

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Good Food Box:

© 2008 FoodShare Toronto

Understanding The Good Food Box: Is This The Right

Starting Your Own Good Food Box Program

Guide To Produce Sourcing And Management

The Good Food Box Newsletter

Profiles of Other Good Food Box Programs

The Evolution of the Good Food Box

4 The Good Food Box

Preface and Acknowledgments

preface and Acknowledgments 7

8 The Good Food Box

Heifer International commits to helping families, communities, organizations,

preface and Acknowledgments 9

At FoodShare, we didn’t start out to create an alternative food distribution system.

10 The Good Food Box

introduction to the first edition 11

Mary Lou Morgan

12 The Good Food Box

Introduction to the second edition

But things have changed as well.

• 1.1 billion people go to sleep hungry every night;

introduction to the first edition 13

14 The Good Food Box

Government funding would reduce tensions between the needs of low-income

introduction to the second edition 15

16 The Good Food Box

Understanding the Good Food Box

So FoodShare began to explore self-help models like cooperative buying systems,

Understanding the Good Food Box 17

The Philosophy Behind the Good Food Box

The Good Food Box – while subsidized by FoodShare through individual

18 The Good Food Box

Good Food Box Guiding Principles

Improve the affordability of healthy food

Make the Good Food Box fun

understanding the good food box 19

Make participation easy for everyone

Balance revenue & subsidy to achieve financial sustainability

A Week in the Life of FoodShare’s Good

20 The Good Food Box

understanding the good food box 21

Weekly Work Rhythms Chart

Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday

Our Customers: Who Are They and Why

22 The Good Food Box

Reason Responses Percent

Low cost 226 64%

Helping me eat better 211 60%

Freshness 209 59%

Convenience 194 55%

Quality 187 53%

Connection to my community 134 38%

What is your favorite thing about the Good Food Box?

understanding the good food box 23

Good Food Markets, Another Produce

24 The Good Food Box

Choosing Goals for Your Program

Starting Your Own Good Food Box Program

starting your own good food box program 25

Making fresh food affordable, especially for low-income

Promoting healthy food