FoodShare GFB Diaries - Intro
Fridays are the best. For obvious reasons, but also, for me, because Fridays are my FoodShare Good Food Box (GFB) delivery days.
FoodShare’s GFB is a brilliant social enterprise developed by a brilliant nonprofit org. You sign up for a produce delivery subscription, weekly, bi-weekly, or monthly. And receive high quality produce, organic or not, delivered to your door. The proceeds of your purchases go towards the operating costs of FoodShare’s core work, which is all about food justice - increasing access to nutritious food for community members disproportionately affected by food insecurity, through advocacy, community partnerships, food distribution, education and so much more.
It’s an incredible win-win: you get beautiful, nutritious produce at a cost that is typically less than you pay at corporate grocery store chains. Conveniently delivered to your door! And you know that you are supporting your community. Needless to say, I am a huge fan of FoodShare. They are one of my two social impact beacons in Toronto, they keep raising the bar and truly make Toronto a better place to live.
So I’m shouting the FoodShare GFB from the rooftops AND sharing my tips and recipes in a series of posts called the GFB Diaries.
Because one of the unique things about the GFB is that every box is a surprise. And it becomes a fun challenge to prepare all the good stuff. Veggies you’ve never heard of, items you would never buy because it’s not one of the 5 vegetable or fruit staples you stick to. And it’s so rewarding to make something yummy out of these new discoveries.
I get the small organic box, weekly, for a household of 2 ‘flexitarian’ adults.
First tip. The cardboard boxes. (I believe these were introduced due to COVID, and in the pre-times produce was delivered in reusable bins and/or there was a pick up system). I flatten the boxes, and save them. After 10-15 boxes, I post them on Kijiji as moving boxes and give them away for free. Everyone needs moving boxes and they are usually super expensive, so free boxes are super helpful.
Second tip. The plastic bags that hold the veggies. I save these and use them as my recycling bags.
Next post will be about the food!
This is the first in the GFB Diaries series of posts.