Can you help us grow healthy kids with fresh fruit and vegetables?
Fresh fruits and vegetables are essential for healthy growing kids and they are good for the rest of us too. But some families cannot afford the high cost of fresh food, do not have a garden, or do not know how to prepare some kinds of fruits and vegetables. For $10 or $15 a month, the Good Food Box program helps 60 families stay healthy by providing a supply of fresh fruit and vegetables all year around and a monthly food newsletter. A team of volunteers takes the orders, writes a newsletter, pays the supplier, sorts and packages the food, and arranges distribution to four delivery points: Carlington Community and Health Services, Bellevue Community Centre, Debra Dynes Family House, Belair Community Place.
Thanks to their hard work, families can have fresh food 12 months of the year, pay an affordable price for healthy ingredients, improve their nutrition, learn new recipes, and try new foods. The volunteers' work promotes a sense of community and improves their organizational and people skills: responding to clients, handling conflict, promoting the program, keeping financial accounts, preparing the newsletter, and organizing regular monthly meetings.
The Good Food Box is supported by St. Peter's Anglican Church (free space for sorting and packing); individuals and grocery stores (plastic bags); Carlington Community and Health Services (delivery van); 15 volunteers (organization).
But we still need help to keep the fresh food circulating:
- Plastic boxes (so the fruits and vegetables are not squished) ... 50 boxes @ $5 each
- Child care for volunteers with young children ... $25-50 each month
- Transportation for clients who cannot get to the delivery points ... $30 each month
Can you adopt the Good Food Box to help your neighbours healthy? Call Marian Yusuf at 722-4000 about adoption.
Carlington Community and Health Services is a non-profit community-based health centre,
- providing health and social services
- committed to the well-being of our community
- promoting social, economic, physical, mental and environmental health
- responsible to the community through an elected Board of Directors.
Our staff and volunteers work together to achieve these goals. For information on becoming a volunteer or a member, please call us at 722-4000.