Good Food Box turns three SUBMITTED By AGATHA JEDRZEJCYK This month is the 3rd an- niversary of Good Food Box (GFB) in Terrace. GFB grew from 68. boxes in ‘October ' 2002 to 242 boxes in Octo- ber 2005 and has a younger — § | sister in the Nass Valley at ~ 140 boxes this month. To- day, the Terrace: based op- eration also sends boxes to: Hazelton, Kitwanga, Gitan- . yow, Gitsegukla, Kitselas, and Kitsumkalum.° Terrace’s GFB operates under the Kalum Horseshoe Community School Society -and is funded by the by B.C Gaming Commission. The Nass Valley GFB distribution based in Green- ville: serves its own com- munity and Kincolith, and is fully operated. by Social’ Development Workers, and °. sponsored by the Nisga’a Lisims Government. _ ' The Idea of Terrace’s GFB was born one warm June day in 2002 at a Com- munity Respond to Hungry - ___Kids meeting, and sprung to " action with an initial $3,500 from the Northern Health Authority’s “Grants to Com- munities Program.” © The | following year’s GFB sponsors. were Make. Children First and the B.C. Gaming Commission. The first-68 boxes were packed in the Sacred Heart meeting room, which very soon became too small to accommodate the grow- ing number of boxes. The | program found a new home in Health Unit. Auditorium thanks to the B.C. Building Corporation, which provides packing space as an in kind donation. Surprisingly, the idea for the program was brought to Canada from Bello Horizon- te City, Brazil. From Brazil "to Terrace! Yes, but not in a direct straight line. ‘First. it sprouted in To- " ronto, where in.1994 the first ° 40. Good Food Boxes were packed in a small basement room. Today, the Field to Ta- ble, Centre program packed ‘ 4,000 boxes to be delivered . to 180 depots around town. The.Good Food Box in To- ronto grew out of a study for the Toronto Food Council on how to link farmers with inner-city people. -Please - visit www.food- From B1 GOOD Food Box coordinator Agatha Jedrzejcyk, left with Diana Penner, shows off some locally grown apples. ~ share.net to see how far To- ‘ronto .went in the concept of. positive social change , through holistic . promotion of healthy eating, sustain-_ able local: agriculture and community development. In the Brazilian model of GFB, all produce is bought from local small farmers and delivered to poor: parts of” Brazilian cities. The farm- ers survive despite competi- tion with supermarkets and the urban population is pro- vided with fresh and afford- able food. Buying locally js a fundamental principle . of Good Food Box. Many . southern GFB programs in our province buy. 100% lo-. -cally. In. Terrace, ‘we do ‘not have producers big: enough | . The GFB provides a gener- to provide the 9,000. Ibs: of fresh produce needed monthly, year-round. The ‘local Farmer’s Market gath- ers hobby farmers who pro- duce small amounts with a high expenditure of work. High prices reflect freshness and best quality. oe In’ summer and the fall months, Terrace GFB is 20 per cent local; in winter and spring, local produce is limited to five to seven per cent — mostly potatoes. Bahr Farm from Old Remo is the Porter a charter member ” biggest local contributor to Good Food Boxes. . The other 80° per cent of Terrace GFB- comes from Wholesale where B.C. produce is avail- able summer and fall, but after November, California produce reigns there. Terrace’s program buys quality produce in. large - amounts at wholesale pric- es. This community-based, open to everybody, food share program provides ap- proximately 40 pounds of fresh fruits and vegetables once a month to participants who pay $15 in advance. The Nass box costs $20 and contains produce, a dozen — eggs and. dry food: such as rice, oats and macaroni in or- der to expand meal choices. ous portion of good quality fruits and vegetables at the best possible. value. The rising cost of food can be seen very well in the content of GFB over the last three years. “In October 2002, yolun-; - teers ‘could hardly: close the: lid on fall’s harvest boxes. Today, a box has two to three times less produce. Fall’s abundance disappeared and prices seem higher year- round. The October 2005 of first women’s legion “Once we were on the high seas, the radios were si- lent because of the U-boats,” - she says. Peculiarly, Porter remem- ~ bers the fresh orange juice they drank on the ship. Originally, she says, it was a cruise ship that trav-. elled between England and ’ South Africa and when it was diverted for war use it had a bountiful supply of or- anges on board. In London, she continued - ~ her office, punching holes in cards and “secret work until June 1945.” And the war that had been a continent away was ~ now on her doorstep. . . Arms stretched a metre apart, Porter describes. the size of German V-1 and V-— 2 rockets German ‘forces ’ unloaded.on London by the hundreds in 1944. One morning, Porter says she woke up with shards of © glass all over her bed. But she says she and __ other allied forces remained unfazed. © “The morale was good. Basically, you lived for today because you didn’t know about tomorrow,” Porter says. “You . would drive yourself npts thinking . @ - about it — there was a job to be done and. that was it.” Porter was in Holland at war’s end in August 1945 and she retains an image un- til this day. _ “The Dutch had been bombed and three weeks af- ter the war ended, they had gathered all the glass shards in the street,” she says. “The windows shone — even today I can see it.” She stayed in Apeldoorn until December 1945, when she went back to England, resuming her clerical work as a secretary toa command. ing officer. She had the opportunity to go to Germany in. early 1946 but decided she wanted, to come home. Porter is proud of her ser- vice and that of other Cana- dians. . “I don’t regret my time in the forces,” she says. “I en- joyed it ard I wasn’t in any real danger ~ it was some- thing you had to do.” Porter says while Brit- ish troops followed a chain of command due to their long war history, Canadians formed a “Citizen’s Army.” “Our army was second to none,” ‘says Porter, adding that at the start of the war. many had been unemployed. _“Now (enlisted), they had .. meals and accommodation and they were no less reli- able.” _ Back in Canada, Porter was ,a charter member . of the first Women’s Legion in Canada in Edmonton, where - she moved to be with some of the “girls she | knew i in the Army.” There, she met her hus- -band and moved to Terrace after 13 years in White- _horse. 6. Porter attends the month- ° ly Legion dinner for veter- ans, their widows and wives and she’ll be at the Remem- brance Day ceremonies. COME IN TO haere dae _ TO. EXPERIENCE WHAT, A REAL MARGARITA | TASTES LIKE! a aeSATURDAYA BENSPECIAL! | Fresh ‘Madow Superstore, “to - participants’ individual box for $15 con- tained 12 produce items and weighed around 40 pounds, *The estimate retail value of a box was $ 27.59 (priced on Oct. | at Superstore Ter- race and Farmer’s Market) | The power of coopera-: tive purchase brought about 9,000 ‘Ibs. of fresh produce tables. If each of them shopped sepa- rately and spent $15, the.to- tal weight of their purchases would. be around 5,000 Ibs. GFB gathers‘all sorts of participants. Some’ large families buy two boxes, but . retired singles share one box. Equally diverse is the - financial positions of GFB’s clients. Some are. working professionals who just like having their shopping done for them. ‘One client loves Dieter Bahr’s local potatoes; others want to ensure five servings of fruits and vegetables per day as recommended by the Canadian Health Guide. But most afford during the month. And it is a treat! Boxes are distributed around the middle of each month and come at time in the month when low-income families often run out of food and money. Many sur- rounding First Nation bands » buy. and transport boxes -to - promote them for: diabetic . Clients, the elderly, prenatal _ programs and staff. Some of them use the GFB in cook- ing classes or community kitchens. It is a vehicle for importantly, ‘GFB saves people. money., - For some ‘families’. GFB is* ‘the only fresh food they can . educating locals about nutri- tion. It increases access to ° affordable food for village residents, as not every body has transportation and local ~ shops have little fresh pro- duce to choose from. Group from First Nation social and ‘health services are the big- gest order in Terrace GFB © and currently make up 65° per cent of all boxes, with . Income Assistance partici-. . pants at 20 per.cent, indi- . viduals at 10 per cent and ’ volunteers at five per cent. surrounding communi- ties provide voluntary sup- port for the GFB Program; . many enjoy putting together _boxes that are full of beauti-, — ful, colorful food with fresh — aromas. As Cindy How said © once during packing, “I feel like doing art.” During its third year of existence, the GFB Program established a core of volun- - teers. Every month, approxi- “mately 20-30, people help in the creation of boxes. The or- ganization, assembly, trans- portation and distribution of boxes is made possible with support from: Family Place, Terrace. Public Library, Skeena Kalum Housing Society, Terrace Volunteer Bureau, Uni Construction, Knights of Columbus, Emer- gency Shelter, Stepping Stones, Totem Press Terrace Ltd., volunteers from Ter-. race and transportation help from all participating bands — Kitsumkalum, Gitanyow, Gitanmaax, Kitselas,,. wangak and Nisga’a. ERASMUS ART FOR SCHOOL BOARD x ‘Commitment *To Public | _ Education _ *To Harmonious Working Relationships | *To A Five Day School Week arrangements -- Citizens of Terrace and» Git- The Terrace Standard, Wednesday, November 9, 2005 - B3 2005 Dr. R.E.M. Lee Foundation CSET WINNERS ess BARGES BE ete Annual General Meeting Thursday, Nov. 17, 2005 at 7pm Training Room Basement of Terrace Fire Hall _#3-3215 Eby Street, Terrace ~ Election of officers and business at hand will take place for further information,.call Carla at'635-6776 — HGH ACHEVEMENT Royal LePage Terrace " Congratulates Shannon McAllister » Success onattaining |. “Platinum” For the month of October. Royal LePage Terrace: “There iva choice!” 635-2404 : “Our Growth i in sales means many sified _ home ome Buyers & Be & Sellers in Terrace & Kitimat The Terrace Minor lacrosse Association Nov 3 Ester Postuck : $50 | Nov 4 Sharon Fell $50 Nov 5 Patricia Zilinski $50 Nov 6 Greg Gabbott $50 - Nov 7 Cal Albright $50 | Nov 8; Ben Schlamp .. $50. Nov.9 ‘Twyla. Schmidt $50" a | ai Terrace Minor Lacrosse . will be holding their... _ TERRACE : } BELIEVING INTHE ~ CHILDREN YOU LOVE, Unconditional Commitment with Pat O'Brien SG from New York. Pat O’ Brien i is the Founder of the Adoption Agency i” ‘You Gotta Believe Inc. Pat. finds permanent homes for children and youth i in the government's care. November 29th and 30th, with an 7 evening presentation on the 29th. ~ ||. For registration phone Charles Luby at 638- 2336. Early arrival is advised. There is no charge for this workshop. | The Copper River Connection Parish Miller . Alden Anderson “TC's Staff CFNR Terrace Standard Checker’s Pizza Tl. Liquor Store Bert's Deli «> Ebony’s Hidden Treasures would like to thank everyone for the success on the Food Bank Fundraiser Halloween‘ Dance. We raised $ 1,518.81 as well as non-perishable food donations. . ; Darr | Bjorgaard. - Joe Chung's Mushrooms National Car Rental SpeeDee Printers Coca Cola Distributing Special thanks fo...» Labbatt’s Blue: Circuit City -Petland .Walmart © Neid Enterprises. 7 Sonny’ s Collectables .. Ken's Marine’ West Point Rentals Bea’s Flowers Flowers ala Carte - Central Flowers M&M Meats Pizza Hut — Hairbusters ~ «Primeau Enterprises Van Houtte Coffee Blueridge Graphics . Services sz, Avery special thanks to all of you Picker’s wi o supported TC's this 7005 ' season. Without you guys and gals events like this one could never happen. Chop Suey Garden ;