Final Deliveries will be the week of Dec. 18th
From April 8 through Nov. 20, 2020, LUSH Valley delivered 10,100 + Good Food Box (GFB) ‘units’ to those in need in our community. Each household receives a Good Food Box with 1, 2 or 3 units of fresh food depending on the size of their family. The project, developed in response to community need during the COVID Pandemic, has been an incredible success however, our funding has run out and this program will end on December 18th.
Our community members have volunteered over 3,150 hours of their labour to make this happen. And our many partners, including the City of Courtenay, the Comox Valley Regional District, School District 71 and BC Transit, have supported us with delivery vehicles and space to sort food which has amounted to an ‘in-kind’ donation of $150,000!
Looking forward to 2021, we are working hard to raise funds and are looking at creative ways to restart the Good Food Box program in the New Year. We are not sure when the program will restart but we will contact past recipients as soon as we have a plan. The program may look different than it has in 2020, and we ask for patience going forward. It is likely that there will be a cost for some recipients to continue the program in 2021.
CLICK HERE FOR IMPORTANT INFORMATION FOR CURRENT GOOD FOOD BOX RECIPIENTS AND THOSE IN NEED OF FOOD SUPPORT
CLICK HERE TO DONATE TO LUSH VALLEY TO SUPPORT OUR MANY PROGRAMS
How is the Good Food Box Funded? Since April 8, 2020, the Good Food Box has been funded through a number of different sources. These include:
Foundation funding:
– Comox Valley Community Foundation
– Community Food Centers Canada, and
– United Way
Government funding:
– The City of Courtenay
– Comox Valley Regional District, and
– Community Health Network
Community partners:– School District 71
– Indigenous Education
– BC Housing and
– others who pay directly for their clients to receive a Good Food Box.
Some of the boxes are also supported through the private sector such as:
– 100+ Women Who Care Comox Valley
– Scotia Bank
– Urban Systems planning and
– First Credit Union
– individual corporate and personal donors
Further to this, we have been grateful to have received many ‘in-kind’ donations from individuals and organizations, such as:
– the use of the Curling Club for food packing
– use of buses and drivers through Student First
– use of busses and drivers through BC Transit (Handidart)
– food donations and volunteers.
Each of these funding streams/grants has to be separately applied for and reported on by LUSH Valley. There is no guarantee that any application will be funded so we were extremely fortunate with our ability to receive as much funding as we have to date for this program! You can find more information about all of LUSH Valley’s funders here. Donate here.
Why has funding run out? The majority of the Good Food Box funding was ‘Emergency Funding’ which required that most of the funds be spent within a few months of receiving the funds. These emergency funds were released due to COVID-19 and the time-bound funds have now been spent.
How do other Good Food Box programs continue to run year-round? There are many Good Food Box programs across the island, province, country and beyond. Many have been running for years. These programs are able to continue to run by offering the Good Food Box at a subsidized price to the recipients. When enough customers are able to pay a small fee for their Good Food Boxes (such as $10 for a box of food), some Good Food Boxes can be offered at no cost. These programs are still reliant on some fundraising and in-kind support. Check out some of the similar programs on the island which follow a model of recipients paying for their boxes and some receiving them at no charge – we are looking to these models as possibilities for us moving into 2021.
Victoria’s Good Food Box
Nanaimo’s Good Food Box
Tofino Ucluelet Box
LUSH Valley is looking at different ways that we can offer a more sustainable, still affordable, GFB program in 2021. If you, or someone you know, can offer support, please contact us.
Email: admin@lushvalley.org or call 250-331-0152.
