Despite financial struggles in 2023, Eat Local Grey Bruce (ELGB) looks forward to growing in 2024. General Manager Steve Kenny called the non-profit co-operative the best long term food system.
"The bigger picture, too, is to try to create a local viable food system," he explained. "A lot of the farms and producers we're working with, these aren't like big scale farming, like there's small scale local farming, and this just gives them another viable way to like connect with more people. So trying to create that local food system is a big part of what we're working on."
Kenny said the community based non-profit co-operative delivers farm fresh food to members across Grey and Bruce counties.
"We're not for profit co-op with the goal of connecting local producers with local eaters. So we work all over Grey and Bruce with lots of local farm food producers," Kenny continued. "And we get food from all those local producers and farms and deliver it out to our members at a whole bunch of community hubs all over Grey and Bruce."
Kenny added it's challenging to connect local eaters with local producers when they serve an 8,000 square kilometre region.
"And I think long term, if we want a food system that works better for everyone, this is the more viable way," he pointed out. "But it takes a lot of work and resources to get it up to a point where it's really viable."
He revealed how the program supports the local economy.
"The vast majority of the money coming into this organization goes right back to those local farms and local producers. Eat Local as an organization is non-profit. Our goal is to break even," said Kenny. "The vast majority is going right back to those farms and those producers in the local economy."
Kenny said they have around 500 eaters, and process about 120 orders every week for those consumers. He said it's not just farmers who are providing the products.
"Bakeries, we have a bunch of bread producers, or we have people who do prepared meals," he explained. "About 40 producers, roughly maybe half of those are farms, and some of those other people are producing prepared food and teas and growing herbs."
He credited volunteers as a key part of their success.
"We have a board of directors, all volunteers, they have lots of people in that capacity. They have also lots of volunteers like doing jobs like order packing," he added. "We have key staff positions or employees, but a lot of the work is being done by volunteers and people that believe in what we're trying to do."
The program faced bankruptcy last year when they lost the space they were working out of in Owen Sound, and were forced to find a new home in Meaford. A massive crowdfunding campaign to kept the co-op from declaring bankruptcy. Thanks to the community, ELGB was able to keep its doors open and started down the path of restructuring to leaner, more simplified operations. To kick off the new year, an anonymous corporate sponsor will donate up to $1,000 to match donations.
“This is a really great opportunity for us to start off on the right foot in the new year,” exclaimed Kel Smith, Chair of the ELGB Board of Directors. “After the financial strain of the last year, this is an opportunity for the community to come together again and really make a difference for the co-op. We’re so proud to have such amazing membership across the counties and I mean it quite honestly when I say that we would not be in operation without their exceptional ongoing support. I also want to extend just so much gratitude to our corporate sponsor for participating as well.”
