Good Food Box Newsletter – September 10, 2025
What's in your bag?
BC Only: *Littlest Acre org. potatoes, *Michell’s corn, cauliflower, carrots & lettuce, *South Island Farm Hub org. apples, plums & strawberries
Cultural: BC org. potatoes, bananas, *Michell’s corn & lettuce, *Giving Garden org. collard greens & pears, *South Island Farm Hub org. strawberries, *Plot Market Garden org. tomatoes, *Mustard Seed garlic
Standard Plus: *org. potatoes, *Michell’s carrots, corn & lettuce, org. bananas, *South Island Farm Hub org. apples, strawberries, plums & grapes, *Mustard seed garlic
Standard: *org. potatoes, *Michell’s carrots, corn & lettuce, bananas, *South Island Farm Hub org. strawberries, apples, plums
Sustainable: BC org. yellow potatoes, org. bananas, *Camas Farm org. garlic, *South Island Farm Hub org. apples, plums, strawberries, *The Plot Market Garden org. tomatoes, *Giving Garden pears, North Star Organics lettuce
Fruit: *South Island Farm Hub org. grapes, strawberries, apples, plums, *Giving Garden org. pears, org. bananas
Snack: *Michell’s carrots, *Giving Garden org. pears, org. bananas, *South Island Farm Hub strawberries, plums, grapes & apples, *Plot Market org. tomatoes
Wet Weather Reminder
Don’t forget to bring along your reusable grocery bags or totes to avoid the soggy demise of our paper bags if you’ll be hitting the elements on the way home. Even just getting to the car during this soggy season could be lethal for your produce — we want it to make it all the way home — not playing a game of 10 pin on the sidewalk!
Live Simply provides multiple ideas to keep food fresh and, to ultimately, save you money. We all need more money in our wallets these days!
Click here to learn more.
We have a weekly fridge clean out in our house. We try to keep things organized in categories in bins in our fridge. That way we can pull it out and use what we need easily. We do the same in our freezer. It makes it easy to keep the fridge clean too. If something spills we typically only have to remove the bin that was spilled into and not clean the entire fridge/freezer at once. Time is money.
Live Simply shares some great ideas for using left overs and scraps too.
Autumn Morning Tea Blend 
Why these herbs?
Baked Pears with Feta, Honey & Cranberries are all my fall favourites brought together in one dish. It’s a sweet, savory, tart explosion in your mouth. Find the recipe here at Recipes Tasteful.
Fall is the perfect time for warming up with samosas, toast or even a burger with a spoonful of spiced pear chutney to warm you up.
Vegan Lovely shares their recipe here.
We have a tree full of pears outside our door that will be meeting up with this recipe soon.
This pear roasted carrot recipe seems more like a desert than a side dish and it’s sure delicious. Eat it on it’s own or toss it into a salad with some roasted seeds or a bowl of quinoa for a hearty lunch. Find Wide Open Country’s recipe here.
Running out of ideas to do with those fresh collard greens that have been filling our bags all summer? Why not try them in a curry. Our family often has this for breakfast and it’s a great way to start the day. Food Fidelity shares their recipe here for their Coconut Curry Braised Collard Greens. The Plot Market Garden tomatoes would be great tossed in the pan with your collard greens too in this recipe.
Donna Hays Plum and Berry Cobbler, is a great way to use up fruit, especially if it’s gone a little soft. It’ll just get softer in the oven and be delicious. (Though cut any really soft parts off, you know the kind that are starting to go bad. Cooking doesn’t save the rotten!) You might want to add strawberries or pears, apples, or other berries. You can find the recipe here.
Check out this Brazilian Potato Salad, creamy and flavourful and makes a great BBQ, picnic or family gathering addition to your plate and can be made with almost all local ingredients. Find Peas and Poppies recipe here.
I don’t know if my family is just strange or genius but we rarely eat any kind of potato salad on it’s own. We almost always dollop it on top of a big garden salad and will be delicious with your North Star Organics or Michell’s lettuce.
Use those glorious Plot Market Garden tomatoes with your Camas Farm garlic and make a Quick Tomato Garlic Confit. It makes a great appetizer and delicious mashed into toast for a late night movie snack. This snack leaves popcorn in the dust.
Want more than just a snack with your tomato garlic confit? Try it on cauliflower steaks, see the recipe here.
Let's Get Growing!
Don’t miss out on our ADVANCED COMPOSTING class—level up your composting game and become a master! On Thursday, September 11 at 10:30am, we will enhance our knowledge of composting methods. Topics covered will include dynamic accumulators and hot composting, compost tea, in-situ composting methods and humanure.
Please pre-register at this link virl.bc.ca/event/advanced-composting
Saturday, September 20
North Saanich Dry Farming Showcase and Field Day
By SFU’s Partnerships Hub
Tour dry farming trial sites, meet the team of host farmers, and learn about soil moisture and garden crops without supplemental irrigation!
Date and time
Sat, Sep 20, 2025 10:30 AM – 2:30 PM PDT
Location
Sandown Centre For Regenerative Agriculture
1810 Glamorgan Road North Saanich, BC V8L 5S9
The Institute for Sustainable Food Systems has been working with farmers on Vancouver Island and the Gulf Islands to trial dry farming market garden crops this year. We’re excited to share the outcome of this work with our agricultural community while growing a collective vision for how dry farming can advance climate resilience in coastal communities. Come join the Institute for Sustainable Food Systems (KPU) dry farming field day to:
- Tour our dry farming market garden trial sites and learn how we grew select market garden crops without supplemental irrigation
- Learn about dry farming practices and supportive technologies
- Further develop your understanding of the movement of moisture in local soils, including how to interpret soil moisture and weather data to inform dry farming practice
- Discuss dry farming this season including successes, lessons learned and farmers’ experiences
- Taste testing, resource sharing, and networking
Details:
Topic: Dry Farming Showcase and Field Day
Instructors:
- Institute for Sustainable Food Systems, Kwantlen Polytechnic University
Date & Location: Saturday September 20th, 2025, 10:30am – 2:30pm, Sandown Centre for Regenerative Agriculture, North Saanich, unceded territory of the W̱SÁNEĆ people
Ticket price:
NOTE: If the registration fee is a barrier to your participation, please use the code ISFS2025 for a waiver.
- Student: $12.37
- Farmers: $23.49
- General public: $45.73
Included GST and fees
Registration is required. Details will be emailed to registered participants. Light lunch provided.
What you’ll gain by attending:
- Tour select dry farmed market garden crops including tomatoes, squash, and dry beans (tasting as available!)
- Learn about dry farming practices and supportive technologies, including soil moisture sensors and weather stations, and how to interpret data in a way that can inform agricultural practice
- Learn about the experience of farmers trialing dry farming on Vancouver Island and Salt Spring Island, including successes, lessons learned, and hopes for the future
- Network and share resources and experiences with the local agricultural community
KPU Dry Farming Research, Extension and the Pacific Coastal Dry Farming Collaborative
This field day is part of an ongoing extension program developed by the ISFS in response to the Comox Valley Regional Farmer Dialogue on drought, held in December 2023. From this community dialogue in 2023, the ISFS has
- founded the Pacific Coastal Dry Farming Collaborative with the goal of supporting collaborative extension and peer-to-peer learning for soil health, dry farming, and climate resilience
- organized dry farming site suitability and soil health field days with local and international soil science experts
- initiated three dry farming trial sites in collaboration with participating host market garden farmers
If you would like to keep up to date on events like this, please sign up for the Pacific Coastal Dry Farming newsletter.
This field day is organized and hosted by the Institute for Sustainable Food Systems. Funding is provided by the B.C. Centre for Agritech Innovation, and the governments of Canada and British Columbia under the Sustainable Canadian Agricultural Partnership, a federal-provincial-territorial initiative.
For questions, please contact Naomi Robert [naomi.robert@kpu.ca], ISFS Senior Research and Extension Associate.
About the Organizer
The Institute for Sustainable Food Systems (ISFS) is an applied research and extension unit at Kwantlen Polytechnic University. The ISFS engages in multidisciplinary applied research and extension to cultivate sustainable regional food systems that advance the food sovereignty goals of diverse communities. The ISFS works toward a future where communities are empowered to shape the food systems that nurture their health and well-being, and sustain thriving ecosystems.
The ISFS initiated the Pacific Coastal Dry Farming collaborative in 2024, and is leading collaborative dry farming research and extension with the goal of developing local capacity for dry farming practice and climate resilience. If you would like to participate in the dry farming research, extension, and programing, please register for the Pacific Coastal Dry Farming Collaborative newsletter here.
About BCCAI
Supporting small and medium enterprises (SMEs) and producers in B.C., the B.C. Centre for Agritech Innovation (BCCAI) is a Simon Fraser University initiative that aims to develop more productive, diverse and resilient food supply chains. In collaboration with government partners, agritech stakeholders, Indigenous organizations, industry partners, agri-producers and post-secondary institutions, BCCAI focuses on the development, testing and piloting of agritech solutions in both simulated and real-world environments, ensuring they are ready for commercialization and practical implementation. Generously funded by Pacific Economic Development Canada and the Province of B.C., BCCAI is strategically positioned to elevate B.C. as a frontrunner in agritech advancements.
More information about BCCAI: https://www.sfu.ca/agritech-innovation
register & learn more: https://compost.bc.ca/…/child…/register-for-kids-camp/
“Victoria finally has a guide for local food makers! 
Iye Creative is proud to launch the Food Makers Resource Mapping Guide & Report, created in collaboration with CRFAIR. This is the first resource of its kind in Greater Victoria that brings together all the commercial and community kitchens in one place, and tools to support small-scale food makers on their journey.
Gratitude to Researcher, Nelly, for the beautiful work of love to gather all the info and make it valuable.
Find your next kitchen
Access supports
Get informed & get connected”
Connecting in Community
Queer-for-Queer Workshop:
September 20
12:00 – 2:00 PM (2 hours)
Oaklands Community Centre
Sliding Scale $15-$30 (no one turned away for lack of funds!)
15 + | Open to anyone who identifies as 2SLGBTQ+
Learn more and register: https://oca.recdesk.com/Community/Program/Detail…
New Program Alert: Rooted in TRANSitions 
Family dinners Information workshops Youth-focused activities Outdoor, nature-based fun
To register, scan the QR code or contact: rooted@snplace.org
Bake for a great cause!
Date: Sunday, September 21
Time: 12-4pmLocation: Robert Porter Park This year, we have 50+ vendors, food trucks, exciting live performances, and more! You won’t want to miss it!
Shoutout to our sponsors Engel & Völkers Vancouver Island, Pizzeria Prima Strada, and Sunset Market And Floral for supporting this beloved commnuity festival
Do you know about the Alter Arts – Art Hub? Learn more at https://www.alterarts.ca/arthub
The Community Art Hub is a neighbourhood-based library of art-making tools, equipment, and supplies, and a shared workspace for artists and makers located inside the Quadra Village Community Centre. The art hub provides artists and the broader community with the option of using shared art-making equipment and supplies, instead of each household buying their own. The art hub is an innovative space that provides equitable access to tools, equipment, supplies, and workspace.
September drop in schedule for the Community Art Hub is live!
Get creative this fall at the Comic & Zine Making Youth Workshop! Running every Tuesday from October 7 to November 25, this interactive workshop series invites youth to design characters, build stories, and express themselves through art, writing, and collage. No experience needed—just bring your imagination! Sessions run 5:30–6:45 PM and are 50% sponsored by Esquimalt Neighbourhood House. Register by calling reception at 250-412-8500 or online on at esquimalt.ca/recreation.
A Place to share Unplugged not-for-profit gatherings in Victoria, BC. Phone & laptop-free spaces for conversation, reading, knitting & other handiwork, playing boardgames, connection & solitude… We hope to schedule one Unplugged gathering per month based in a local cafe or park. We’ll keep the group free of advertising, spam, petitions, etc.
Follow and learn more here.