Next pick-up: Wednesday, Sep 10 | Order by Saturday, Sep 13 for pick-up on Wednesday, Sep 17
Next pick-up: Wednesday, Sep 10 | Order by Saturday, Sep 13 for pick-up on Wednesday, Sep 17
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Good Food Box Newsletter – September 3, 2025

by | Sep 1, 2025 | news | 0 comments

What's in your bag?

BC Only: *Littlest Acre org. yellow onions, *Michell’s corn & kale, *Gatton Farm org. beans * cucumbers, South Island Farm Hub org. peaches & org. plums, *Plot Market Garden org. tomatoes, *Camas Farm garlic,

Cultural: *Michell’s califlower & corn, *Gatton Farm org. squash, lettuce & beans, *Littlest Acres org. yellow onions, *Giving Garden org. pears, *South Island Farm Hub org. plums, *City’s Edge org. cucumbers & org. basil, *Plot Market Garden org. tomatoes, *Camas Farm garlic

Staples: squash, *Michell’s corn, *Gatton Farm org. beans, *South Island Farm Hub, org. apples & plums, bananas, City’s Edge org. cucumbers, *Plot Market tomatoes, garlic

Standard Plus: *Littlest Acre org. yellow onions, *Michell’s cauliflower, kale & corn, *Gatton Farm org. beans, bananas, *South Island Farm Hub org. apples & plums, *City’s Edge cucumbers, *Plot Market Garden org. tomatoes, garlic

Standard: Michell’s cauliflower, corn & kale, *Littlest Acre org. yellow onions, *Gatton Farm org. beans, bananas, *South Island Farm Hub org. apples, City’s Edge org. cucumber, *Plot Market Garden org. tomatoes, garlic.

Sustainable: org. BC red pugly potatoes, *Littlest Acre org. yellow onions, *Gatton Farm org. beans, South Island Farm Hub org. apples & plums, *Plot Market Garden org. tomatoes, *Giving Garden pears, *City’s Edge cucumbers & basil, *Camas Farm org. garlic, lettuce.

Fruit: mango, *Giving Garden org. pears, bananas, *South Island Farm Hub peaches, plums & apples

Snack: Michell’s carrots, pears, mango, bananas, *South Island Farm Hub org. peaches, & plums, *Plot Market Garden org. tomatoes, *City’s Edge org. cucumbers

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!

✨🎒Bag yourself a deal with our Back-to-School Snack Bag full of fresh fruits and veggies for growing minds!💡
🥬At the Good Food Box we believe fresh, local produce should be accessible to everyone in our community. 🫡Our mission is simple: to strengthen local food systems, reduce food insecurity, and bring nutritious, affordable fruits and vegetables to households across Greater Victoria.
☀️By purchasing a Good Food Box, you are supporting a local non-profit that provides childcare, community meals, and free bags of fresh produce to community members in need.🫂✨
Simplify your week with nutritious, fresh snacks perfect for lunch boxes! 👀Check out the 🔗link in our bio to order your bag today‼️

This Califlower, Quinoa & Kale gratin makes a perfect school night side dish highlighting several items in our bags this week – cauliflower, basil, kale, corn. Find the recipe here.

Tandoori Sauce is a fantastic way to use  your garlic!

Shawarma Sauce is another great way to use garlic in a sauce.

This sauce is a delicious addition to work or school lunch wraps.

This recipe uses an entire cup of garlic and is sure to keep the bugs away as kids head back into the classroom and the sharing of cold and flu bugs begins again.

This spring roll salad with spicy ginger dressing is a great way to use up extra cucumbers and other produce your fridge is overflowing with. It’s also an easy recipe to modify for dietary preferences like GF, DF or vegan.  Find Zero Waste Eats recipe here.

 

This is a delicious way to use up Plot Market Garden tomatoes, Michell’s corn and cauliflower, City Edge cucumber &basil, or Camas garlic.

Charred cauliflower and kale pasta provide a delicious comfort food at the end of a busy September day. Find Two of a Kind Cook’s recipe here.

This warm corn, kale, tomato salad with shrimp and feta makes a quick and equally delicious meal. Find Seven Layer Charlotte’s recipe here.

Let's Get Growing!

QVCC GARDENS
The summers heats still around, but the cool fall airs arriving soon.
Elderberries are the best fall immune booster.
We have an abundance in the wark st commons.
Show up and learn how to make this fruit into medicinal goodness.
No experience necessary, come and go when you like.
We invite you for this free workshop on;
Thrusday September 4th, 10am to 3pm.
QVCC centre 901 Kings rd, youth kitchen.
Please RSVP at gardens@quadravillageccc.com

SAVE THE DATE: Community Sharing Day!

Saturday, September 27 | 11am – 3:00pm

You’re invited to Community Sharing Day, our free annual harvest celebration! 🌿

Join us at the urban orchard to:
🍎Taste heritage apple varieties
🍎Sample and learn how to press fresh juice
🍎Ask questions about fruit trees
🍎Enjoy fun kids’ activities
🍎Celebrate the abundance of the season with neighbours and (new) friends!

📅 Saturday, September 28
🕚 11 AM – 3 PM
📍 Welland Community Orchard, 1215 Stancil Lane

Parking is very limited. We’ll be offering free shuttles from our office at 808 Viewfield Rd (schedule coming soon – please check our website and social media). Biking, carpooling, and public transit are also encouraged.

All ages are welcome—hope to see you there!

🍎 Tuesdays = Fruit Sorting Day with Life Cycles!

With hundreds of pounds of fruit coming into our warehouse each day, there’s always plenty to sort into A-grade and B-grade.

A-grade fruit goes straight to community partners, like The Mustard Seed Street Church, who redistribute it to those who need it most.

B-grade fruit gets transformed into juice and jam—keeping it out of the waste stream and turning it into something delicious!

Want to join the fruit-sorting fun? We’re always looking for volunteers—and yes, you get to take some fruit home too! 🍐

Extra Help Needed:
This Friday, 1–3:30pm, we’re also looking for volunteers to help chop fruit!

👉 Sign up through our Gleaning Hub (under “Shifts”)!

#FruitSorting #FoodRescue #CommunityVolunteers #ZeroWaste #FoodForAll #FruitTreeProject #lifecyclesproject #yyj

The start of the school year is just around the corner! For the months of September & October,  the Compost Education Center has a special “Back-to-School” promo where you can participate in our Child & Youth Education workshops at a discounted rate! Click on the link here more details and to book a workshop. 🪱

Are you interested in incorporating native plants into your garden? Register for our native plant workshop!
Participants will learn about native plant identification, the cultural history & ecological benefits of native plants, Swan Lake Nature Sanctuary’s very own native plant gardens, and the CRD’s water conservation program.
Registration is $5 and covers the cost of a pack of locally grown native seeds. Register through the link here.
🌿🌿🌿
🐦 9 Plants Not To Cut in Fall: Birds Need Them for Winter
1) Coneflowers (Echinacea)
• Leave seed heads standing through winter.
• Cut back only in early spring.
2) Black-Eyed Susans (Rudbeckia)
• Keep dark seed heads until late winter.
• Goldfinches & chickadees feed on them.
3) Sunflowers (Helianthus)
• Large seed heads = natural bird feeders.
• If stalks flop, lay them down or prop up.
4) Joe-Pye Weed (Eutrochium)
• Tall seed heads feed small birds.
• Foliage adds snow-cover shelter.
5) Goldenrod (Solidago)
• Keep stems and seeds all winter.
• Sparrows & juncos rely on them.
6) Ornamental Grasses (Miscanthus, Panicum, etc.)
• Don’t cut back until spring.
• Provide seeds, shelter, & winter interest.
7) Sedum ‘Autumn Joy’
• Leave dried flower heads intact.
• Birds love seeds; adds frosty texture.
😎 Asters
• Leave uncut until spring.
• Birds feed on their small seeds.
9) Native Shrubs with Berries (Viburnum, Dogwood, Elderberry)
• Keep berries for winter food.
• Only prune weak or diseased branches.
Find this on social media here.

Connecting in Community

Free Online Parenting Workshop – Zoom

Guiding your Kids through Back to School Challenges
Wed Sept 17th 2025
7 pm – 8:30 pm
Please note that the Zoom meeting link for the workshop or workshops that you register for are typically emailed out a day or two in advance.
Register here to Parenting Workshops:
A Strong Start

Supporting your Teens’ Healthy Relationship to Food & Body – register here.

Community Film Screening of “Au chic Resto Pop”

Rated G \\ 1990 \\ 84 mins.

Come join us for a special community film screening of “Au chic Resto Pop” at Paul Phillips Hall! This inspiring film about poverty and food security in Montreal is set against a soundtrack that includes rap, blues, rock, and country and western music.

This event is a fantastic opportunity to connect with fellow neighbours and enjoy a thought-provoking film together. There will be a Fireside chat afterwards with local community builders.

Don’t miss out on this exciting event – mark your calendars now!

Announcing the “Victoria” Anarchist Bookfair 20th Annual Celebration! Happening this September 20th and 21st at the Fernwood Community Center 1240 Gladstone Ave (on Unceded Lekwungen Territory).
The Fernwood Community Centre is fully wheelchair accessible and free masks will be provided at the event. We aim to avoid replicating the barriers in society that derive from social oppression.
Visit our website for more information: https://victoriaanarchistbookfair.ca

See information in the poster.

This year, CASP is honouring #WSPD2025 with a free national online event entitled, Indigenous Knowledge and Life Promotion: Changing Narratives on Suicide, featuring guest speakers Elder John Rice and Lindsay DuPré.
CASP also recently released its 2025 World Suicide Prevention Toolkit and shareable social media graphics. The toolkit includes event ideas, stories of hope, Wise Practices for Life Promotion and practical ways for communities across Canada to get involved. Graphics are available in English and French, with other languages available upon request.
In addition to this year’s online event, a new Forest of Hope will take root in Stony Plain, Alberta on World Suicide Prevention Day. Forest of Hope is a long-term program of CASP, and each year a new location is selected and planted with seedlings in honour of loved ones who died by suicide, those impacted by suicide and in the name of hope.
Read the full Press Release, find the WSPD resources and event registration details at: https://suicideprevention.ca/…/2025-world-suicide…/
Choose to Move
Are you 50 or older and looking to become more active in your daily life? Choose to Move is a free program designed to support older adults in building healthy habits and increasing physical activity at your own pace and in a way that works for you. This program is for those who are currently active less than 150 minutes per week.
Join us for a free info session:
Date: Thursday, September 11
Time: 10:00 AM
Location: Esquimalt Rec Centre
Take the first step toward a more active and connected lifestyle. Register by call 250-412-8500 or online: https://ow.ly/zySN50WNMCt
Get into Free Thursday Floor Hockey this autumn! For kids aged 9-16.
When: Thursdays, 5:45 – 6:45PM
Where: Oaklands Elementary School Gym
Come and practice your hockey skills off the ice. Equipment is provided; just bring a pair of non-marking shoes and some energy! No games on STAT holidays, Pro-D Days. Parents welcome to participate, and food donations welcome.
Drop-in, or register at: oca.recdesk.com / (250) 370-9101

Please join, Esquimalt Neighbourhood House, at 11am for a walk in our neighbourhood, followed by a drink and snack back at ENH. 511 Constance Ave.