Good Food Box Principles

Start with the food!

- High quality, fresh, nutritious, culturally- and personally-acceptable food is the basis of The Good Food Box.

- Aesthetics matter. Handle food gently, choose contents for colour and variety and arrange carefully for maximum appeal. A beautiful box reflects the fact that the Good Food Box is not a charity.

- Take seriously the fact that customers on a limited budget trust the project with their money and rely on getting food they can use- avoid adding to the stress of food insecurity.

- Be responsive to people's tastes while encouraging people to push their limits and develop and appreciation and love for food. Where does the food come from?

- Develop a purchasing policy that encourages sustainable farming practices, supports the local economy, and takes issues of social justice into account. Educate about the origins of the food.

Develop a project that will survive in the marketplace

-· Maintain the dynamic tension between responding efficiently to the marketplace and consumer desires, and responding to the needs of the community that are not expressed through market mechanisms.

- Because people pay for their food, they have the power of the consumer. Flexible and responsive customer service shows respect for customers and ensures their loyalty.

- Marketing and publicity are key. Develop upbeat, media-savvy materials that convey the positive, non-charity-based message that attracts people.

- Work toward sustainability- efficiency, reducing waste, economies of scale

- Standard box contents and a pre-order system make bulk-buying savings and minimal waste possible.

Build the community and invest in it

- As a community-based business, the goals of the Good Food Box include more than just food delivery: community development, environmentally-sound management of the program, volunteer support and development, nutrition education and food skill education (e.g. a newsletter), health promotion and dissemination of information to other groups, and political education and advocacy.

- Paying for these intangibles means that full economic self-sufficiency is difficult to attain, so diverse sources of funding, staff support and in-kind assistance- and especially a supportive host organization- are important.

- Everyone can participate, everyone pays- ensure participation by avoiding stigmatization. Promoting increased fresh fruit and vegetable consumption is a worthy goal for people of all income levels.

- Make the box meet the needs of low-income people and people on social assistance- e.g. have advance payment, then delivery when money and supplies are running low.

- Success rests upon the volunteer work of community members- build a relationship with volunteers that not only supports the programs, but enriches their lives.