Parents at Lord Kelvin Elementary school will be able to pick up their kids along with their weekly greens.
The school is one of four pick-up spots for a new pilot project called the Harvest Box program, which involves purchasing 10 pounds of affordable, locally grown fresh fruit and produce for just $8.
"I'm so looking forward to that, sign me up," said Janet Grant, New Westminster school district's director of instruction. "It's a wonderful opportunity to provide fresh fruits and vegetables to our families throughout the entire city.
"Good nutrition is critically important to children's growth. What we are hoping is making it more accessible," Grant added.
The program is being launched in mid-November through a partnership between the school district, the New Westminster parks, culture and recreation and the New Westminster community food action committee.
The Harvest Box program was developed to encourage healthy eating, educate people on the benefits of eating fruits and vegetables daily and the support British Columbia farms. The program is open to anyone who wants to purchase the boxes. Boxes will be available on the second and last Thursday of each month and orders can be made through any New Westminster parks, culture and recreation location. The boxes include a free monthly newsletter with important nutritional facts, information and recipes. There are three types of boxes, which can be purchased and prices range from $8 to $15 per box.
Those who want to also spend a few dollars more can help others in the community by spending $15. They get to keep one box and the other is donated to families in need.
There are no limits to the number of boxes that can be purchased and they contain as much locally grown fresh produce and fruit as is possible, Grant said.
The three box options are:
Harvest Value Box
- contains at least seven varieties of fresh fruit and vegetables designed to make eating vegetables and fruit more affordable, as local as possible, but imported produce is included when local is not available. Price is $8.
Harvest Local Box
- contains local vegetables and fruit sourced from B.C. farmers and suppliers, supports local growers and sustainable agricultural methods. Price is $15.
Harvest BOGO Box
- The buy one, give one box; for every box purchased, another box is provided to a family in need for free. It contains at least seven varieties of fresh vegetables and fruit
as local as possible, but imported produce is included when local is not available. Price is $15.
There is interest in expanding the Harvest Box Program to other schools in the district at a later date if the pilot program is successful, according to an update on the school district's website.
The Harvest Box program will operate twice monthly at four depots: Century House, Centennial Community Centre, Queensborough Community Centre as well as Lord Kelvin.
"So families in the city can purchase their boxes and pick them up at one of depots. It's a wonderful opportunity to have fresh fruits and vegetables," Grant said,. "How great is it if you take your child to school and pick up your BOGO box?"
For more information, email school district staffer Betina Ali (who helped spearhead the project) at [email protected].
