Register now for the 2013 season!

Dear Local Food Box Program members, supporters, and friends.

It is time.

We are happy to announce that we are ready to accept your registrations for the 2013 Local Food Box Program. Please read below for an update from your box program managers at Wind Whipped Farm and for information about some changes to the program this year. Or if you just want to skip straight to reserving your spot click here to sign up. General information on the program is also available in the How it works and the FAQ’s sections.

Our apologies for not getting in touch with you sooner, it is has been a busy winter and the last few weeks have been a whirlwind at Wind Whipped Farm! We have renovated and are now moved back into our farm house (cabin) in Metchosin, our first seedlings have sprouted in the greenhouse and we are getting to work on cultivating our garden. There is a long list of work to be done before harvesting for the box program begins but we are on our way; every year is a bit smoother than the last.

In the last few weeks we have also been reviewing our financial outcomes from last year and working out some of the details for the box program this year. As you likely know this is still a relatively new program and we are constantly learning and trying to improve. This year we are making the following changes to our “in town” drop off locations and to our meat box option and eggs option. If any of these changes affects your decision about whether to participate or what options you choose we would appreciate if you could let us know.

Changes to Box Pick Up Locations

We will continue to offer box pick-ups at Wind Whipped Farm in Metchosin on Fridays from 4-5 pm.

Our Wednesday pick-up will be changing from our location outside La Piola to a new location at the Victoria West Community Centre (521 Craigflower Rd), which is conveniently located next to our friend Byron’s great bakery, Fry’s Red Wheat Bread. Same time, 5 to 6pm.

Our Monday pickup will be changing from 1221 Oscar Street to the Cook Street Activity Centre (380 Cook Street, about 400 m from our previous Oscar Street location). This will offer box members easier parking and give us some more room to expand our operation while continuing to bring the box program to the Fairfield/Cook Street neighborhood.

Changes to Meat Box Option

After meeting with the farmers at Stillmeadow and Parry Bay Sheep Farm who produce the excellent meats in the meat box option, we have decided to adjust the cost of this option as well as the delivery.

This year we will be offering the meat box option as a bi-weekly $50 value box instead of the weekly $25 value. The reason for making this change is that the two farms found coordinating and packing the boxes to be too labour intensive last year. By packaging the boxes once every two weeks and having a higher value in each box it will save them some time and make it easier to balance out the value of the contents.

We will also be adding a 10% markup to the cost of the meat box. Each bi-weekly box will be $50 + $5, which corresponds to $400+$40 for the whole season. Last year, as agreed with the farmers, we kept 10% of the sales of the meat box to compensate us for our costs and time involved. We tried to do it this way, instead of adding a markup for the customer, because we wanted to keep the costs for the members as low as possible. Unfortunately we have determined that this is not sustainable for the farmers so have decided to switch to a 10% markup instead. We do not take raising the cost for our members lightly but it is paramount to us that farmers are adequately compensated. We have chosen to be transparent about this, as with all aspects of the program, because we value the trust of our customers. We also encourage you to go their retail farmstore where you can get their meats without the markup or to contact them about ordering wholesale.

Changes to Egg Option

We are tentatively offering the option of a dozen eggs per week this year. We are currently in the process of trying to secure another egg producer. Melinda from Elysian Fields, who supplied members with the colorful farm fresh eggs last year, has decided to scale back her flock and will no longer be selling eggs with us. While our friend and neighbour Marie will still be supplying eggs, we will likely need one or two more suppliers in order to meet anticipated demand. For now we are taking orders to gauge interest but will confirm later. We are switching to only the weekly option (no bi-weekly) in order to streamline the system. We encourage members interested in a half dozen weekly or dozen bi-weekly to split it with a friend or other member.