Dear Local Food Box members and local food supporters,
Registration is open for the 2023 seasons of the Local Food Box Program! Order now, or read on for a few updates and please help us get the word out to anyone you know who you think may be interested.
Registration
We continue to use The Open Food Network platform to manage registrations and administer payments. Returning members can login with their existing membership account and place an order. New members will be directed to create an account. More information about the registration process is available here.
As in previous years, we have adjusted prices for some of our products. 2023 price increases reflect wage increases for our employees, higher interest rates on our farm loan, and inflation impacting input costs.
Vic West and Oaklands pickup locations
We plan to continue to offer the option of a Local Food Box pickup in Vic West and Oaklands this year. We are still working on confirming locations and details. For now, if you want to be part of either group please fill out the registration online by selecting the items you want. Then, in the checkout process, under “shipping info”, choose the wait-listed pickup location you want and in the “payment options” choose the “waiting list (no payment now)” option. We will be in touch to confirm and request payment once details are sorted out. Please note that the Oaklands pickup is a shared transport pod meaning that all members are asked to take a couple turns driving out to the farm to pickup the orders for the group. We provide delivery to the Vic West location.
A note about egg supply and pricing
We intentionally keep our price for eggs a bit high. This is because we work with several local small scale egg producers, and every year it is a challenge to get enough eggs. We often have to call around to try to find a few more dozen and some weeks we fall short. For many small scale egg producers it is not financially worthwhile to increase their flock or even stay in production. Between the cost of chicken feed and the average price for eggs, it is difficult to make ends meet. Our strategy is to offer local egg producers an equal or slightly higher price than they might be able to get elsewhere, which creates an incentive for producers to market through our program and helps us supply enough eggs for box members. We also add a $1 per dozen markup to cover administration and handling costs. As a result our prices for eggs are likely higher than what you will find in a grocery store or at a roadside farm stand. This year we expect the egg supply to be even more limited than usual due to the ongoing Avian Flu virus outbreak. In order to prevent the spread of the virus there are tight restrictions on transporting chickens which means that most egg producers are unable to get new birds to replenish their flock and maintain production levels. We have increased our egg price this year in order to offer egg producers a higher price and hopefully guarantee a steady supply. We appreciate our egg farmers and the extra challenges they are facing right now and we will do our best to source enough eggs for the box program.
New – Solidarity Share option
The Solidarity Share is a new option for Local Food Box members to contribute Wind Whipped Farm vegetables to low income families or persons in need. You may choose to donate one or more week’s worth of vegetables and it will be added to your order. Depending on the level of contributions received, we will work with local community groups to identify appropriate recipients. We believe that good, locally grown food should be available to everyone.
Farm stand improvements and opening hours
Last year Wind Whipped Farm opened a new farm stand and we continue to improve it this year. We plan to open the farm stand sometime in May, it will be open on the weekends in spring and early summer. We are improving the farm stand by adding signage and a staircase, and will eventually add refrigeration and better display shelving. Stay tuned for the first farm stand day of the season!
If you need more information, please check out Frequently Asked Questions or Contact Us.
Thank you for supporting your local food community!
Alex, Virginie and Yanou
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