{Locality} Bayfield’s newest boutique store: Hive

March 30, 2012March 30, 2012 Sarah Stright3 Comments

Nestled in the back of an old European-style courtyard, between my favourite café and one of my favourite shops in Bayfield, you will find the village’s newest store, Hive. Owned by quiet but vibrant artist and educator Jenny Wallace, Hive is one of those place where you can guarantee that everything on display is “hand-picked” […]

Locality: Huron Good Food Box

March 24, 2012March 25, 2012 Sarah StrightLeave a comment

I picked up my first Good Food Box yesterday! Okay, my friend Hayley picked it up for me on Thursday, but I picked it up from her.

I’m excited to a) get more involved in my community, b) pay less than supermarket prices for produce, c) get better than supermarket value for produce, and d) eat locally-grown produce!

My box this month includes: red potatoes, apples, a cucumber, carrots, a coleslaw mix of chopped cabbage and carrots, a large turnip, a bag of mixed onions, and some Weth mushrooms.

A booklet with information and recipes was included, too.

I’m really impressed and I can’t wait to start eating this food!

Do a Good Deed

And, as a bonus, I learned that you can purchase a Good Food Box for people that can’t necessarily afford one. Hayley told me that there was a month when she wasn’t able to pick up her box on the distribution day, and found out later that it had been donated to a family who had not eaten for a few days. Chances are, that family would have been forced to survive on Kraft Dinner and pork & beans before Hayley’s unwitting gift.

Do a good deed: buy a Good Food Box for your family, and one for another family if you can!

Distribution Sites and Payment Information

You can currently order and pick up your Good Food Box in Bayfield, Blyth, Clinton, Exeter, Ethel, Goderich, Grand Bend, Hensall, Seaforth, Vanastra, Wingham, and Zurich.

One box costs $15 cash (no cheques).

For April, order and pay for your box by Friday, April 6th, and pick it up on Tuesday, April 17th.

In May, order and pay by Friday, May 4th, and pick it up on May 17th.

For more information, visit the Huron Good Food Box website, “Like” them on Facebook, email them at goodfood@huroncounty.ca, or call the Infoline at 519-482-3416, extension 2244.

Locality: Getting excited about what’s in your backyard

February 24, 2012February 23, 2012 Sarah StrightLeave a comment

Though this series is only a few weeks old, the majority of my blog feedback since I posted about Coastal Coffee Company has been in response to local stuff, and it’s getting exciting! Other people are catching on that sometimes the best thing around isn’t the big-name from-the-city brand; it’s 20 minutes from you. It’s in the store with the homemade sign. It’s at the farmer’s market.

The little guys, though they often have the best products and services and events, are usually unable to compete with the marketing budgets of the big kahunas.

That’s where I come in, and other bloggers and local writers like myself. We need to be the voices for the local businesses, using our resources to promote them, to keep our rural and local communities alive.

Your job is to use your social media and your networks to share stories like the ones I post, and also to try local products, to visit farmer’s markets and farm produce stands, etc.

I heard on the CBC recently that if every household committed to buying something like 10 – 25% local goods, it would be the equivalent of taking several hundred cars off the road every year. That’s a lot of gas consumption and emissions we’d be preventing!

If you’re not sure where to start, check out the following: