<h2>Say Hello to 2014, and our 5th year!</h2> <p>Its hard to believe how far we've come in such a short period of time since we opened in 2010, and how we've managed to stay true to our principles of locally owned, locally produced and certified organic choices for Edmonton families. We are so grateful everyday for all the support everyone has shown our extended food family and the opportunities it has given us in the Edmonton community to grow our industry and bring many new families into our service.</p> <p>We absolutely love what we do, and we continue in our dedication to finding the best quality, independently produced, certified organic foods for your family. We have great plans for 2014 and are excited to spend our winter getting ready for a fantastic season.</p> <p><strong>Fulfil your New Year's Resolutions</strong></p> <p>All of us make two lists every year - our gift list for Christmas and our resolution list for the New Year. We are experts at helping you to make your resolution to eat better happen. Reducing the amount and concentration of toxins in your food is a great way to improve the overall health of you and your family. Choosing to spend more time in the kitchen during the coldest months of the year can be an excellent way to reconnect with your loved ones and explore some foods you haven't tried before. We love the winter months because it gives us a chance to spread our word and to support some growers in the developing world who really need our help. </p> <p><strong>Winter is here, and so is our continuing commitment to ethical foods.</strong></p> <p>The arrival of winter means we start to make ourannualtransition from local organic food to non-local organic. At The Organic Box, we work very hard with our producers and partners to extend the season in Edmonton as much as possible. We have three 53' refeer trailers out at Peas on Earth farm in St Albert filled with potatoes, beets, carrots and kale to take us through the winter. We also have several tons of potatoes stored in Edmonton ready to ship this winter. There are lots of BC Apples and Pears packed into controlled atmosphere warehouses in Cawston ready to crack open in February and March to give us good BC Apples so we don't need to look to New Zealand.</p> <p>All this said, there is also the reality that in Northern Alberta, in winter, we still want to eat salad and fresh fruits and vegetables. The Organic Box has built a very efficient and excellent supply chain that allows us to get your winter produce here quickly and efficiently from the same types of producers that we support in BC and Alberta. For us, local means more than the 100-mile diet. It means that the producers own their own land, keep the proceeds from the sale of their crop in their community, and don't let agribusiness or shareholders in New York or Toronto profit from their hard work. We carefully vet our producers in the winter to ensure they meet the following standards:</p> <p><img style="BORDER-BOTTOM: white 15px solid; BORDER-LEFT: white 15px solid; BORDER-TOP: white 15px solid; BORDER-RIGHT: white 15px solid" title="2012_Abbie_Peru" alt="2012_Abbie_Peru" align="right" src="/uploadedImages/009_-_This_Week/Abbie_Peru.jpg" /><strong>United States:</strong> Family owned and operated. Minimal use of migrant labour. Adhere to the COR (Canadian Organic Regime) organic standard. CFIA inspected or approved upon arrival in Canada. Reputationfor quality product and good relationship with our importer in Vancouver.</p> <p><strong>Mexico:</strong>Fair Trade Certified (if registered). Otherwise, same as United States, except we only work with co-operatives that grow collectively and keep the proceeds in the community. Last year we supported the launch of a new growing collective called Baja Organics. Look for lots of great greens from this tiny impoverished community coming to you this winter. We make a real difference to these communities through our support.</p> <p><strong>South America:</strong> Fair Trade Certified (this is mandatory). We believe very strongly that organic food grown in countries like Costa Rica, Argentina, Chile, and Peru be third-party verified for Organic Production Compliance and Community Supportand we find that Fair Trade International (FLO) is the best method for us to get this verification. Plus, we also visit these producers ourselves. Last year, our General Manager, Abbie, spent a week in Peru touring and meeting the grower's collectives for bananas, avocados and mangos that we support each year. We're doing the work so you can buy with confidence and feel good about the food you eat. Read below for some great info from our buying team on the Interrupcion fair trade farm in Argentina.</p> <p><img style="BORDER-BOTTOM: white 15px solid; BORDER-LEFT: white 15px solid; BORDER-TOP: white 15px solid; BORDER-RIGHT: white 15px solid" title="Winter Vans" alt="Winter Vans" align="left" src="/uploadedImages/009_-_This_Week/thevans.png" /><strong>Local Means More Than 100-mile Diet</strong></p> <p>Local can mean many things. Miranda and I are absolutely dedicated to building and supporting our growers in Alberta and we demonstrate that every year through our investment and purchasing in our province. In 2013 we will buy nearly two million dollars worth of local organic food from right here in Western Canada and we have you to thank for that. And when we can't find it here, we find it from somewhere else and make sure that those growers are living the values we hold ourselves, and that the environmental impact of the transport involved is accounted for and included in our annual carbon measurement and offset program.</p> <p><strong>We're Ready for 2014</strong></p> <p>Our team, our vans and our warehouse is ready for 2014. We're so excited about the coming year and everything it offers. It will be our fifth year since opening and looking back on the growth we've experienced and the way our growing community has worked with the Edmonton community to bring a new way of getting food in your fridge is so gratifying for Miranda and I. We are grateful for everyone's support and have made a significant impact on the organic food industry in our province. Thank you for your support. It is truly appreciated.</p> <h2><span style="LINE-HEIGHT: 18px; FONT-FAMILY: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; FONT-SIZE: 12px; FONT-WEIGHT: normal">At The Organic Box we are always growing, always looking for ways to get better, and always trying to find ways to fill more of your shopping basket with Alberta and BC food producers. We can do it! You are helping!</span></h2> <p>Havea Great Week!</p> <p>Danny.<br />Founder, The Organic Box.</p> <h2>FeaturedProducts and Producers:</h2> <table cellspacing="15" cellpadding="0" bgcolor="#edf0e9"> <tbody> <tr> <td valign="top" align="center"><img title="soupcrackers" alt="soupcrackers" src="/uploadedImages/009_-_This_Week/soupcrackers.jpg" /></td> <td><h2>Comfort Food</h2> <p>Sometimes we just need an easy meal. Something that is quick and simple to make and warms our hearts. We call this comfort food, and one of the best forms of it is just a nice piping hot cup of soup (with some saltines on the side... or crumbled up into little bits and mixed in). The new <strong>Happy Planet </strong>soups that we just started carrying are the perfect comfort food. <br /><br />Try the Idian Split Pea, the Louisiana Sweetcorn and Red Pepper, the Butternut Squash, the Moroccan Chickpea, or the Tuscan Tomato Soup. All Fresh. All Organic. </p> <p>For a quick lunch this is as easy as it gets. And grab a box of saltines from <strong>Late July </strong>to crunch on top. We've been eating it them all week for lunch! </p> <p>PS - Happy Planet is supporting Food Banks Canada with a 'Help us Feed the Hungry' campaign. For every pouch of soup purchased they will donate to Food Banks across Canada, up to $10,000! </p> </td> </tr> <tr> <td valign="top" align="center"><img title="chokecherry" alt="chokecherry" src="/uploadedImages/009_-_This_Week/chokecherry.jpg" /></td> <td><h2>Over The Hill Orchards</h2> <p>Our friends in Saskatchewan have been crafting amazingly tasty fruit spreads for some time now. This is the first year that they've been able to wildcraft enough chokecherries to make a spread available for everyone. This <strong>chokecherry</strong> spread is absolutely delightful. A truly Canadian berry, the chokecherry is an historical gem in First Nations diets. It can be quite tart and bitter (and poisonous) on its own... but once cooked and mixed into a jam, it takes on a whole new flavour profile that is just delightful. Give it a try today, along with the other varieties of fruit spreads from Over The Hill: <strong>strawberry, raspberry, saskatoon, and wild blueberry</strong>. </p> </td> </tr> <tr> <td valign="top" align="center"><img title="Blueberries" alt="Blueberries" src="/uploadedImages/009_-_This_Week/blueberries.jpeg" /></td> <td><h2>Interrupcion - Fair Trade Farming</h2> <p>Right now we are sourcing our blueberries from the Interrupcion Fair Trade farm in Argentina (<a title="www.interrupcion.org" href="http://www.interrupcion.org">www.interrupcion.org</a>). Interrupcion is a community that is working to build a better farming and nutrition system centered on the human being, through consious consumption, sustainable development,<strong> fair trade</strong>, <strong>organic</strong> farming, and <strong>biodynamic nutrition</strong>. They have established a growing network of farmers in Argentina that are working together to produce some of the tastiest fruits, while guaranteeing their workers fair pay and safe work. When we can't get BC Blueberries, we get them from Interrupcion. They are amazing bursts of juice and flavour, and knowing that our purchasing power is helping to ensure that harvesters are treated fairly and compensated appropriately for their hard work... that is what it's all about. </p> </td> </tr> </tbody> </table>
