<h2>Holiday Planning</h2> <p align="left">December is here! That means Christmas lights, sundown before 5pm and lots of wonderful seasonal food options to choose from. We are working up our holiday catalogue now and you will see a *Holiday Favourites* category appear over the next few days in our Organic Market. </p> <p align="left">This year Christmas Day and New Years' Day are both on Wednesday. Wednesday is one of our biggest delivery days of the week so we are reorganizing our schedule so our team doesn't need to work these days and you don't have to worry about getting a delivery on these two special days. </p> <p align="left"><strong>Office Boxes and Commercial Deliveries:</strong> All Office Boxes and Commercial Deliveries are being cancelled for the weeks of December 23 and December 30. This will be done automatically and you will receive and email from us. If you are an office box member and would like to still receive an order over the holiday period please contact our office to make arrangements.</p> <p align="left"><strong>Regular Wednesday Orders:</strong> Our regular delivery schedule for Wednesday December 25 is being moved forward to Tuesday December 24. Deliveries scheduled for January 1 are being moved forward to December 31. <strong>PLEASE NOTE OUR ONLINE SYSTEM WILL NOT REFLECT THIS DATE CHANGE.</strong> We anticipate having a quick and speedy day and will finish everything by 4pm on Christmas and New Years' Eve. If you are looking forward to having our goodness at your holiday table then take advantage of this opportunity to get your box a day early. <strong>ALL OTHER THURSDAY, FRIDAY and SATURDAY ORDERS WILL RUN PER OUR NORMAL SCHEDULE.</strong></p> <p align="left"><strong>Pick Up Your Box!</strong> If you are normally a Thursday to Saturday member and want your food on Christmas Eve or New Years' Eve, let us know and we will pack it early for you to pickup. <strong>Please make sure we know at least a week in advance</strong> so we can make sure we have enough to go around. Commercial shipping, trucking and farm delivery schedules are being heavily modified to accommodate the holidays and if we don't have enough notice we may not be able to make it happen for you.</p> <p align="left"><strong>Holiday Stops:</strong> If you are planning time away or want to stop your orders over the holidays no problem! Please make sure you use our "Holiday Stops" function on the Choose Your Box page to mark your holidays off. Last year we had too many last minute cancellations and ended up losing a significant amount of food over the holiday weeks. This year we must be strict about our cancellation policy - boxes must be cancelled prior to the order cutoff or they will be donated to a local charity and you will be charged. </p> <p align="left">Our program is premised on your support and advanced planning, and by working together we can make this holiday season smooth and rewarding for everyone in our food family.</p> <h2><strong>Its time for Winter Delivery Instructions</strong></h2> <div><img title="Snowy Van" alt="Snowy Van" align="top" src="/uploadedImages/009_-_This_Week/snowyvan.jpg" width="600" height="335" /></div><p>Snow is coming again this weekend and by Tuesday next week we should be back in the deep freeze again. We run our regular delivery schedule every day regardless of weather conditions and during extreme snow events your box will come earlier or later than usual as we reorganize our routes to accommodate extra vans or to stay ahead of storm activity, so please take the time to update your instructions for us. Remember that our normal delivery hours are noon to 10pm, so if you are expecting your box and it is getting dark,<strong>please turn on your porch light for our drivers to see</strong>. If we can't see your house number or if your front steps aren't safe, we will have trouble getting your box of food to you this winter.</p> <p><strong>Your box won't survive in -10C weather for more than 30 minutes outside</strong>, so please take the time to thinking about how you want your box delivered in the event you aren't home. Some options include:</p> <ol> <li>We can put it in your garage if you have a keypad entry system.</li> <li>We can leave it with a specified neighbour if you aren't home.</li> <li>If you aren't home, we can bring it back to the warehouse and you can pick it up from our warehouse on Wednesday to Fridays during business hours and 9-1pm on Saturdays.</li> <li>Something else creative that you can devise!</li> </ol> <p><span>Boxes without winter delivery instructions will be</span><strong>left on your front step if your driver is unable to get in touch with you</strong><span>, so please take the time to update your instructions and let us know what you would like us to do for you - this can include leaving it out even if you aren't home. Delivery instructions can be updated by clicking the 'My Account' button on the right hand side of the Choose Your Box page.</span></p> <p>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!</p> <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="ViaBars" alt="ViaBars" src="/uploadedImages/009_-_This_Week/viabars.jpg" /></td> <td><h2>ViaBars</h2> <p>Made in High River, Viabars are an organic, clean energy bar that is made with <strong>raw seeds and grains</strong>. They are <strong>wheat free, vegan,</strong> high sources of fibre and omega-3s, and incredibly delicious. ViaBars are pure and simple, by using pure and simple ingredients but they definitely do not lack tasty flavour. In fact there are 8 very satisfying varieties to choose from:</p> <p>Almond Spice, Berry Coconut, Berry Lemon, Black Forest, Coconut Almond, Coconut Crave, Go Orange, and Mucho Mocha! </p> <p>Try one, or try them all! For those looking for healthy, satisfying snacks to keep your energy up... these locally made treats are the way to go. </p> </td> </tr> <tr> <td valign="top" align="center"><img title="VillageCheese" alt="VillageCheese" src="/uploadedImages/009_-_This_Week/VillageCheese.jpg" /></td> <td><h2>Village Cheese</h2> <p>The Village Cheese Company is a micro cheese plant based on one simple concept: <strong>Use fresh local milk and make cheesein small batches using only the best ingredients. </strong>These values have aided them in producing some of the best tasting cheese we've ever had at The Organic Box. Their recipes are <strong>award winning</strong>... and they are moving more and more into the organic market, sourcing local organic milk in the Okanagan Valley for their plant in Armstrong, BC. Right now we are able to get fantastic cheddars, and soon we'll have more to choose from when they produce organic gouda and parmesan. </p> <p>The <strong>Smokehouse Cheddar </strong>is especially amazing. Aged cheddar is cold smoked in their smokehouse over maple and beechwood. The results are beyond words. </p> </td> </tr> <tr> <td valign="top" align="center"><img title="Anurakti" alt="Anurakti" src="/uploadedImages/009_-_This_Week/Tea bags.jpg" /></td> <td><h2>Anurakti</h2> <p>Locally crafted tea and coffee seem to be one of those things that a lot of people are interested in, but are afraid to buy. Inherent loyalty to other brands, or price seem to deter people from trying out some of the great coffee and teas that we already carry. So when Anurakti came to us we were skeptical about offering another collection of teas. </p> <p>And then we tried them... and they are soooo good. </p> <p>Dedicated to organic and Fair Trade ingredients (and moving towards using more local ingredients), Anurakti <strong>hand blends </strong>an amazing variety of <strong>loose leaf teas</strong>. From the Health Blends - like Immuni-Tea, and Tummy Tamer, to the Flavour Blends - Blueberry Bliss, and Maui Love... they are all crafted with simple ingredients, and packaged in eco-friendly bags, right here in Edmonton. Even the flavour oils used in some of the blends are naturally extracted from real plants and fruits! Real food makes real tea, which makes for a pretty great time. </p> <p>In preparation for the holidays Anurakti has 2 varieties of holiday themed gift boxes available. So if you're looking for a local and healthy gift for your friends and family this season, Anurakti is the way to go. </p> </td> </tr> </tbody> </table>
