<h2>Merry Christmas to Everyone!</h2> <p>Christmas week is here, and for us it means some slight revisions to our delivery schedule - please see below for details. If you are expecting to get a box on Christmas Day or New Year's Day, they will be delivered the day before. Everything else remains the same for all other delivery days.</p> <p>Christmas is an important milestone for us and our team, with the official start of winter just past, we move into heavy planning for 2014. Many spreadsheets containing seed plans are being worked up, all the growers (including our own farm) are busy preparing and submitting their organic production plans for review for this season, and in our warehouse we are looking at how we are going to expand and continually improve our services for the coming season.</p> <p><strong>Fulfill 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 an 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>Bins and Bins and Bins of local food stored up and Ready For You</strong></p> <div><img style="BORDER-BOTTOM: white 15px solid; BORDER-LEFT: white 15px solid; BORDER-TOP: white 15px solid; BORDER-RIGHT: white 15px solid" title="Trailers" alt="Trailers" align="left" src="/uploadedImages/009_-_This_Week/trailers.jpg" /></div><p>One of our primary goals at The Organic Box is to extend the local organic growing season as much as possible, and we have lots of great ways to do it. For example, out at Peas on Earth in St Albert we have three trailers filled with stored beets, carrots, potatoes, parsnips, and kale. All harvested in the fall and waiting to be delivered to your home. Most of our local growers have stored food for you this winter, and we even have some fresh greenhouse greens being produced by Sunrise Gardens in Onoway. Winter is an excellent time to take advantage of all the work we've done over the growing season to still bring you local food when the weather is at its coldest, and your own garden is buried under heaps and heaps of snow.</p> <div><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="right" src="/uploadedImages/009_-_This_Week/thevans.png" /></div><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> <p></p> <p><strong>Let us help you fill your fridge this holiday season!</strong></p> <p>Every year during the holidays we see many of our members take a break from deliveries as they leave town or visit friends and family for meals. This gives us lots of extra time to focus on making some really excellent boxes up for those of you who will be asking us to help feed your family this Christmas. We've set up an excellent catalogue of special holiday treats for you to explore and enjoy.</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="2013_HolidayMarket" alt="2013_HolidayMarket" align="left" src="/uploadedImages/009_-_This_Week/HolidayOrganicMarket.JPG" /><strong>Weekly Produce Listing</strong></p> <p>This week we have 126 different organic fruits and vegetable items for you to choose from - over a third of them are from right here in Alberta. Even if your base produce box is full, you can switch over to the produce listing by clicking 'Weekly Produce Listing' in the Organic Market listing. Feel free to fill your order as big as your like and order as much produce as you will need for the holidays. We've got it for you and hope you will take advantage.</p> <p><strong>*Holiday Favourites*</strong></p> <p>Check out the "Holiday Favourites" category in the Organic Market for some items our team has chosen as our own holiday favourites for the year. Not just your usual Christmas foods, these are special items that we know are really excellent and will bring an extra boost to your order and your pantry this season.</p> <p><strong>*Specials*</strong></p> <p>Looking for a little extra value? We have some great deals this week - including our whole line of bagels (also a new product for us starting this week) on sale for you. When we put items on sale, we agree with the producer that together we will offer a lower price to try and either move some inventory and give a producer a boost, or to encourage people to try something new. Take a look at the list this week and see if there is something there you would like to receive in your box this week.</p> <p>We love to bring new local and organic foods to your table, items produced by independent, ethical, and organic people and organizations. When you buy these products from us you are making a real difference to our producers and our whole food family and you have our gratitude. Happy Christmas!</p> <h2>Holiday Delivery Adjustments</h2> <p>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><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="FoodBank" alt="FoodBank" src="/uploadedImages/009_-_This_Week/2013 Food Bank Drop.JPG" /></td> <td><h2>Merry Christmas and Happy New Year</h2> <p>Well 2013 is almost over! What an amazing year it has been. Together we have solidified and expanded the local, organic food movement in Northern Alberta... and the conversation is just getting started. While the year has definitely had its challenges, it also has had amazing stories of success. Such as that of Cherylynn and Patrick Bos from <strong>Rock Ridge Dairy </strong>in Ponoka, AB. For 2 weeks in early December they teamed up with the Edmonton Food Bank, and dedicated adonation of at least 1L of milk for every 2L of milk they sold for that time period. Yesterday they were able to drop off <strong>1368L of organic milk to the Food Bank</strong>, which is such an amazing display of generosity and community that is largely <strong>due to you</strong>! </p> <p>When you decide to buy local, buy organic, and support this wonderful community, you are making significant changes that are creating real, positive impact. Thank you so very much. </p> <p>Have a wonderful Holiday season, and enjoy a beautiful and prosperous New Year! </p> </td> </tr> <tr> <td valign="top" align="center"><img title="GFbread" alt="GFbread" src="/uploadedImages/009_-_This_Week/GFbread.jpg" /></td> <td><h2>Silver Hills Gluten Free Bread</h2> <p>We've searched far and wide for a gluten free bread product that fit in with our values and we finally found it. This bread from Silver Hills is baked in BC, with 100% organic ingredients, and with ingredients as locally sourced as possible. And it actually <strong>tastes great</strong>! They have two varieties available: Chia Chia, and Omega Flax. Both are wholesome and nutrient rich. </p> <p>Silver Hills makes amazingly tasty bagels... and we have those too. So try out the Rappleberry, Mack's Flax, or Garlic Herb bagels and tell us which one is your favourite. </p> <p>* All Silver Hills baked goods are shipped frozen to maintain freshness. </p> </td> </tr> <tr> <td valign="top" align="center"><img title="December" alt="December" src="/uploadedImages/009_-_This_Week/decemberproducts.jpg" /></td> <td><h2>Winter Goodies! </h2> <p>We've just had our final push of new products for 2013 and they are all cozy treats to keep you warm during the holidays. Try out the Happy Planet organic soups, Anita's instant oatmeals, or the amazing hot sauce from Organic Harvest. </p> </td> </tr> </tbody> </table>
