The Local Foodbox (by the Crop Circle)
Local Foodbox Sign-up Now Open!
The Crop Circle is a partnership of local Sunshine Coast farms
working together to grow your next sandwich and local food security… all at once.
Farms share in crop planning, marketing, distribution, and increasing our local food supply overall, and One Straw Society provides all the logistics, admin, transportation, & marketing so that farmers can focus on what they do best… grow food. The food we grow together feeds our local communities, whether sold at retail prices or subsidized for those in need.
Building a Strong & Resilient Food System
Sourcing food from across multiple suppliers adds diversity, resilience, and strength to our food system. It provides backup food and crops when crisis hits a crop, farmer, family, or region, and it builds connections between farmers. Since we all eat, that benefits us all.
You
You get fresh food from a whole collection of local farms every week without having to shop. For some, it’s a prepaid grocery service. For others, it’s a weekly food subsidy without stigma.
Farmers
Farms are prepaid early in the year to get seeds in the ground, invest in infrastructure, and grow more. The partners are connected to plan crops, share, and support each other.
Our planet
Your veggies are coming from down the road instead of across the globe, keeping our impact on our environment and climate to a minimum.
Resiliency
Investing in our local food system, and from a variety of producers means being able to better handle impacts of natural disasters and supply chain disruptions.
The Details
You buy your season’s groceries up front – in February & March. Farmers then invest in seed, equipment and infrastructure to scale up & grow more. Foodboxes are harvested & ready for you every week, June to October annually for 15 weeks.
2023
First Day: June 30
Last Day: October 6
Pickup Fridays 3-6pm at your neighbourhood location.
What's in the bin?
It’s about the basics – making sure you can make a great sandwich or dinner with the most common fruits, veggies, and herbs. Expect lettuce, tomatoes, cucumbers, carrots, broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, spinach, fresh potatoes, beets, peas, beans, garlic, onions… you get the idea.
When you get items you might not be used to – kohlrabi or garlic scapes, for example – we’ll send you some recipe ideas in your weekly foodbox newsletter.
Pickup
Pick up your local produce from any one of our partner locations:
Gibsons | Persephone Brewing 1053 Stewart Rd
Roberts Creek | One Tiny Farm 1041 Roberts Creek Rd
Sechelt | Brickers Cider 6642 Norwest Bay Rd
Halfmoon Bay | Firehall 8972 Redrooffs Rd
Foodie Sampler & Bread Add-on
The Coast is full of amazing local food producers, so as a bonus, choose a weekly fresh artisan loaf or the Sunshine Coast Foodie Sampler! Every week, you’ll get a locally crafted creation… organic chocolates, tart jams and jellies, fresh applesauce, savoury pierogis, hot sauce, kombucha, flatbreads, spice blends, tea, divine doughnuts… it’s different every week!
Subsidies
Our priority is accessible, healthy, local food for everyone, without stigma. Whether customers pay retail price or a subsidized amount, everyone picks up their fresh produce together.
Since 2020, we’ve provided over 1000 subsidized and free fresh food boxes to families, seniors, and individuals from up & down the Coast. 2022’s subsidies were made possible by Second Harvest Canada, Halfmoon Bay Community Association, Sunshine Coast Community Services Society, Sunshine Coast Association for Community and donors like you. We are honoured to be able to help you access fresh, healthy, local food. Connect with us for more info.
* Subsidies for 2023 have yet to be confirmed – seeking sponsors and funders to continue to make this possible for our community members. *
Meet your team
From east to west…
- Persephone Beer Farm (Langdale)
- Farmer Dan’s Farm (Gibsons)
- Gibsons Farm (Gibsons)
- Grounded Acres Organic Farm (Gibsons)
- Little Red Wagon Farm (Roberts Creek)
- One Tiny Farm (One Straw Society, Roberts Creek)
- Coastal Sun Farm (Roberts Creek)
- Ruby’s Run Urban Farm (Downtown Sechelt)
- The Farm (West Sechelt)
- Brickers’ Cider (West Sechelt)
- Heart & Sol Farm (West Sechelt)
- And a few farms spotlighting a week or two:
3 Acre Orchard, Waddling Duck Farm, etc.
and sister fruit farms in the Okanagan!
Get Involved
Members get first access to sign up for this and many other programs and workshops.
We’d love to have you join us!
