More people in Regina are using Good Food Boxes for cheaper produce

With grocery bills skyrocketing, many folks are searching for budget-friendly food options.

980 CJME went behind the scenes with the non-profit group REACH Regina — Regina Education and Action on Community Hunger — which offers exactly that to people in Queen City.

Volunteers packed fresh fruits and veggies into boxes for hundreds of people throughout the city every month.

It’s all part of the Good Food Box, which is aimed at helping everyone save up to 50 per cent on their produce bill.

REACH Executive Director Matt Leisle explained that anyone, no matter their income, can order these boxes.

“When we look at food security, it’s a spectrum, and people are at many different places on there, and some are reliant on emergency sources, and they should access those when they need them,” he said.

Good Food Box aims to help Regina residents access affordable groceries. (Abby Zieverink/980 CJME)

“But not everybody can afford to be going to a traditional grocery store. So, we’re trying to be a middle ground to help people move away from those emergency sources, but be able to choose what they want to eat when they can’t always afford to go to a regular grocery store.”

Leisle added that the boxes are packed weekly, and sent out to customers.

Anyone can access the Good Food Box program which relies on volunteers to help pack each box. (Abby Zieverink/980 CJME)

“We have a great team of volunteers that come in every Wednesday morning to pack our boxes. We also have some other volunteers that help deliver to the 18 locations across the city — making it easy and accessible for people to pick up their Good Food Box close to home.”

Leisle explained that the prices range from $15 to $25 per box, depending on the size. “Customers are typically surprised at the amount of produce that they get for the price that they’re paying,” he said.

Boxes vary in size and can be picked up at 18 locations in Regina. (Abby Zieverink/980 CJME)

“We always have different items every week so we can give some variety to customers and also ensure that we’re putting as much food as possible in each box.”

Leisle said that with inflation, there is a growing demand for affordable food.  Currently, he explained that they are packing roughly 700 boxes as part of the program each month.

“We’ve sold 70 per cent more boxes than we did over the same six months last year. So obviously, there’s a large demand. There’s a large need in the community for that affordable produce.”

A Good Food Box can contain fresh fruit and vegetables and come at a variety of price tags. (Abby Zieverink/980 CJME)

John Szala, a volunteer with REACH for nearly 20 years, says a lot of care goes into packing each box.

“People care what we put in the box. If we wouldn’t, we treat it as if we were buying it for our own home and if we see a piece of fruit or a vegetable that’s not good, we don’t take it. We find the proper fruit or vegetable to put in the box.”

Szala explained it takes around two hours for the group to pack the boxes.

Volunteers are usually packing the Good Food Boxes for two hours. (Abby Zieverink/980 CJME)

“Sometimes you get into the three hours of big packs, and it requires a lot of coordination, a lot of work, and a lot of volunteers and we always have that.”

A link to order the Good Food Box can be found here.