Community Development Council of Quinte Executive Director Ruth Ingersoll. (File Photo: Mary Thomas/Quinte News))
Newly released research indicates the Good Food Box program run by the Community Development Council of Quinte is indeed serving
the people that benefit most from it.
Essentially, the Good Food Box program involves bulk buying of food, including a lot of fresh produce, at lower than average prices.
The various food items are packaged together and offered to residents at discounted prices.
The Community Development Council has just released a research report on the program by Belleville native Melanie Bedore, who is now a
Professor of Social Sciences at a university in British Columbia.
Information was gathered from Good Food Box users via a mail survey and personal interviews.
The research suggests most buyers of Good Food Boxes are female, and that about half of the users are low income and the same percentage of users report experiencing food insecurity in the past year.
Most people taking advantage of the program are between the ages of 25 and 65 with 60% of respondents living in homes without children.
When asked why they participate in the program, most said it offered good value for money, and allowed them to be able to enjoy more fresh fruit
and vegetables.
Most respondents did not feel stigmatized by using Good Food Box and hoped the program would grow.
161 people responded to the mail survey, while several others were interviewed personally.
Recently, the Community Development Council of Quinte distributed 1,349 Good Food Boxes out of the Parkdale Community Centre.
