Skip to content

Box decision handled poorly

Decision to cut Good Food Box program came without notice to those involved
10917139_web1_171227-SAA-Good-Food-Donation

It’s not hard to imagine a volunteer board of directors sitting around a table and having to make an agonizing decision over the fate of one of its programs when the numbers have been crunched:

“Is there anything else we can do?” “Do we have to do this now?”

Especially when the program has been around for nearly two decades and does so much good for hundreds of residents in the North Okanagan.

But such was the case facing the Food Action Society of North Okanagan who, on Monday, announced they were terminating the Good Food Box program after almost 18 years of service.

The program provides a monthly box of fruits and vegetables for $17 that helps those on low or fixed incomes, single parents and seniors get a dose of fruits and vegetables into their diet at a fraction of the cost they’d have to pay for the same food items at a chain grocery store.

Due to what the society said was a “drastic decline in numbers” of people using the box program, it was no longer sustainable, and the society ended the program, as well as the role of the program coordinator.

More than 400 boxes were being prepared for monthly delivery. The program needs 500 boxes to be sustainable.

While nobody envies a volunteer board for having to make such a harsh decision, the board could have used a refresher on how to deliver the news.

The decision to shut down the program came without consultation with the coordinator or the 40-to-50 volunteers or the people who order the boxes. There was no time given to find, perhaps, another organization willing to step in. Instead, the program is stopped and users are told instead of a food box this month, they can pick up their refund.

Time should have been given to allow some fundraising work to be done. It’s the least that could have been done for a program with an important history in the area, vital to many residents.



Roger Knox

About the Author: Roger Knox

I am a journalist with more than 30 years of experience in the industry. I started my career in radio and have spent the last 21 years working with Black Press Media.
Read more