Eat Local Grey Bruce has reached its $100,000 fundraising goal that will keep the organization operating.
Eat Local Grey Bruce is a non-profit cooperative that brings local food to the community. It announced several weeks ago that it was experiencing severe financial difficulties. In Dec. 2022, the group started a fundraising campaign in an effort to keep the organization operating.
The campaign raised more than $100,000 to help pay off immediate debt and get the organization’s operations back up and running.
“We’re thrilled to get the chance to re-envision a new Eat Local Grey Bruce,” said Kel Smith, a new member of the group’s board of directors, in a news release. “The outpouring of support from the community has been overwhelming. Our members really value the services offered by Eat Local and have stepped up to ensure the health and viability of the organization looking into the future.”
The funds raised will give the co-operative time to implement key restructuring priorities, pay off immediate debt, and address outstanding debt owed to producer members.
“We know that deferred payments to producers was an Achilles' heel for us and are planning some serious changes to avoid leaning on our producer members,” said Jason Hayes, founding producer, current board member and producer liaison. “Right now we have a few producers working together with industry professionals to explore our best options for managing this debt in a way that both honours our responsibility to producer members and sets the co-op up for success going forward.”
The organization is hosting an annual general meeting at its warehouse in Meaford on Thursday, Feb. 16, 2023 to ratify a new board of directors, get all members up to speed, and celebrate the fundraising success. Members who can’t make the meeting in person are welcome to attend online.
Smith acknowledged that, while change is needed to ensure the future of Eat Local, the heart of the organization remains the same.
"There are significant improvements coming down the pipeline, but the core values of the co-operative—our mission and vision—are solid. Eat Local connects local food producers directly with consumers so that folks can easily get access to farm-fresh food on their tables, and we’re excited to be able to continue offering these services to the community,” he said.
