Over the Edge + January 13, 2010 BACHELOR & BACHELORETTE PARTIES, MOXIES MONDAYS, CHRISTMAS LIGHT TOURS, FUN WITH FRIENDS, BIRTHDAYS, WEDDINGS (LARGE & SMALL), ANNIVERSARIES, AND MUCH MORE ANY TIME IS LIMO TIME! www.sweetdreamslimousine.com (250) 613-5607 & Oa NBC Student at World niversity Games ig Wilson, News Barb Sharp, a fourth- Forestry major, will | =sent UNBC at the University Games. : = is the first time) SC has been repre- © =d at the Games. : = which Sharp Be competing in, is to eid in the community Fomi Voltri, Italy, 7 sen January 19th! | January 26th. The 3 University Game Between January and January 26th in isto, Italy. This year, a setting number of =s will be partici- 3 im the Games, with estimated 1500 stu- S from 51 countries g pari. amp moved to Prince ™e five years ago to advantage of the : to attend uni- while furthering sills in biathlon, c S cross- g. skiing and target Pe News 3 The Food Market is Your One Stop Shop DEVON FLYNN CONTRIBUTOR Sustainability can be achieved through many meth- ods, some as simple as turning off a light and some as difficult as buying a hybrid car. However, I feel that there are certain acts that have great potential to pro- mote sustainability, reduce energy consumption and even support the economy — one of them is buying your food locally. What better place to do that than herein Prince George Farmer's Markets! UNBC students must have heard by now about the Farmer's Market that took place during the fall, a big gathering of people and tents on 3rd Avenue selling fruits, vegetables, and baked goods. Since October, this Farmer's Market has moved to the St. Michael's church hall off 5th and Victoria and will be there until the snow melts. I was fortunate enough to catch the special Christmas Market with a friend after a hectic slew of exams. There, I was able to grab a few last minute gifts for the family, including some home-made doggie bis- cuits for the hairy family member (before you question my genetics, I refer to my dog.) But hark! I hear several people asking, “Isn't it mighty hard to get fruits and vegetables during the winter? Es- pecially organic?” Indeed, it is more difficult. It doesn't take a genius to realize that there are less fresh food op- tions available in winter than there are in summer and fall (and if you aren't aware of that, perhaps UNBC is not the place for you). However, the fantastic farmers of the Fraser Basin and your friends at PGPIRG have you covered: it’s called the Good Food Box! In case you haven't taken time out of your busy schedule of procrastinating, drinking eggnog, and en- joying winter sports to look it up, the Good Food Box is a collective program that varies in location, in which farmers contribute a portion of their crops to a large box of produce to be sold at a reduced price. There are five to six local farms that contribute produce through- out the winter, and the box is rounded out with the regional produce first, and US produce as a last resort. It’s fresh, it's cheap, and it’s good! No... it's GREAT! How cheap? The Good Food Box program varies foreach community in which it runs. Currently in- Prince George, boxes are a mere $15, And what exactly does this $15 box hold? Well, for right now that low, low price will get you: 2lbs of Cariboo Grower potatoes, ¥% |b of Prince Mushrooms, 2lbs of Visser Farm carrots, 2lbs of Visser Farm beets, 1 Visser Farm rutabaga, 1 bunch of Cariboo Grower Kale, 1 Ness Lake Farm spaghetti squash, 1 Tutte Farm savoy cabbage, 1 crown broccoli, 3 Okanagan Gala apples, 3 Okanagan Spartan apples, ¥% lb BC leeks, 1 BC Hot House red pepper, and 1 bunch of celery! Holy !@*# that’s a lot of food for $15! Even if you cant finish it all, you can split a box with a friend! Take note that the box contents are likely to fluctuate as the seasons change (such as getting more veggies in summer and fall!) These are just some of the more hardy and tough winter crops you would get. Wait! The deal gets better! Starting January, the Good Food Box is working together with PGPIRG to have i UNEC as a drop-off point for boxes. What does that mean? It means not only do you get a great big box full of fresh fruits and vegetables, you can pick them up at the school! This is mere minutes if you live in Residence rather than the half hour or hour and half it could take you to wait for the bus, go downtown, shop, and bring it all back. Sure helps with that New Year's resolution to lose weight and eat healthier, doesn't it? Before you pat yourself on the back, read on and learn how supporting the Good Food Box is better than you first thought! Not only is it very possible to get the majority of your groceries from local farmers, you can help the environ- ment while doing so; the majority of fossil fuel use in our food today is in the production of pesticides, chemical fertilizers, and hormones in fruits, vegetables and meat. Although it's important to know that buying locally doesn't necessarily promise that farmers you purchase from don't use them, they are indeed less likely to than your typical mass-production agricultural industry. Not only that, when you are closer to the actual source of your food, you yourselfcan ask the farmer questions like how he grew that apple you're holding. Buying from local farmers means a lot less packaging, which is another massive contributor to fossil fuel use, This packaging, as well as the processing beforehand and transportation of the product, burns a lot of gas just to get those few niche things on your shopping list to your family, things they could likely do without or as often. Think about how far that kiwi or pineapple has to go next time you have a craving, Don't get me wrong, I love some fruit salad during the holidays, but is it really winter appropriate? Not only does it help the environment, but buying locally gives you that wonderful feeling of supporting someone much more directly with a purchase rather than wondering how your money gets divided up be- tween the farmers, packers, retailers, etc, all the way up to the bag boy who rings up your total. Buying locally is still great even if you just buy a PORTION of your groceries from producers close to home. Every so often, you can splurge on that pineapple for the upcoming luau and not feel so guilty! So screw waiting for the bus in -20 below weather to go pick up a few things. Pick up a Good Food Box and feel good as you chow down on that soup made from veggies that didn’t have to travel hundreds of kilometres just to get into your Santa-like belly. Still not sure about your food related decisions? Come check out the Winter Garden on January 20th where Good Food Boxes ordered in December will be displayed and picked up. There will even be samples and recipes for those rarely used and slightly scary veg- etables (aka, Rutabaga)!Ask some questions and get involved! -The Good Food Box comes every third Wednesday of every month. -It costs $15 which needs to be paid by the last Friday of every month, -This is so the Good Food Box program knows how much produce to order, and to avoid no-shows, leading to wasted produce. No one likes wasted food! -Contact Jovanka Djordjevich @ 250-564-3859 or jovanka@netbistro.com if you would like to order your own Good Food Box. UNGcs STUDENT NEWSPAPER Volume 9 - Issue 5 Nov 4, 2002 — Fascinated With David Bowie’s Package Since 1994