Eat Local Grey Bruce

Local fresh food delivered from farm to table.

About Eat Local Grey Bruce

Eat Local Grey Bruce is a vibrant community of eaters, growers and makers of food, supporting each other in their commitment to local food production, ecological practices, healthy eating and meaningful employment.

Eat Local Grey Bruce is committed to connecting eaters with local growers and makers of food. It is a co-operative non-profit that empowers all its members to participate in an equitable and vibrant food culture by:

  • Giving all members and employees a voice, prioritizing transparent communication
  • Making sure food is grown and made fairly, with an emphasis on environmental stewardship
  • Having healthy, local food accessible to all, working to break down barriers of cost, mobility, time, and skills
  • And educating everyone on food-related issues so there is growing awareness and understanding on the part of all eaters, growers and makers of food.

Our Values

As a co-operative non-profit, Eat Local Grey Bruce is guided by some key values that help inform how we operate and make decisions within the organization.

Sustainability

We uphold a holistic view of sustainability that considers all levels of the value chain within food production, warehouse distribution and packaging. We place the needs of the planet as a top priority. We seek to build a cooperative model that is both financially viable, ethical, and environmentally sustainable.

Local

We prioritize local. We strive to support local farmers, producers, and manufactures within Grey, Bruce, and Simcoe Counties. We aim to serve our local communities of Grey, Bruce and Simcoe Counties.

Co-operative

All of our cooperative members are valued and play an essential role in the health and mission of Eat Local Grey Bruce. We seek to represent the diversity of our membership, and reflect it within all aspects of Eat Local Grey Bruce.

Grounded in Community

We are committed to honouring the needs of the communities we serve, and providing them with pathways to healthy, local foods. Community means that we are dedicated to our colleagues, our work, and our position within the organization while being motivated by the way those around us innovate and take initiative.

Social Justice & Solidarity

We strive to meet people and their communities where they are to provide support, knowledge, and resources that build their capacity for community engagement and justice. We participate in this difficult work because food is deeply tied to justice and liberation for all.

Our Producers

We take sourcing producers & quality food very seriously at Eat Local Grey Bruce. Our producers come from across the region and offer a variety of high quality locally produced food. Click on a producer to learn more about them.

Our Board of Directors

Eat Local Grey Bruce is managed by a passionate group of volunteer board members, many whom are also producer members of the cooperative.

Our Board of Directors help oversee the big picture of the organization, ensure we stay aligned with our vision & mission, and support our staff.

Amanda Klarer
Amanda is a resilient food systems enthusiast with 15+ years of experience in urban & rural global agri-food value chains. She has worked from seed to palate in value chains and all across different sectors including government, not-for-profit, academia and the private sector experience with the many sides of our food ecosystems.

Chelsea Vieira
Chelsea is a community herbalist and yoga teacher working within the environmental education sector of our local conservation authority. From a young age, being fond of the wonders of the natural world, she’s gone on to help others foster meaningful connections and build relationships with the deep-rooted threads that connect us all, weaving together land-based learning and mindfulness practices in support of our overall health and that of our planet.

Jen Harrop
Jen is an experienced finance professional with a focus on commercial credit and debt. She is passionate about food and lives outside Meaford with her family.

Jason Hayes
Jason farms at Burdock Grove Farm with his wife Marcelina Salazar, where they raise chicken, pork and vegetables. These have been on the EL store since it opened, and are now joined by a few prepared foods from their new commercial kitchen. He’s been a board member for the past three years. Eat Local is one of the ways he’s exercising his education in, and passion for, local food systems.

Kel Smith
Kel moved from Guelph to Chatsworth in 2020 to run a family home business. By trade, Kel is a software/web/user experience designer turned community organizer focused on building resilient communities with a whole systems approach. Kel has only been a member of ELGB for a few months but has a deep passion for localized food systems and is excited to be part of the solution in Grey Bruce.

Kristine Hammel
Kristine operates Persephone Market Garden with her family. After growing up on a dairy farm in southwestern Ontario, she spent a while in the city and abroad. But her roots drew her back to the land. In 2009, she started growing vegetables with her Mom. Since 2010, she has been growing her farm, while having 3 kids, and supporting the launch of Eat Local Grey Bruce, including through 3 years on the board.

Linda Swanston
Linda is a local eater, excited about local food systems. By day she works for Grey County managing climate action initiatives, and in her off hours enjoys exploring Grey County with her family. In the past she was involved in the start of a student-run co-op campus café focused on local sustainable food, and spent summers WWOOFing (volunteering on organic farms for room and board).

Jen Swiger
Jen has been an ELGB member since 2018 and is passionate about eating healthy and supporting local farmers. She works for a local engineering firm doing mapping and land development and assisted the turn-around committee with analysis of ELGB’s delivery service.

Rebekah Lovelock
Rebekah is an experienced commercial real estate and business operations professional, who enjoys connecting individuals to share their knowledge, foster understanding, and build stronger networks. Aligned with the mission of connecting eaters and producers for local food production and healthy eating, she is an advocate for fostering collaboration between diverse stakeholders, ensuring the holistic advancement of local food systems. Rebekah lives in Collingwood with her husband and two young children and appreciates the access that ELGB provides to our communities to enjoy fresh, healthy, locally grown food.

Our Staff

Eat Local Grey Bruce current has a General Manager that oversees operations at the warehouse, manages communication between stakeholders, and generally keeps the co-op functioning week to week. We also employ a part time warehouse manager and driver to help day-to-day operations run smoothly.

Steve has a multi-disciplinary background working with businesses and organizations of all shapes and sizes across Grey County. With experience in management, sales & marketing, customer service, volunteer management, recruitment and hiring, non-profit board experience, and more, Steve works with members and volunteers to ensure that ELGB is operating at peak efficiency.

Sara is a hard working positive, person who loves animals and has a long term goal to run her own farm some day with her husband. She enjoys baking and cooking and has worked at farmers markets, farms, and warehouses across Grey County over the last few years. She also has experience wearing many hats, which she definitely does as warehouse manger at Eat Local, as she also runs her own small business. Sara’s positive energy and keen eye for detail helps the warehouse stay organized and running smoothly during stocking and packing with all the volunteers.

Have Any Questions?

Reach out with any questions or comments!

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