Eat Local Grey Bruce has just hired two new interns. Hannah Carroll and Beining Ma will assist with packing orders on delivery days, and will apply their individual skills – Hannah to the weekly management of Eat Local's on-line store and product aggregation, and Beining to the cooperative's communication and marketing.
Both Hannah and Beining grew up in Grey Bruce and have recently returned to the area after completing their university degrees in Waterloo and British Columbia. Grants from Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC) under the Agricultural Youth Green Jobs Initiative allowed them to bring their skills and talents "home" for at least the next nine months.
"I am thrilled to be back home in rural Ontario working at a job that allows me to engage with with my community and support local businesses," says Hannah. In addition, Beining explains that "I chose to become a part of the Eat Local Grey Bruce team because I strongly believe that eating locally is a step in the right direction in terms of achieving sustainability from ecological, economic, and social perspectives not only for our generation, but also future generations to come."
Eat Local Grey Bruce is grateful to AAFC for funding these positions and welcome these bright and inspiring individuals in the name of all members. Our fledgeling cooperative is looking forward to growing with the assistance of Hannah and Beining. Previously, Eat Local employed three people – Thorsten Arnold, general manager, Petra de Boer, warehouse manager, and Lukas te Velde, driver. Now that the logistics of aggregating, organizing and distributing products from more than 20 producers to 300 consumer members are operating smoothly, the additional staff will allow the cooperative to focus on growing the consumer membership and establish workplace drop-offs around Grey Bruce. As Beining says "I believe together, we can make Grey Bruce even more amazing than it is today!"
About Eat Local Grey Bruce
Eat Local Grey Bruce is a not-for-profit cooperative of food producers and consumers. We envision a local food distribution system that efficiently connects producers and consumers, provides meaningful employment, enhances the environment and biodiversity, supports healthy living throughout the entire food chain, and vitalizes a culture of food.
Producer members offer frozen meat, refrigerated dairy, veggies, bread, fruits, flours, and some preserved goods, plus we buy additional items from the Ontario Natural Food Coop and other suppliers. Consumer members order food online for weekly delivery. Orders are fully customizable and no regular commitment is necessary.