Support your local food ecosystem

[Music]

[Applause]

our food system needs to be fixed

we need to think differently as a

society about how we source our food

let me give you a quick synopsis on

where we were versus where we are now

in late 2018 we founded legends hall our

focus was on wholesale clients like

restaurants and small independent

grocers

we took over an existing brand and built

on it with our chef driven focus

high quality exceptional service and

competitive pricing

we always had plans to build home

grocery delivery service

with a dream of including produce from

local farms meal kits from select

restaurants

fresh baked bread from our friends

bakeries and so much more

we were in no rush then covet 19

happened

i’m proud to say we’ve adapted we pushed

the timeline forward on our project

and i’m now part of a home grocery

company called legends grocery co

when we were tasked with providing food

for people who couldn’t access it

elsewhere

due to the pandemic it really opened our

eyes

on how fragile our food systems are and

how important it is

to us to support the community the best

we can

during the first few months of the

pandemic i was talking to farmers that

had

fields full of produce that they were

worried would spoil because of no

restaurant business

on the other hand the news was reporting

massive shortages and grocery chains

just a few kilometers away

we knew we needed to jump in and figure

this out not only for

the farmers but for our friends and

families across the province

who needed another link in the supply

chain

someone to help bridge that gap from

local farms and suppliers

to literally their front door it is

estimated

that our current food systems are

responsible for roughly 50

of the greenhouse gas emissions it’s

also been noted that the average plate

of food in canada

has traveled over 3 000 kilometers to

get to you

meat is generally local but produce in

canada is from all over the world

produce such as grapes and bananas might

have traveled

over 11 000 kilometers before they land

on your plate

and your kitchen counter if this isn’t a

sign that our food system and how we

choose to eat is broken

i don’t know what is this system needs

to be fixed

we all need to think differently as a

society

thinking strategically outside the box

and with our community in mind

we need to always be consciously

sourcing our products

each item we supply is vetted to ensure

it has minimal impact on our planet

before we stock and sell it

this is constantly evolving and always

adapting as the seasons change

our company isn’t the most carbon

neutral company in the world by any

means

we still use cardboard and we still sell

bananas and avocado

this is due to the fact that these are

the top two selling grocery items in any

produce department

and if we don’t supply these for our

customers

they will still make that extra trip to

the store but we are trying day by day

making the changes we see align with our

goals

to source appropriately and thoughtfully

for example we recently switched our

banana supplier

because we discovered someone else was

doing things better

this new organic company ships their

bananas to canada by

sea as opposed to by truck this

drastically reduces the carbon footprint

that they produce

they also work directly with the farmers

producing these bananas

so they are getting the fair trade

products that they need

to me this is pretty cool and the

decision was a no-brainer

the biggest issue we are battling is

changing the habits

of the consumer by examining the wants

versus the needs

nobody needs to be eating avocados in

newfoundland or alaska

this is a new way of thinking 80 years

ago

this was not an option how do we think

like our grandparents did

and eat what we have and what is

available again

granted my grandparents are from

newfoundland and i’m sure

they were sick of potatoes come spring i

truly believe

that if more people change their eating

habits to eat with the seasons

opposed to what they want and when they

want

we can curate a more sustainable

offering for the planet and help deserve

the bonus that a lot of people don’t

realize also is

an organic tomato from a small farm in

the okanagan in the middle of summer

actually tastes like a tomato and it

this tomato is the best tomato you’ve

ever had

the salad that’s grown five kilometers

from my warehouse

is the best salad you will ever have and

it goes even better with a salad made

from dressing

using local cold pressed oils honey and

vinegar

i challenge anyone to tell me i had a

romaine

that’s taken a six thousand kilometer

trip to reach your plate would beat this

our apple farmer kevin clipperson from

clipper organics

he sells almost everything to

restaurants and farmers markets

so obviously he was hit the hardest by

covet 19 and to slow down in restaurants

and very limited attendance at farmers

markets

these guys grow some of the nicest

fruits and vegetables in british

columbia

yet somehow he was worried about all of

his harvest going to waste

this is wrong why are we continuing to

have apples in our grocers from the

other side of the world

when locals farmers can supply them the

apple from the silica mean valley

actually tastes like an apple and when

we receive it

it had only traveled 300 kilometers and

was on the tree the day before

when you get an apple from south america

it was picked

weeks or months ago unripe and traveled

in refrigerated vehicles

for multiple days across multiple states

and countries

and produce a large amount of carbon

emissions

when we laid out the simple it only

makes sense that we should be eating

local and supporting what has grown in

our backyard

is the additional one or two dollars of

savings worth this severe damage to our

planet

our grocery delivery system is far from

perfect

if you ask me if i think it is better

for 60 people to drive to two grocery

stores a week

opposed to one driver in one of our vans

supplying and filling the weekly needs

of 60 families

i have to believe that carpool groceries

are a better choice

at our company we are using a routing

software to limit certain neighborhoods

to certain days

so we can be as efficient as possible

with our delivery times

and more importantly the amount of time

a vehicle is spent on the road

we improved this weekly also four months

ago 50 deliveries would take my driver

10 hours

with our focus on being more efficient

that driver can now do 50 deliveries in

under six

hours but this is only one piece of the

equation

where our food comes from how it is

grown what type of packages

is used and how do we eliminate excess

packaging

all factors into this crazy puzzle i see

a future as well where all of our

groceries are delivered in electric

vehicles with zero cardboard or plastic

we just need the economics to work

when the cost works for us to move this

way

we will be the first on board to a

scalable green future

each day we try to get better the key

points of society we need to improve on

to become better

is everyone needs to eat more local eat

with the seasons

support your local restaurants that have

a key focus on supporting community

agriculture

reduce your grocery shopping footprint

whether this is by ordering online

or walking to your grocery store with

reusable bags

and resist using conventional and

large-scale farming production

and focus more on local and organic at

this point in our journey

quarterly results are not our priority

we are looking at how we can set up our

business to support the community as

best we can

and minimize our carbon footprint how

can we get better

and how can we encourage other companies

to think more sustainable

it is our responsibility when providing

food to people

in order for our local food systems to

be fixed

everyone needs to buy in it starts with

you and me

let’s make a change