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