Most food businesses can agree it can be challenging to be sustainable.
Whether you’re trying to connect with a community or balancing your margins to buy organic ingredients sustainability for a business can be a complicated issue. However, to be actionable with your efforts starts with being realistic with your time and energy.
In this article, we’ve summarized a few Vancouver businesses that can help you not only support local, but also do it sustainably.
Table of Contents
Fairware
LivLite
EcoMeter
BSIBio
Solefood Street Farms
Discovery Organics
Vancouver Farmers Market
Fresh Root Farms
Food Stash Foundation
Coho Makers Market
Fairware is a full-service promotional merchandise company specializing in ethically sourced, sustainable promotional products. They provide transparency behind their supply chain and uphold themselves to a code of conduct that defines labour standards and ensures humane working conditions.
LivLite is Vancouver's answer to zero waste delivery. The e-commerce start-up is on a mission to cut down on packaging waste for consumers, by providing CPG (consumer packaged goods) producers with reusable jars to help cut down on packaging waste. They purchase wholesale from their partners, manage the packaging and distribution and offer not only grocery delivery, but a community of vendors that are 90% local to Vancouver.
Ecometer is Vancouver’s first sustainable restaurant guide. Businesses are scored according to their four pillars: food waste, supply chain, packaging and community initiatives. These categories help diners pick and choose restaurants that make them, and the environment, happy.
Since 2005, BSIBio’s goal has been to make packaging less environmentally harmful. Fast forward to today, and they are leaders in biodegradable and compostable packaging for all food. From unique BIOLINED leaf plates for your next event to compostable take-out boxes for your ghost kitchen or food truck; they offer a broad spectrum of products from a variety of materials: bamboo, corn, wood, etc.
Sole Food Street Farms is an internationally recognized social enterprise that transforms vacant land into urban farms. Located in the heart of Vancouver, they grow produce for residential CSA boxes, farmer's markets, donations to inner city residents and low carbon delivery restaurants. The profits supplement their mission to empower individuals with limited resources by providing jobs, agriculture training and a community of supportive farmers and food lovers.
Since 2009 Discovery Organics has been Canada's source for Organic and Fair Trade Produce. In partnership with a network of farmers across North America, they provide produce for homes, restaurants, retailers and wholesalers throughout western and northern Canada.
The Vancouver Farmers Market (VFM) hosts nine weekly markets across Metro Vancouver throughout the year. On average they generate an annual 470,000 visitors and $10 million in vendor sales, while providing access to local produce, proteins and a network of fellow food businesses.
Fresh Roots Farms
Fresh Roots Farms grows communities by growing food. They not only offer education and food for schools, but host a number of community dinners, events and volunteer opportunities to connect with other hospitality professionals, partners or like-minded individuals.
Food Stash Foundation is a registered charity that bridges the gap between food waste and food security by providing groceries to low-income households from surplus sources. They connect not only causes, but communities by leading several initiatives throughout Metro Vancouver by hosting volunteer experiences for anyone wanting to help fight for food security.
As leaders in shared kitchen spaces, fostering community is at the forefront of our initiatives, like the Coho market. Hosted at Coho Cafe, the Coho Makers Market is an opportunity for food vendors and local makers to showcase their products and services to a growing audience of foodies and supporters.