Eat Local Grey Bruce has raised over $100,000 through a fundraising campaign, allowing it to keep its doors open and provide food to residents across the region.
Board of Directors member Kel Smith says in an email the not-for-profit organization had a busy winter having declaring insolvency in December 2022. In an effort to address this, the organization launched a fundraising drive in hopes of keeping its operation going.
The business, which provides an online local produce delivery service recently made a delegation to Grey County council explaining it had been struggling with debt and potential bankruptcy, and asking if the County would provide them with a $20,000 grant, adding it was working to fundraise $115,000 to pay off some of its most urgent debts. While the county decided to not offer financial aid, it did offer to support the organization through consultation and training.
Smith says with the over $100,000 raised, it will help pay off immediate debts and get operations back up and running.
“We’re thrilled to get the chance of re-envision a new East Local Grey Bruce,” says Smith. “The outpouring of support from the community has been overwhelming. Our members really value the services offered by East Local and have stepped up to ensure the health and viability of the organization looking into the future.”
In addition to paying off its debts, the funds raised during the campaign will also give the organization time to implement key restructuring priorities.
“We know that deferred payments to producers was an Achilles’ heel for us and are planning some serious changes to avoid leaning on our producer members,” says Founding Producer, Board member, and Producer Liaison Jason Hayes. “Right now we have a few producers working together with industry professionals to explore our best options for managing this debt in a way that both honours our responsibility to producer members and sets the co-op for success going forward.”
The organization is planning on hosting an annual general meeting at its warehouse in Meaford on Feb. 16 to get all members up to speed as well as celebrate their fundraising success.
Smith adds while they acknowledge change is needed to ensure the future of their organization, its core will remain the same.
“There are significant improvements coming down the pipeline, but the core values of the co-operative-our mission and vision-are solid. Eat Local connects local food producers directly with consumers so that folks can easily get access to farm-fresh food on their tables, and we’re excited to be able to continue offering these services to the community,” says Smith.