Tag Archives: Sunflower Food Truck

Check out these Comox Valley food trucks

Editor’s note: Food trucks are becoming increasingly popular. For business owners, they provider a low cost point of entry into the food market. This sometimes translates into lower prices and heftier portions for customers. Last year the city of Campbell River amended its bylaws to allow food trucks at six designated locations.

The most recent entry to this sector on Cortes is ‘Canadian, Eh!’ which offers ‘homemade’ fast foods in Squirrel Cove. There is also the Burger Barn in Mansons Landing, the Klahoose Food Truck at the Gorge Harbour Marina. In addition to provisioning some of the local stores, the Sunflower Food Truck is at the Mansons Friday Market, events like Cortes Day and the Whaletown ferry terminal.  

By Madeline Dunnett, The Discourse Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

Food trucks have been popping up throughout the Comox Valley over the last decade, and it can be hard to keep updated with all the offerings here. Are you looking for something vegan and environmentally friendly? A new international food you haven’t tried yet? Something classic like a burger and fries? Ice cream? Luckily, the Comox Valley has all these options — if you can keep track of these little restaurants on the go, that is!

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Seeking input to identify Cortes Island’s Vital Signs

It has been two days since Isabella McKnight sent the word out. The Cortes Island Community Foundation was only a third of the way to collecting the 300 signatures needed for the  Vital Signs community survey! 

“Vital Signs is a program supported by the Community Foundations of Canada. It’s  more than just a survey. It’s a powerful tool designed to illuminate the areas where our community thrives and also identify the aspects that need our collective attention and effort. So by participating, you’re contributing to a richer understanding of Cortes, explained  McKnight, Executive Administrator of the Cortes Island Community Foundation.

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The Cortes Food Bank at a Critical Crossroad

The Cortes Island Food Bank has met the rapidly expanding need for its services, but says it is time the local, provincial and federal governments stepped up to the plate. Only 110 food hampers were given out in 2022, but since August they have seen at least a threefold increase of demand every month. There were 86 clients in January and 70 in February. Prior to this, the highs for both months was 12. 

“We really knew that the numbers that we were seeing in previous years were not reflecting the level of poverty that exists here.  So we were doing some strategic things to try to increase people’s awareness of the food bank. That was a major reason  why our numbers went up so significantly.  People felt that they could come to us.  They knew it was a safe place to come for support. I think our clients are already dealing with so many challenges in their lives. I encourage anybody listening, if you  could use some help,  just come to us and we’ll get you some food,” explained Beatrix Baxter, one of the Food Bank’s Directors.  

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Food company offers Pay It Forward program to help donate meals, starts home delivery service

By Louis Belcourt, CKTZ News, through an LJI grant from Canada-info.ca

Sunflower Foods, a local food company, launched a Pay It Forward program this winter as a way to donate healthy pre-made meals to the food bank.

“We wanted to find a way to provide food for people who couldn’t afford it, who were on disability, who did need some sort of subsidy. At first we were just marking down the price for them and it was coming out of our pockets. It started to get a little more difficult for us and we didn’t wanna start losing money on this. And so we came up with the idea of having the community donate,” said Carie Taylor, founder of Sunflower Foods.

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Gorge Hall hosts first New Years event during pandemic, fundraises for hall maintenance

By Louis Belcourt, CKTZ News, through an LJI grant from Canada-info.ca

Locals on Cortes are hosting an all ages New Years Eve event with live music and food at the Gorge Hall for the first time since the COVID-19 pandemic began in 2020.

All proceeds from the event will be donated to the Whaletown Community Club (WCC) for the maintenance of the Gorge Hall. The organization owns and manages the Gorge Hall, the Whaletown Cemetery, the Louisa Tucker Library, the Old Schoolhouse Gallery building, and leases Avery Park from the government. The funds will be managed by the WCC board, the WCC President, and the WCC treasurer Izabelle Perry.

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