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*SOLD OUT* Invest in Less with Peg City Car Co-op Investment Shares

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To our valued members and supporters: Investment Shares are sold out.

We’re excited to announce that we are now SOLD OUT of all $600,000 in Investment Shares!

Thank you to our valued investors for making this sale a huge success. Your investment means we can continue to grow and diversify our fleet by adding more vehicle options – like spacious cargo vans! Our investment drive in 2019 allowed us to grow our fleet from 40 to 60 vehicles in 2020!

Your continued support in Peg City Car Co-op allowed us to grow from a carshare with 3 cars operating in 1 neighbourhood to 60 vehicles in 11 neighbourhoods. Your investment will help us bring carsharing to even more people. Our goal is to reach nearly 100 cars by 2023. That means more people will be walking, biking and busing for most of their transportation needs, reducing congestion and pollution in Winnipeg.

Invest in Less: Investment Share opportunity with Peg City Car Co-op, two friends walking in the park

Watch your investment grow!

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Give the Gift of Driving Credit

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When at the carshare co-op

there ‘rose such an offer:

“Give the gift of driving credit

and a bonus up-topper!

Re:Member Driving Credit Top-up

Spinning your wheels thinking of the perfect gift for friends and loved ones? Get them where they’re going with the gift of driving credit from Peg City Car Co-op, and we’ll top it up!

You’ll receive the following top-up on driving credit purchases:

– 5% for $50 and up
– 10% for $100 and up
– 20% for $200 and over!

Offer available until January 6, 2022.

To purchase driving credit, call the Peg City team at 204-793-3912, or send an email to [email protected]. We accept contactless payment by credit card and e-transfer.

Driving credit purchases are non-refundable. Driving credit has no cash value and does not expire.

Plus, receive a complementary PCCC Swag Bundle with your credit purchase!

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Where to go: Stay home edition

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With few places to go as Manitoba shifts into code red, the Peg City crew brings you the staying home edition of our travel blog. We’ve all pitched in to showcase a little glimpse of something fun we are doing while we #stayhome and weather this storm. Enjoy!

As the folks behind curtain, we spend most of our waking hours obsessing over our fleet and ensuring that our members get to where they need to go. Typically the Where to go: blog would showcase the stories of our members (and staff) using our cars to travel around Manitoba, and beyond! But just as we were preparing our latest feature, cases started to climb in a big way. With the recent move to code red and people hunkering down we decided to look inward with our latest Where to go: stay home edition. Read on to learn about how the Peg City Car Co-op team is coping through our second lockdown! 

Will Belford: Fleet Manager

Doing the crossword.
Doing the crossword. Also featured: Lockdown hair.

We started getting the Saturday newspaper again. It’s nice to read something that isn’t on a screen. Especially when it’s local news. I recommend using a nice smooth pen to fill in the crossword. I also suggest cheating as much as you need to. The satisfaction of a filled puzzle is barely diminished by googling obscure clues! There is a crossword language, you’ll need a little help to decipher it. 

We’ve also gathered a few new plant buddies. We’ve bought a couple, but we’ve also had some clippings shared by friends. Some plants are very hearty and can withstand lopping off a branch to make a little friend, but none are more prolific than the spider plant! The spider-lings can be planted directly in soil. If you have any spare shot glasses left over from your mixology degree, pop them in and watch as the roots begin to grow! It can be a lovely daily meditation to visit and inspect while you preen over the rest of your flora.

And I’ve finally had the opportunity to make soap! We already had most of the equipment needed – another offshoot of having time to organize the basement a bit- and yes, I already had the lab coat. After watching videos and finding recipes online, all that was left was to make the mold and mix up a batch. Olive oil is a great starter oil, because you can make a nice soap with only one ingredient. We opted to add some coconut oil, Vitamin E, and Bentonite clay. Scented it with peppermint essential oil, and some dried mint from this year’s garden. We have so much soap now! I’ve been giving it away at every opportunity. I can see this being a lifelong hobby.

Michelle Panting: Fleet Assistant

Michelle, fleet assistan

Hi, I’m Michelle, Peg City’s Fleet Assistant. I’ve been spending many cozy hours over the stove since the lockdown began. As one of my pandemic projects, I’ve been trying my hand at more vegan recipes. Sometimes I’ll invent vegan interpretations of traditional recipes. Last week I made a Bolognese sauce swapping out the butter and meat for vegan butter, red lentils, and jack fruit. This dish produces the deep, rich flavours my body’s been craving as the cold descends. The key to getting the flavours right is to leisurely assemble the ingredients over medium heat in a cast-iron skillet, then reduce over a long, low simmer, stirring occasionally. 

Bolognese, vegan recipe

Colby Deighton: Member Services Coordinator

I’m Colby, Member Services Coordinator for Peg City. Recently, my partner and I have revamped our COVID-EOs music videos! We us our weekends to make dorky musical mashups! This project started during the OG lockdown in March. It began with us singing songs on our couch for our families, who we couldn’t gather with over Easter and Mothers Day. We took the summer off to have socially distant friend hangs and meet my 8-month-old niece, while numbers were low (she was born days after the first lockdown began!). Alas, here we are again. 

https://www.facebook.com/594491189/videos/10157607683506190/

This project is an extension of our ever-expanding musical curiosity. We started with just us signing and an acoustic guitar. In our latest piece, we’ve expanded to include drums, bass, electric guitar, dual clarinets, tambourine and some snappy harmonies. The songs featured are covers, but all the music and video are recorded and edited by the two of us! 

Enjoy! (Happy Birthday Greg.)

Philip Mikulec: Managing Director

Phil walking his dog.

Hello! I’m Philip, Peg City Car Co-op’s Managing Director, and fearless leader. When we first went into lockdown in March, I thought to myself, no problem I got this. As a card-carrying member of the I Don’t Need Anybody, Introverts Club, I figured I’d weather COVID with ease. To my surprise, cabin fever set in faster than COVID dies on a surface! I soon realized I’m going to need more than my introvert strengths to make it through. Learning from my hubris from round one, I’m more prepared than ever to deal with COVID round two! Out of the frying pan and into the fire, here we go! 

One of the things I started to miss quickly during round one of lockdown was my commute to the office! It was nice to get out of the house, but as an all-year-round cyclist, it was also a great way to get exercise daily. With no more biking to and from the office, I needed to find new ways to move around. Lucky for me, I’ve got a 9-year old dog who’s as fit as a fiddle, and always raring to go (usually she’s carrying me)! I now tag along with my partner to get some much needed fresh air and exercise. 

My partner and I have also taken to eating way more home-cooked meals. One of my most recent favourites is baking focaccia bread. Once baked, I cut the focaccia in half, cover it in garden-fresh pizza sauce, top it with a mound of mozzarella cheese, and then bake it a second time!

To cap off the night, I will usually cover myself in all the blankets we own, surround myself in candles, and read a book for at least an hour. It’s too easy to sink into a rhythm of binge-watching reality tv all night, but a steady diet of tv junk food can only get you so far! 

Stay home, Stay Safe, Stay sane.

Thanks for reading folks! Feel free to share your lockdown self-care project with us on Facebook and Instagram using #pegcitycarcoop!

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Casual to Co-op Member promo

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This November, upgrade from Casual Driver to Co-op Member and receive $75 in driving credit! Read on for more info on the perks of becoming a member today.

Upgrade to Co-op Member

Casual to co-op member promotion, earn $75 in driving credit when you upgrade.
Offer valid until November 30, 2021

Until November 30, 2021, casual drivers can earn $75 in driving credit when they upgrade to our Member or Member Plus plans. As a member, you can make bookings for $5/hr, with no monthly fee! Plus, your gain access to a variety of perks, including:

Additional drivers. Have up to FIVE drivers on a single membership. 

Flexible payment options. Receive monthly invoices and choose to pay by e-transfer or credit card. 

Member Plus. Switch between our Member and Member Plus plans any month you’d like.

Free overnight hours: $0 hourly charges from 12 am to 7 am.

Have a say. Cast your vote at our annual AGM.

Plus, take advantage of member-exclusive promotions offered throughout the year. 

Make the switch

Upgrade from casual to co-op member by purchasing your member share. Your share purchase is a one-time payment of $500 and is 100% refundable if you choose to leave the co-op. Your share gives you access to the many benefits of membership.

Contact our Member Services team today to make the switch!

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Fall statement to members

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Here’s our Operations Manager, Philip Mikulec, with our fall statement to members.

Phil Mikulec, Operations Manager

With over half a year of COVID-19 under our belts, we have experienced a lot of ups and downs, both as a carsharing community and as Winnipeggers. Here at Peg City Car Co-op, we take the safety of our members very seriously. In these ever-changing times, we are taking a proactive approach to our cleaning practices, while remaining adaptive to your transportation needs.

As infection numbers increase in our province, we are enhancing our member safety protocols by introducing the provision of hand sanitizer in all our vehicles. Our committed Fleet Team at Peg City Car Co-op spent weeks researching the best products that have a low impact on your hands and won’t damage the interior of our vehicles. Our hand sanitizer program will be rolled out over the next couple of weeks. Be sure to keep an eye out for our Peg City Car Co-op branded sanitizer bottles. 

This initiative is the latest in our ongoing efforts to ensure our members, and their passengers, enjoy a safe ride in our vehicles. When COVID-19 officially hit Manitoba in March of 2020, we increased our sanitization schedule by 300% and introduced a pre-sanitization program for our most vulnerable members. We continue to offer a frontline price plan to help individuals and community groups on the frontline of the pandemic. You can learn more about our COVID-19-based programs by visiting our blog post dedicated to our pandemic response.

As a carsharing service, we are also focused on keeping all of our initiatives sustainable and eco-friendly. We are pleased to report that over the summer, we introduced a zero-emission cleaning fleet that includes a Nissan Leaf and a people-powered cargo bike which we use to transport new plant-based biodegradable sanitization and cleaning products from vehicle to vehicle. This new initiative saves almost 500 litres of water per wash and allows our cleaning staff to travel to cars without worrying about what comes out of the tailpipe.

Throughout the various phases of the pandemic, we are continuously adapting to the carsharing needs of our members. In the spring, we had to adapt to decreased demand as the province went into lockdown. At this time we reduced our fleet size temporarily by 30% to help right-size our fleet and reduce costs. We were incredibly appreciative of how understanding our membership was of these quick changes. As we emerged from lockdown, we saw a quick boost in demand. We reacted as quickly as possible, increasing our fleet size by nearly 20%. We were incredibly excited to respond to the needs of our members as you made the best of a difficult situation and went out to explore our beautiful province. Some of our members took the opportunity to share their stories with the broader community, which we covered on our blog here and here.

zero-emission's fleet

To be sure, the coming months will be full of challenges. Our small but dedicated team will be there to help you through these challenges, by providing the best carsharing service possible. We are committed to remaining nimble to your needs and helping to keep you safe in these ever-changing times.

hand sanitizer
Be sure to keep an eye out for our Peg City Car Co-op branded sanitizer bottles.
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Sharing is caring. Become an ambassador today!

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Join our Ambassador Program and earn a $20 driving credit when you share your Peg City adventures on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter!

carleighoutintheworld

Are you a social media savvy Member? Join our Ambassador Program to earn $20 in driving credit when you share photos and videos of your Peg City Car Co-op adventures! Members in this program can submit two posts per month for up to $40 in driving credit!

How does it work?

Take a clear, well-composed photo containing the Peg City logo, a brief caption, and people. Don’t forget to tag @pegcitycarcoop and #pegcitycarcoop when posting to your social of choice.

Send an email to [email protected] stating that you’ve made an ambassador post to claim your credit. If possible, please include a link to your post. We will then add the $20 credit to your account! Each member can claim two credits per month.

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Mobile Murals: Meet the Artists

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Peg City Car Co-op and Synonym Art Consultation are thrilled to announce our wildest collaboration yet! Featuring artists Cyndie Belhumeur and Shaneela Boodoo.

Since 2012, Synonym Art Consultation has curated and facilitated over 100 different art installations and events in various venues across Winnipeg, always with the goal of making contemporary art more accessible to the public. Once again, we have partnered with Synonym to bring you some art on-the-go, just in time for Wall-to-Wall 2020!

Ford 150 Transit & mural

Our biggest cargo van, the Ford 150 Transit, now features Cyndie Belhumeur and Shaneela Boodoo’s 2019 Wall-to-Wall mural submission. Cyndie and Shaneela’s mural was a no-brainer when it came to selecting a mural for our new Peg City cargo van, with the artwork’s many ties to Winnipeg. Our past collaborations with Synonym artists have been outstanding, so we were excited to go even bigger this year!

Cyndie Belhumeur, Shaneela Boodoo infront of collaborative mural
Cyndie Belhumeur

Cyndie Belhumeur is a multidisciplinary artist living in Montreal. Cyndie questions sensitive representations of an ever-evolving volume of information. Using different approaches and mediums, she plays with accumulation, density, intimacy and overload of information to draw invisible links between virtual and real. She pushes back notions of limits and exchanges between physical and digital aspects as well as the changes that this relationship arouses in our understanding of the world. Cyndie aims to overwhelm the spectator presenting a multitude of intertwined elements by using multiple images, superimpositions and a variety of mediums. With these, she attempts to arouse a variety of interpretations, even opposing ones: organic and psychic, harmonized and chaotic and disturbing.

Shaneela Boodoo

Shaneela Boodoo is a graduate of the University of Manitoba with a BFA (Honours) in Design. She is a second-generation immigrant, born and based in Winnipeg, Manitoba, and identifies as Indo-Caribbean. As an emerging artist, designer, and curator, Boodoo explores themes such as colonialism, displacement, and womanhood. Boodoo has also worked to establish and brand many BIPOC collectives in the city, such as RIND, Patterns Collective and Chroma Collective. She was previously the Gallery Program Assistant at the School of Art and has curated shows such as Adornment and Analogous that centered the experiences of BIPOC in institutional spaces. Shaneela currently sits on Wall-to-Wall’s 2020 Artistic Committee.

For 2019’s Wall-to-Wall, Cyndie was tasked to create a mural that brought life, colour, and creativity to downtown Winnipeg. Cyndie developed a mural design pulling together feelings, textures, experiences, and instances of Winnipeg/ Treaty 1 Territory as collected and shared by Shaneela. 

The collaborative mural references the many facets that Manitobans recognize such as frosty trees, pink prairie evening skies, transit bus seat patterns, and murky spring puddles.

You might spot our latest mobile mural around town or take it for a drive yourself!

Looking to make a booking with the slickest cargo van in town? Sign up with Peg City Car Co-op today!

For the latest Wall-to-Wall festival updates, visit walltowallwpg.com, or find them on Instagram.

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Changing Seasons, Changing Rates

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Peg City maintains some of the most affordable round-trip (two-way) carsharing rates in Canada. See below for upcoming changes to our rates and member manual, effective October 1, 2020.

members standing near Peg City Car Co-op Vehicle

Our members are a diverse group with diverse needs. From day one, we have strived to provide flexibility, choice and cheap rates to ensure that all of our members’ needs are met. Over the last few years, we have incrementally increased our hourly and kilometre fees to ensure that we can cover all of our operating costs. Whenever we increase or change our price structure, we carefully consider our decisions and do our best to balance everyone’s needs while maintaining our commitment to affordability. As part of our commitment to affordability, we decided not to increase our hourly rates for compact vehicles!

Peg City maintains some of the most affordable round-trip (two-way) carsharing rates in Canada. Our daily rates, in particular, are some of the most competitive and are often comparable to car rental costs when considering fuel and insurance. 

Hourly Rate Changes

We will not be increasing our hourly rates for compact vehicles this year. However, to better reflect the cost of operating and maintaining large and loadable vehicles (e.g. cargo vans, trucks, and minivans), we will be adding a $0.25 charge per hour. The rate change will increase the daily (24hrs) cost by $2. This change will come into effect on October 1, 2020. 

Kilometre Rate Changes

Effective October 1, 2020, our kilometres rates will be changing. Kilometre rates will increase by $0.02 ($0.38 to $0.40) for the first 50 kilometres/booking and by $0.01 ($0.19 to $0.20) for all subsequent kilometres/booking. 

Other Adjustments

We have made a few additional changes to our rates and fee structure. 

Late Returns

Our goal is to maintain a fair and reliable carsharing program. After reviewing the late return fees of other carsharing programs and their impact on our membership, we decided it was necessary to increase our fee for late returns.

Currently, Peg City Car Co-op charges an auto-generated $20 late return fee to any booking that is more than 4 minutes late. As of October 1, 2020, our late return feel will increase by $5 from $20 to $25.

We encourage all of our members to make bookings with buffers, extend reservations through our mobile website, or call our Member Services Team.

Cancellation Grace Period

Two years ago, we introduced a cancellation grace period for bookings made within our cancellation window but then subsequently cancelled within 10 minutes. As of October 1, 2020, we have increased the grace period by five minutes, from 10 to 15 minutes. 

General Member Manual Updates

Each year we review our Member Manual for clarity. Please review our updated Member Manual and familiarize yourself with all upcoming changes to our rates and policies.

Please note: Charges are always applied using the rates in effect on the end date of a booking. If a member has a booking that ends on October 1 or later, the new rates will apply.

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Where to go: Bike rack edition

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This months Where to go features our members Craig and Jana as they put various petals to the metal on their way to Duck Mountain Provincial Park! Peg City has a selection of vehicles with dual bike racks installed and available until the end of October. 

Camping and Cycling in Manitoba’s Mountains

By :Craig Kwiatkowski

In Winnipeg, owning a car can often feel like a necessity. I wasn’t introduced to the Peg City Car Co-op until I attended a PechaKucha 20×20 event (short lectures where speakers present while each of twenty slides is on the screen for twenty seconds). I was intrigued by the sustainability, convenient car locations in the city centre, and being able to pay only for what you use. After some number crunching it didn’t take long to realize the Co-op was a no-brainer. I became a fob-carrying member of the PCCC in November 2015.

Car sharing has been a great experience for my partner Jana and I. We have seen the co-op grow from around 20 locations and vehicles when we first joined to nearly 60, with new neighbourhoods receiving cars this summer! I book cars well in advance to attend golf outings or to play hockey and ultimate frisbee, we use the SUV on weekends to take our Australian Cattle Dog puppy on adventures or to visit parents for backyard BBQ’s, and we use the co-op monthly for larger grocery and shopping trips. We have even booked the nearby cargo van on the odd occasion to help our friends move furniture – It certainly is more affordable than renting a U-Haul for a couple hours. Due to the nature of my work, I often require a vehicle for construction meetings or inspections. Periodically needing to travel last minute makes the PCCC a fantastic option, especially since my office is located downtown.

This past year we have begun using PCCC for longer and farther trips. We absolutely love camping and going to the cabin. In the past we stuck to carpooling with friends or family, however we find ourselves needing the extra room and flexibility of having our own wheels since adopting our puppy in October. Additionally, the pandemic changed our original travel plans to visit the East Coast this year, so we decided to explore more of our beautiful province and take our bicycles camping for the first time.

Bikes at the beach, portrait

In late July we booked Car #50, the Hyundai Tuscon at Lily & James, recently fitted with a new hitch-mounted THULE bike rack and a 2020 Provincial Park pass, for an extended weekend trip. The rack is very user-friendly, after a quick review of the instructions I was able to load and secure the bikes with ease.

Loading the Hyundai Tuscon, and bikes. Peg City Car Co-op

We opted to leave the dog at a friend’s place for this trip (we had forgot what life was like just the two of us) and hit the road towards Duck Mountain Provincial Park. I recently spent some time working in the western portion of the province and discovered the beauty of the Parkland/Intermountain Region. The blend of forest and farmland, with the dark escarpments (our “mountains”) looming on the horizon is wonderful. It absolutely is worth the longer drive to get there!

Cruising through the Lake Manitoba Narrows is always a neat experience and this time was no different, passing below a huge storm cell with low spooky clouds speeding by as we drove through forest, marshes, and over the bridge on Hwy 68. We arrived at Blue Lakes Campground on Saturday evening to set up camp next to a couple of our friends for two nights. We stayed in the tent-only sites which are nestled in a grove of tall trees along the shore of West Blue Lake.

Riding Bikes with friends, while camping

It was amazing having our bikes with us to make quick trips between our site and the beach, store, or facilities. We attempted to bike the Blue Lakes Loop, a beautiful 5.5 km hiking trail which follows the shores along East and West Blue Lakes. It was a little more rugged than we preferred, so we found ourselves walking/carrying the bikes over protruding roots, plenty of rocks, and fallen trees. However, the sections we could ride were quite an amazing experience.

multiple pictures, bike trails, lake

Some other favourite highlights from our stay at Blue Lakes included:

-Waking up to a view of sun shining off the lake and through the trees;

– Cooking campfire breakfast (my favourite) and Philly cheese steaks for dinner;

– Watching the sun set on the dock with another amazing cloud display; and

– Playing Settlers of Catan at night (a travel-friendly version I helped craft).

camping collage

On Monday morning, we packed up the Tuscon once again for the long journey home with plenty of stops along the way. We headed out the west side of the park towards Hwy 83 stopping in San Clara, MB to visit the birthplace of Jana’s maternal grandfather. It was her first time there and we were able to find her great grandparents in the town’s humble cemetery. We headed down to Roblin to stop for fuel (coffee and gas) then continued west to Lake of the Prairies. I had never been before and needed to do  some research for a business proposal in the area – what a beautiful valley, I think Asessippi Provincial Park will be on the list to visit next year!

bikes by Peg City's Hyundai Tuscon

After one more stop near Grandview, MB for work, we were on our way to our last destination – Riding Mountain National Park! It was our first time visiting this gem and were impressed by the dense forest, roller coaster roads, and well-serviced facilities. We wound our way from the northern gate down to Clear Lake, where we stopped for a lovely picnic by the beach. After a wonderful ride along the Lakeshore Trail and through the Wasagaming townsite it was time to load the bikes up one last time and make our way back to Winnipeg as the sun was setting.

travel pictures, collage

Although too short (as usual), it was an amazing trip in a beautiful part of Manitoba. I love exploring new locations in this beautiful province alongside my favourite road trip partner and am thankful that Peg City Car Co-op was able to provide us with a reliable vehicle and new experiences on our bikes.

Next up, Tulabi Falls in August!

the open road

There’s still some summer left! Sign up Before September 30th using our expansion promo code GROW100 for a $100 credit!

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Peg City Partners: Fireweed Food Co-op

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Introducing Fireweed, Winnipeg’s first co-operative Food Hub: an aggregator and wholesale distributor of locally produced vegetables, meats, honey, grains, and other food products. Featuring as many food puns as I can mustard.

If you carrot all about local food and are feeling cheesed about globalization and industrialized food. If you are ready to squash exploitative labour conditions and plant the seeds of a resilient food future for Manitoba?

Too many puns? Kale stop.

Still stewing over how to get local food to local people? Try a Food Hub (its delicious!)

Friendly tip: if you’re reading this post and wondering “is that how that word is spelt?” it may be a pun.

So what even is a Food Hub?

Conor with Camille Metcalfe of Norwest Co-op

Fireweed Food Hub is the wholesale food distributor of Fireweed Food Co-op, a non-profit, multi-stakeholder co-op with two types of members: producers and supporters of local food.

The Food Hub works by gathering (aggregating) products from its producer members to sell to buyers like community centers, restaurants, and grocery stores.

The Food Hub uses an online ordering system: co-op members can sell their produce through the website, while buyers place weekly orders. Fireweed then collects the food and makes weekly deliveries.

Dill-iveries are made using our fancy new ford 150 Transit. Right now this cargo van has enough space for a whole weeks orders. We hope it wont be long untill they’ll need 2 vans!

Carsharing has been particularity useful for the Food Hub as they kick off their pilot year! Due to fairly common grant funding restrictions, the Food hub is not able to purchase a delivery vehicle. However, they are able pay for metered travel expenses, which includes carshare rentals!

A Peg City membership can be soup-er helpful to smaller organizations looking to get in at the grass roots and scale slowly.

Get in touch with Peg City Car Co-op to find a plan that suits your small business, or non-profit!

Fireweed Food Hub in action

It may not feature the romance of a farmers market, but the folks at Fireweed Food Hub are doing tangible work within communities across Winnipeg.

Every week, wholesale buyers place orders from Friday to Monday, using the co-op’s online ordering system. Once orders close, they send order details to their local producers, who bring bulk orders to the warehouse on Tuesday. Early Wednesday morning, Fireweed staff load up the van and make their deliveries.

I was grateful to meat the Fireweed team and tag along for one of their weekly deliveries. Starting from their West End warehouse, we loaded up Peg City’s biggest cargo truck, the Ford 150 Transit, with local produce, meats and goodies.

These deliveries go to places like local grocery stores, community centres and local restaurants. The first stop was a produce delivery to to the community kitchen at Norwest Community Food Centre.

Food delivery to Norwest Community food centre
Delivery to Norwest Community Food Centre
norwest community food centre

Why is a Food Hub important?

By supporting small-medium size local producers, we can help grow a more resilient local food system! A Food Hub help buyers and cellers by reducing marketing expenses, minimizing risk, and removing economic barriers, like order volume requirements, to name a few.

A real thyme saver

As you might imagine, feeding people is busy work! The less time farmers have to spend trying to market and sell their products the more time they can spend growing food. On the other end, local restaurants looking to feature local produce, benefit from placing a single weekly order, rather than wrangling 7 different suppliers.

Risk: putting all your eggs in one basket.

What happens when the economy is hit by a global pandemic? If you are a farmer, selling everything you can to a single restaurant, and suddenly, people all start eating at home… you’re toast! If you are a restaurant depending on a single farmer, your kitchen may suffer serious melon-colly, if that same farmer decides moves to sell everything to a local grocery store. When we increase access to a bigger selection of buyers and sellers, we can increase access to local food!

When a market becomes more secure, more people can participate, and so the local economic pie gets bigger!

Greater access, fewer berry-ers

berries
 spray-free local raspberries from one of our coop producer members. 

Order volume requirements can be a serious hurdle for small producers trying to sell products through major grocery stores. Scaling up can be tricky when you go from selling by the box to by the pallet! For obvious reasons, this leaves many local producers in a serious pickle…

This is how a Food Hub helps to bridge is the gap between regional, sustainable producers and serious buyers like major grocery stores. Instead of buying a second farm, producers can sell collectively through the Hub and get their grub on display.

Lettuce all participate in local markets!

Support your local Food Hub

Fireweed warehouse

There are a few big ways that you can support the Fireweed Food Co-op.

1. Become a member: anyone can join the co-op as a supporter member.

2. Make a contribution: make a donation, pay-it-forward, or support the Waste-Not Food Box program!

Last but not least, buy local!

3. Sign up as a wholesale customer to make local food purchases for your organization or business.

Want to buy local food for your household? Visit the South Osborne Farmers market every Wednesday, 4-8 pm, from June to September.

Okay. I think that’s all I’ve got. I’m beet!