February 6, 2012
On March 3rd, the Comox Valley Growers & Seed Savers will be hosting the 13th annual Seedy Saturday, an event that Eatmore Sprouts has sponsored in one way or another since it began. Creating a sustainable community is really important to us so that is a key reason for us to support the Seedy Saturday event. Issues around seed ownership and GMOs are front and centre for us so we are so happy about the work that the CV Growers & Seed Savers do. This year at Seedy Saturday you can find Eatmore Sprouts, as well as other certified organic growers from the Valley, at the Certified Organic Association of BC (COABC) booth.
Eatmore Sprouts has been a member of the COABC since its inception in 1993. The COABC takes an approach to food production that is based on care for the earth and it recognizes people as one creature among many that are all inter-related and interdependent, hence the priority it places on certified organic practices. You may recognize the check mark found on our labels (as well as other BC organic growers). The importance of this check mark is that it gives the consumer the confidence that what they spend their money on and what they consume has been grown with certified organic practices and within the province of BC, ensuring the support of a more local and sustainable food system. We are excited about attending “Innovations“, the annual COABC conference Feb 24-26 in Chilliwack. Anyone interested is welcome to attend.
To learn more about the COABC, its members, seed saving and much more, come on down to Seedy Saturday on March 3rd at the Florence Filberg Centre from 10am to 3pm. The Comox Valley is also hosting the annual conference of BC Association of Farmers Market that weekend, which is also open to the public. Click here to find out more. We hope that members of this association get the chance come and visit us at the COABC booth at Seedy Saturday.
Last week our team traded its’ hair nets, rubber gloves and aprons for more festive attire and met at The Old House Restaurant for our annual Eatmore Sprouts Staff Christmas Party. We celebrated a successful year of growing sprouts over a delicious meal in a cozy setting. Thank you to the staff for their hospitality and their wonderful service.
At the party Glenn and Carmen, owners of Eatmore Sprouts & Greens Ltd., presented Tanya Harmon, our Office Manager, with a donation to Canada to Kenya, a project she co-founded and is very passionate about. This money will be used for the purchase of bicycles for women and youth to add ease and efficiency to collecting water and fuel, transporting goods to buy and sell at the market, getting kids to school or as an income generator by way of bicycle taxi.
Building sustainable communities on a local and global level is important to us here at Eatmore Sprouts. We wish Tanya and her husband Terry a safe and successful trip.
Our team has been busy preparing our production plan for the holidays in order to work around seasonal closures at all levels from labs to trucks. Our goal is to provide our loyal customers with the sprouts they have come to love to the best of our abilities during this logistically challenging time.
We wish you all a safe and joyful holiday and thank you for all your support this year! Best wishes for 2012.
December 1, 2011
Today is the first day of December. Temperatures are dropping. Snow has begun covering the mountain tops. And plant growth has slowed down. We are feeling the effects most dramatically with our greenhouse products. As with any type of farming, the weather plays a crucial role in the success of the harvest and unfortunately Sunflower Greens, Pea Shoots and Micro-Greens just don’t grow well when it’s this cold outside.
While we are doing our best to keep our greenhouses heated, it is not enough to compensate for the extreme cold. Please be assured that our greenhouse will be in operation all winter, and we will do our best to maximize our yields. All of our other products are grown indoors and production will continue as usual.
Thank you for your patience and continued support while we negotiate with Mother Nature! Our dedicated staff are working their hardest to provide the best quality products. In fact, we are currently building another greenhouse so we will have more capacity and improved systems to manage and maintain consistent service and quality in years to come. Stay tuned later this month for some exciting details and photos of our new greenhouse project…
Eatmore Sprouts signs on for 100 per cent British Columbia wind power with Bullfrog Power®
Certified organic sprouts and greens producer bullfrogpowers® its farm in British Columbia
Vancouver, October 4, 2011 – Bullfrog Power, Canada’s 100 per cent green energy provider, today announced that Eatmore Sprouts, an organic sprout producer in Courtenay, British Columbia, is choosing 100 per cent B.C. wind power for the electricity requirements of its farm. Through the purchase, Eatmore Spouts will reduce its environmental impact and join the growing list of Canadian organizations supporting the development of new renewable generation in Canada with Bullfrog Power.
“We are choosing Bullfrog Power because we believe supporting renewable energy is one of the best ways to help protect our planet,” says Glenn Wakeling, President, Eatmore Sprouts. “By supporting local B.C. wind power, we are leaving a smaller environmental footprint and a cleaner world for future generations.”
Through the agreement, Bullfrog Power’s generators inject renewable electricity onto the regional grid to match the amount of power Eatmore Sprouts’ farm uses. Across Canada, Bullfrog’s green electricity comes exclusively from wind and hydro facilities that have been certified as low impact by Environment Canada under its EcoLogoM program. For its B.C. customers, Bullfrog sources 100 per cent made-in-B.C. wind power. Bullfrog Power also uses the collective demand of its customers to support the development of new renewable generation in Canada. To date, several new wind projects have been commissioned in Canada to meet the demand of bullfrogpowered homes and businesses.
In addition to supporting renewable electricity, Eatmore Sprouts is committed to valuing people, the planet, sustainability and creativity throughout its operations. The company produces its own compost to grow its greens and employees are encouraged to bike to work to minimize transportation-related emissions. Eatmore Sprouts also uses wastewater heat recovery technology to heat its processing rooms and incoming potable water. Additionally, Eatmore Sprouts is constructing a new greenhouse using rammed earth technology to build mass walls and heated beds.
“We are excited to welcome this organic farm in British Columbia to the bullfrogpowered community,” says Tom Heintzman, President, Bullfrog Power. “Eatmore Sprouts has many environmental practices already in place. By
choosing Bullfrog Power, it is taking another important step to further its sustainability efforts.”
About Bullfrog Power
Bullfrog Power, Canada’s 100 per cent green energy provider, provides renewable energy solutions that allow homes and businesses to reduce their environmental impact and help create a cleaner, healthier world. Bullfrog’s green electricity comes exclusively from wind and hydro facilities that have been certified as low impact by Environment Canada under its EcoLogoM program instead of from polluting sources like coal, oil, natural gas and nuclear. A clean, renewable alternative to fossil-fuel based natural gas, Bullfrog’s green natural gas is produced in Canada from biogas facilities that have met strict environmental criteria as defined by ICF International. Thousands of Canadian homes and businesses are doing their part to address climate change and air pollution by switching to green energy with Bullfrog Power. Homes and businesses can sign up easily, quickly and affordably at www.bullfrogpower.com.
About Eatmore Sprouts
Eatmore Sprouts & Greens Ltd. was established in 1975 and has been producing a variety of certified organic sprouts and greens in the Comox Valley ever since. Eatmore is quite unique in B.C. because it is able to produce fresh, organic, local produce 365 days a year. On less than four acres of land, Eatmore Sprouts & Greens Ltd. produces upwards of 8,000 pounds of fresh, healthy, organic sprouts every week. Sustainability is one of Eatmore’s highest values, which it demonstrates by sourcing high quality, organic, GMO-free seed (from Canada whenever possible), by making innovations in composting and energy conservation, by committing to organics and thorough its recycling program. Eatmore Sprouts and Greens Ltd. nurtures its employees, their families, our community and the planet. www.eatmoresprouts.com.
Contact Bullfrog Power
William Pointon
Manager, Public Relations
Tel: 416.360.3464 ext 221
Email: william.pointon@bullfrogpower.com
Contact Eatmore Sprouts
Glenn Wakeling
Tel: 250.338.4860
Email: eatmore@shawbiz.ca
Look what you can do when you Eatmore Sprouts!
We’ve been having fun at the Sprout Farm today… goofing around with how best to express who we are and what we believe in. Glenn has taken a hands on approach (don’t try this at home!).
Same delicious, fresh, crisp, organic sprouts… new look!
Thanks to the creative genius of Karen Segee of Grasshopper Graphics, Eatmore Sprouts & Greens are all dressed up in a new look. New labels will be on the shelves of your favourite grocery stores in the upcoming couple of weeks.
You may notice we are sporting two new logos on our labels — Canada Organic and the Checkmark from Pacific Agricultural Certification Society. Just in case there was any question, we want to make it clear that we use only certified organic ingredients in all of our sprouts and greens blends.
Sunflower Greens are elegant, delicious and nutritious with a crisp texture and a nutty flavour. They make a great addition to just about everything — salads, wraps, burgers, etc. We feel fortunate to live in a mild climate where we can grow Sunflower Greens all year long in our greenhouses. In the summer months, the extra sunlight from the long summer days can sometimes colour the stems with a pinkish hue. The reddish colour on the tips of the sunflower stems gives them a different look, but you can be assured that the quality, taste and shelf life is as splendid as ever.
Feel free to contact us with any questions.
Fresh produce, and sprouts are no exception, have varying shelf life depending on the conditions they are stored among other factors. It is tricky to choose a specific date that they will be “best before”. We always encourage buying often and eating quickly, storing them in optimal conditions in between. Optimal conditions for storing sprouts is in the refrigerator (cooled to 0-4 degrees C) in the package or bag they were purchased in.
We’ve been growing, storing and eating sprouts for a long time and as such can predict a pretty close ballpark for how long they will last. Our Alfalfa line (including Deli and Garlic Blend) should last about two weeks, Mixed Beans will give you 12 days or so, Broccoli and Clover about 10 and the fragile Sunflower Greens about 8 days at the maximum. Pea Shoots are the super hero of sprouts, lasting at least 3 weeks!
You can identify the date the sprouts were harvested on by the LOT code printed on the packaging. We currently mark our sprouts with the Julian Calander. In other words….. the day in the year that it was harvested and packaged is the lot code on our package — January 1st is LOT 001, May 1st is LOT 121, December 31st is LOT 365. You get the idea.
Hopefully this information will help you to continue to EATMORE fresh, crisp, nutritious and delicious Sprouts!
