By making sustainable choices in our everyday lives we can slow down the effects of the damaging human ecological footprint and over time, improve the condition of our water, air and land resources.

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100 Mile Diet
Minimising our Impact
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Eating Locally is one of our passions: We support local suppliers wherever possible. Visit the Get Local website, and see their Seasonal Chart for what's in season.

What's The Ruddy Doing about...Recycling
We take back all our returnable containers and Avalon milk bottles. Other recyclable containers can be taken to Bowen Island Recycling Depot. For further information go to http://www.bimbc.ca/recycling

100 Mile Diet - Local Eating for Global Change
When the average North American sits down to dinner each ingredient has typically travelled at least 1,500 miles. Alisa Smith and James MacKinnon chose to confront this alarming statistic with an experiment. Could they live for one year, eating and drinking from within 100 miles of their apartment in Vancouver, British Columbia.

James and Alisa in this challenge came up against issues ranging from the family-farm crisis to the environmental value of organic pears shipped across the globe. They reconsidered vegetarianism and sunk their hands into community gardening. As the world followed their adventure into local eating, the core values struck a far deeper chord than anyone could have imagined. Within weeks, reprints of their blog had appeared on sites across the internet and many media outlets, from the BBC to Utne magazine, took up their story. Dozens of individuals and grassroots groups have since launched their own 100-Mile Diet adventures. 100milediet.org

At the Ruddy Potato
The Ruddy Potato is an avid supporter of local buying and eating. Like many of our customers we were inspired by Alisa and James’ experiment and alarmed by the miles food now travels to grace our comfortable plates. We strive to offer our customers local choices for grocery products wherever we can find them. As an added bonus, local produce comes in at the peak of its freshness and nutritional value!

We started literally in our own back yard…

The Ruddy Potato Market Garden, now under cultivation on Sunset Road, is experimenting with growing food for use in the kitchen and to sell in the store. Using backyard spaces and environmentally sensitive small farming methods (like roof rain collection, and composting).

Widening the circle, The Ruddy sources as much as we can from other Bowen suppliers, both food producers and artisans:
• Bowen Butcher Shop
• Bowen Brook Farm
• Collinsia Farm
• Naked Soaps
• Tiny Bubbles Soaps
• Island Oasis Water Company
• Garden to Cottage

The harvest is abundant in the lower mainland during the fall season. The Ruddy stocks a variety of local fruits and vegetables from within a 100 mile radius.

Fall Season
Fall Season Vegetables: Beans, Beetroots, Brussel Sprouts, Chard, Cucumbers, Onions, Green Onions, Garlic, Kale,Lettuce, Mushrooms, Mustard Greens, Parsnips, Peppers, Potatoes, Pumpkins, Radishes, Salad Greens, Spinach, Squash, Garlic, Turnips, Tomatoes, Zucchini.

Fruit: Apples, Peaches, Pears, Melons.

Herbs: Basil, Cilantro, Dill, Fennel, Lemon Grass.

Later on in the season as we edge towards Christmas and New Year local seasonal vegetables become harder to buy. However at The Ruddy, we have a few staples to help you to continue to buy local.

Winter Season
Vegetables: Beans, Brussel Sprouts, cabbage, Carrots, Garlic, Kale, Leeks, Mushrooms, Onions, Peppers, Potatoes, Rutabagas, Squash, Fruit: Apples, Kiwis, Pears Herbs: Bay Leaves, Chervil, Cilantro, Rosemary, Sage, Thyme

Ref: Seasonal Chart from Eat Local: www.getlocalbc.org

We also support a variety of manufacturers and farms in the lower mainland:
• Olympic Yogurts
• Rabbit River Farm
• Avalon Dairy
• Myers Organic Farms, Alderwood
• Krause Berry Farms

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The Ruddy Potato Whole Foods Market in Village Square in Snug Cove
Box 308, Dorman Road, Bowen Island, BC, Canada V0N 1G0