Saskatoon’s Good Food Junction could soon be $50,000 dollars richer if it places first in an online fundraising competition.
The food cooperative is locked in a dead heat with two other local non-profit organizations in Affinity Credit Union’s Business for Good Social Venture Challenge.
Whoever gains the most support with a new initiative takes the $50,000 dollar prize.
The Good Food Junction’s entry in the competition is a new ready-made meals program.
Good Food Junction board member Audra Krueger says everyone wins in the challenge because each organization gets to keep the money it has raised.
“It’s really there are no losers in this competition because for us we saw it as a way to reconnect with the co-op’s membership, the Good Food Junction’s membership, and other supporters, right, to get them reengaged and remind them about the store,” she says.
Former La Ronge resident Jenni Willems is Station 20 West’s new in-house chef handling the ready-made meals program.
She says the idea behind the initiative is to provide inner city residents with easy access to meals that are both nutritious and affordable.
“Not everybody has a kitchen, not everybody has a pot and pan and a nice oven,” she says.
The two other competitors in the challenge are the Saskatchewan Environmental Society and Bridge City Bicycle Cooperative Bicycle Shop.
The overall winner will be chosen based on a combination of total money raised and number of supporters.
The Good Food Junction is holding a special public tasting preview of its ready-made meals program Friday evening between 4 p.m. to 5 p.m.