Home
How
It Works
Browse
Catalog
Find
A Delivery Depot
Register
to Order
NOWBC
Co-op Membership
Volunteer
with NOW
Farms
& Suppliers
Contact
Us
About
Us
Newsletter
Sign Up
How It Works
OUR
FOOD
NOWBC
sources as much food as possible directly from local BC farms and
processors. Foods that are not grown in British Columbia NOWBC
will consider other ethical sources for, such as fair trade
chocolate or coffee. Links and biographies for many NOWBC
suppliers will be placed on our Farms &
Suppliers page over time.
HOW
TO ORDER
First,
find a club with a
delivery depot near you. Once you have found a club, fill out our
on-line registration form and place your order through our on-line
catalog. NOWBC posts an updated catalog on Friday each week with
foods available for the coming week. Orders
may be placed between Friday morning and Monday midnight each week
for delivery the following Wednesday or Thursday
(day
depends on the area of club delivery depot—see delivery
depot list).
TWO
WAYS TO GET STARTED
1)
Buy food without becoming a co-op member:
There
is a one-time $20 registration fee (as of March 3, 2009) charged
to new customers who are not co-op members. This must be paid with
your first order. This registration fee is refundable within 30
days from your first order if the service doesn't work out for
you. Registration fees may also be applied toward a membership if
you decide to become a member within 90 days of your first order.
Note: your registration fee will be automatically added to your
account and simply shown as a “previous balance” on
the first invoice that arrives with your food (though will not
show at the time of checkout).
2)
Buy food and become a member:
Membership
has benefits!
Becoming a member requires a $90 investment (9 membership shares),
which can be paid with weekly installments of just $10. The
registration fee is waived for co-op members. If you paid the
registration fee it can be be put toward your membership if you
choose to do so within 90 days of your first order. Membership is
an investment and is fully refundable should you in future decide
to redeem your shares.
WHERE
DO I PICKUP MY FOOD?
Food
is delivered via our bio-diesel delivery truck once a week to
neighbourhood depots (a NOWBC member's home in most cases) where
customers pick-up their orders. You will be asked to specify a
club # when you register. Each depot and the customers who pick-up
there make up a NOWBC club. Join a club by emailing the contact
listed in our delivery
depot list, the club 'host' will provide you with the exact
address and any other instructions on where to go. If you need any
assistance finding a club or getting in contact with a club host,
please contact
us here at NOWBC any time.
WHAT
TO EXPECT
When
you go to pick-up your food, you will find in most cases the
'delivery depot' is the front porch or back porch or car port (or
similar) of someone's home. The food arrives in boxes with each
item bagged in individual quantities, though orders are not
separated by person--the club's order comes all together. Bring a
grocery bag, pull out your invoice and collect each of your items
from the boxes of organic goodness. In some clubs, a member will
also volunteer to organize and separate all the items by order for
each club member. Have fun with it! And when you get the chance,
take the opportunity to meet your club host and/or other NOWBC
club members as you pick-up your groceries.
BOXES,
BOTTLES and BAGS
What
do I do with the boxes, bottles and bags NOWBC delivers food
in?
Delivery
boxes (cardboard) -
please
return boxes to the delivery depot for NOWBC to pick-up the next
week and re-use (especially waxed ones!)
Plastic
bags - please
compost
the
compostable plastic bags used for most produce. Please do
not return
compostable plastic bags for re-use. Plastic bags must be used is
some cases to ensure the food stays clean during delivery.
Orange
net bags - please
return net bags to the delivery depot for NOWBC to pick-up the
next week and re-use.
Avalon
bottles - milk
bottles can be returned to your delivery depot for pick-up the
next week. Please put a note on one of your bottles with your
name, number of bottles returned and the date. NOWBC will credit
your account with your deposit refund ($1 per bottle). Deposits
for any unmarked bottles returned will be credited to the club
host. Bottles can also be returned to any storefront that accepts
them and they will also refund your deposit.
HOW
DO I PAY?
Payment
is made to NOWBC and is appreciated on or before delivery day. You
have three options:
1)
On-line Bill Payment through your Credit Union:
On-line
bill payment through VanCity or any other BC credit union is
NOWBC's preferred method of payment. Log on to your credit union
account, go to the bill payment page and add 'NOWBC' or
'Neighbours Organic' as a payment vendor. You
will also need your account number,
this can be viewed by clicking on 'My Account' while logged into
our catalogue and will be on the invoice that arrives with your
food. When you place an order and select 'credit union online bill
payment' you will automatically be directed to a list of credit
union links for your convenience, though you must select the
vendor and enter the amount yourself, NOWBC is not directly linked
to your CU's web site.
2)
INTERAC Online:
This
option works for customers of BMO,
RBC, ScotiaBank and TD-Canada Trust.
Select this option when you check out your order and you will be
directed to your bank's online service to complete the payment.
Its fully integrated, meaning the details of the transaction are
passed to your bank. You can change the amount if you have an
outstanding balance or credit.
3)
Cheques:
You
may pay by cheque and deliver to NOWBC either by leaving it with
the club host (NOWBC will pick-up the following week) or mail to:
NOWBC Food
Co-op
145-1000 Parker St.
Vancouver,
BC V6A 2H2
QUESTIONS
ABOUT MY ORDER
Contact
us any time, though following are answers to a few common
questions. If you can't find an item, it is a good idea to first
check with your club host. Occasionally items are just hard to
find in the pile of food and your missing item ends up leftover at
the end of the night or two club members both report a mixup
(someone took the 1% instead of 2% milk and vice versa). If NOWBC
could not actually get an item (end of season, farm or supplier or
NOWBC inventory sold out early, supplier delivery was delayed,
crop was bad or other) you will see the item marked with an “NA”
or crossed out on your invoice and NOWBC will automatically record
a credit on your account. If an item is missing and not
marked
on your invoice, please contact
us. You can deduct any credits from the payment you make for
your order (or your next order if you've already paid for an item
that could not be delivered).