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Eat Local and Help Combat Venezuela’s Growing Humanitarian Crisis

“We have all these beautiful vegetables growing on the farm and the people in my home country are starving.” Blue House Organics Farm owner Alejandro J. Sucre. Photo credit: Calling Mountain Productions.

“We have all these beautiful vegetables growing on the farm and the people in my home country are starving.” 

 Blue House Organics Farm owner Alejandro J. Sucre. Photo credit: Calling Mountain Productions. Blue House Organics Farm owner Alejandro J. Sucre. Photo credit: Calling Mountain Productions.

Venezuela is in the grips of a colossal political, economic and humanitarian crisis. There are critical shortages of both food and medicine and helves in government stores are bare. To make matters worse, there has been little acknowledgement of the growing crisis by the Venezuelan government and no emergency appeals to authorize the shipment of food and medicine from international relief organizations.

 Photo credit: Calling Mountain Productions. Photo credit: Calling Mountain Productions.

Exhausted by the lack of aid being offered to their home country, Blue House Organics Farm owner Alejandro J. Sucre and Cacao co-owner and executive chef Jefferson Alvarez have decided to lend their hands, hearts and palates to a growing volunteer initiative that’s feeding Venezuelan youth.

Until the end of the growing season, Blue House Organics will donate $1 from every $20 harvest box of fresh vegetables to Full Belly, Happy Heart, a volunteer program led by several renowned South American chefs. The program operates a daily soup kitchen at the Hospital JM de Los Ríos for children in strife-torn Caracas, Venezuela.

 VFV Salad featuring Blue House Organics lettuce, kale, Swiss chard and cherry tomatoes, dressed with cacao nibs, berry scoby (kombucha culture) and chive oil. Salad will change with the crops as the farm heads into fall. Available until mid-October only.VFV Salad featuring Blue House Organics lettuce, kale, Swiss chard and cherry tomatoes, dressed with cacao nibs, berry scoby (kombucha culture) and chive oil. Salad will change with the crops as the farm heads into fall. Available until mid-October only.

Cacao, which was just nominated as one of the best new restaurants in Canada by enRoute magazine, will donate full proceeds from a featured dish on the restaurant’s menu that uses produce from Blue House Organics.

To contribute to their partnership and fundraising efforts, entitled Venezuelan Freedom Veggies, simply purchase a Blue House Organics harvest boxes or book a table at Cacao.

Blue House Organics harvest boxes are available to purchase online, at the farm-gate stand (8184 Pemberton Meadows Rd.) and the following farmers markets:

- Downtown Vancouver (Queen Elizabeth Theatre), Thurs., 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.

- Riley Park, Vancouver (30th Ave. and Ontario St.), Sat., 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

- Pemberton (Pemberton Community Barn), Fri. 3 p.m. to 6:30 p.m.

- Whistler (Blackcomb Mountain Base), Sun., 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.