Community Meals
| Bowen Island Community Lunch | Community lunches are provided on the second and fourth Tuesdays of every month at the Bowen Island Legion from 11.30 – 1.00. You can get a delicious lunch made up of soup, bread, coffee and dessert for $5. The community lunch started as a collaboration between Caring Circle and SKY (Seniors Keeping Young) with the intention of facilitating social engagement among Bowen seniors. Caring Circle, Sky, Bowen Island Legion, Snug Cove House, and Bowen Island United Church take turns hosting the lunches and providing volunteers. The program is also supported by the Municipality and the Knick Knack Nook. Lunch is currently on hold due to Covid-19. |
| Bowen Island Legion 1265 Scarborough Rd, Bowen Island | The Bowen Island Legion provides regular community meals, as advertised at the Legion and on their social media pages. Meal prices range from free to $10 for members/$13 for non-members. Be sure to keep a lookout for special holiday meal events! |
Food Bank
| Bowen Island Food Bank | Food is available in the antechamber of the Bowen Island United Church on a 24/7 anonymous self-serve basis. For more information contact Sue Clarke at 604 947-2364. |
| Quest Food Exchange | Quest Food Exchange in North Vancouver collaborates with communities to ensure that clients can have a dignified shopping experience and access healthy and affordable grocery items, household items, and personal care products. All Individuals, including children and families, immigrants, refugees, seniors with limited financial resources, people on disability allowance and others who are consistently classified and meet the low income criteria qualify to obtain a Quest client card and be eligible to shop in a Quest not-for-profit grocery market. Located at 167 East 1st Street, North Vancouver. |
| Harvest Project | The Harvest Project’s on-site grocery store-like setting supplies clients and their families with groceries on a monthly basis. The emergency food program provides pre-packed bags of food for clients who are waiting to join the Client-Care Program, Emergency-Needs Clients, and for clients in transition from Harvest Project programs. Located at 1073 Roosevelt Crescent, North Vancouver. |
Garden
| Bowen Island Garden Club | The Bowen Island Garden Club’s mission is to promote the love of gardening and to encourage horticultural practices through education. Monthly meetings include presentations by gardening specialists who share their knowledge, experience and insights on a variety of topics. After each talk, a social gathering provides an opportunity for further discussion. Meetings are free for members, and $3 for non-members. |
| Bowen Island FoodResilience | Bowen Island FoodResilience Society (BIFS) envisions a thriving, place-based food ecosystem on Bowen Island. They support initiatives and methods that restore biodiversity and human-scale regenerative, local food production. The mission of Bowen Island FoodResilience Society (BIFS) is to build the skills, knowledge, networks and structures needed to create a healthy, resilient, community-based food system on the island. For more information, contact Shasta Martinuk at 604-947-2283. |
| Bowenworx | Bowenworx is a Bowen Island business that assists with garden and equipment maintenance tasks. Bowenworx offers ongoing, regularly scheduled garden and property maintenance. Services include lawn mowing, weeding, pruning, and trimming. |
| Bowen Island Green Resource Guide | Bowen in Transition (BIT) created the Bowen Green Guide to build a stronger, more resilient community. The list of resources include gardening and landscaping information as well as locations to buy organic food on Bowen. |
Grocery Shopping
| The Ruddy Potato Whole Foods Market | Bowen Island’s Ruddy Potato Market in Village Square, Snug Cove offers fresh produce, meats, and grocery, bakery, dairy, deli and health and beauty items. Open seven days a week, they offer healthy, organic groceries and treats. Including ready-to-go dinners made fresh daily in their kitchen. |
| Snug Cove General Store 471 Bowen Island Trunk Rd | Open daily, the General Store is located right in the heart of Snug Cove. They sell fresh meat, produce, and a variety of grocery products. |
| Alderwood Farm | Providing sustainable local and fresh foods, Alderwood Farm on Bowen Island offers a selection of “made in house” items like sweet & savory pies, ready-made entrees and appetizers, quiches, specialty pizzas, soups, dressings and desserts. With vegan and vegetarian options available. They also carry free-range farm eggs, condiments, teas, tinctures, tonics, and more. |
Market
| Bowen Island Farmers’ Market | The Bowen Island Farmers’ Market is 10am-12pm most Saturdays at BICS, 1041 Mount Gardner Road. Check the Facebook page for updated dates/times. You can buy fresh produce from local farms and gardens as well as homemade jams, baked goods, preserves, coffee, garden crafts, tea, seedlings, herbs, buskers and more! The Farmers Markets sales are a Bowen Island Agricultural Alliance (BAA) initiative that supports local food, farmers, and gardeners of all ages. |
| Home Farm | The Home Farm team on Bowen Island grows produce using organic permaculture principles. Animals are raised with the same care and attention to their welfare. It is a mixed farm with a market garden and greenhouse, sheep, chickens, and pigs, along with donkeys and ponies. Produce is grown organically and starts in the Market Garden in April with radishes and kale and ends in October with the last of our tomatoes and squash. Home Farm’s “Farm Gate” stall is open 24/7 and is stocked with farm fresh eggs, seasonal produce, and a freezer full of sausage. |
| Artisan Farmers’ Markets | The Artisan Farmers Market Society has two locations on the North Shore: Ambleside Park and the Lonsdale Quay. Market offerings include fresh locally grown produce, delicious baked goods and nifty crafts created by local growers, bakers and crafters. Lonsdale Quay on Saturdays from 10am to 3pm, May through October. Ambleside Park on Sundays from 10am to 3pm, May through October. |
Meal Delivery
| Better Meals | A Snug Cove House program providing highly nutritious meals made by Better Meals and delivered weekly by Bowen volunteers. Menus are available at the Pharmacy and online at Better Meals. For information contact Sue Ritchie at 604-947–0225 or email at sueritchie@telus.net. Orders are taken every 2nd and 4th Tuesday of the month and deliveries are on the 2nd and 4th Thursdays. The program is very flexible and there is no minimum order or delivery charge. |
| Food On Bowen | Bowen resident, Guillermo, provides Restaurant Food Delivery from Bowen restaurants on his bicycle. Food On Bowen is meant to save you a trip to the cove and keep you safe and comfy in your home. |
| SPUD.ca | SPUD.ca is a Vancouver grocery delivery service. Their groceries are sourced directly from producers and farmers. The site offers service to the Vancouver area, including Bowen Island. Delivery is every Monday, Tuesday, Thursday (delivery free for orders over $100) Saturday and Sunday (free delivery) . |
| Fresh Street Market | Shop online with Fresh Street Market and have your order delivered from the West Vancouver store. Delivery available every Tues/Wed/Thurs/Fri/Sun, choose your delivery time through the online shopping website. Delivery fee is $10.49. |
| Stong’s Market | Stong’s is a full-service grocery store, established in 1931 in Vancouver, they are 100% BC owned and operated. Weekly delivery options to Bowen every Monday and Thursday. There is a delivery fee of $14.99 |
Meal Preparation Support
| Good Food | A meal kit delivery subscription service, with a variety of meal plans that include ingredients already portioned and ready for cooking. Prices start at $9 per portion. Delivery days are Wednesdays and Fridays. |
| Nurse Next Door | Nurse Next Door provides in-home cooking for seniors, in addition to home care services. Their team can provide thoughtful in-home cooking services for seniors to ensure an enjoyable culinary experience at every meal. As part of Nurse Next Door’s meals for seniors services, your caregiver will also handle grocery shopping or accompany you on your daily errands. |
Nutrition
| Bowen Island Wellness Centre | Bowen Island Wellness Centre’s commitment to supporting the maintenance of ongoing health and wellbeing includes offering nutritional therapy and nutritional consultations. Schedule a nutritional assessment with Heidi Mather, a registered nutritionist, to learn which foods and nutrients are most beneficial to your body and your unique health, and receive a dietary plan. |
| Vancouver Nutritionist | Rich Ralph is a Registered Holistic Nutritionists (RHNs) who is trained in Natural Nutrition and complementary therapies. The principal function of a RHN is to educate individuals and groups about the benefits and health impact of optimal nutrition. He is available for by appointment only for consultations in Snug Cove. |
| Vaz Wellness | Natasha Vaz is a Culinary Nutritionist on Bowen Island who helps people integrate healthy foods into their diet. Whether you’re trying to go gluten-free, dairy free, vegetarian, or just want to eat healthier, Natasha can help you plan a tasty and healthy menu. |
| Healthy Eating for Seniors Handbook | This BC government resource provides information about food, meals, and supplements. It gives tips on how to eat to prevent or manage common chronic diseases, as well as providing advice on how to read labels and how to maintain a healthy body weight. You can find the handbook online, or order a free printed copy. |
| HealthLink’s Contact a Registered Dietitian | For free nutrition information you can trust, email a HealthLink BC Dietitian to get answers to your non-emergency nutrition and food questions. Dietitian Services at HealthLink BC are available online and by telephone to answer your diet and nutrition-related questions. You can learn about topics diabetes, heart health, cancer, food allergies, and more. If you need more information or counselling, dietitians can direct you to outpatient dietitians, community nutritionists or other services in your community. |
| Canada’s Food Guide | Information on health and nutrition from the Government of Canada. Resources, tips, and recipes to make good food choices and develop healthy eating habits. Browse the online resources or subscribe for email updates. |
Workshops
| Bowen Island Garden Club | Occasionally offers workshops with gardening experts on a topic identified by the members or suggested by one of the speakers. These workshops provide participants with added knowledge of a topic and/or hands on experience with gardening techniques. Example topics include: Primula Workshop, Christmas Wreath Making, and Growing Vegetables with Organic Soil. |
| BC Centre for Disease Control’s Food Skills for Families | Programs include Cooking For the Active Senior, a program designed for seniors that focuses on eating well and staying active for overall great health. Recipes are included in the programs and available on their website. |
| Seniors’ Health and Wellness Institute (COSCO) Workshops | Healthy Living workshops include Healthy Eating for Seniors, a workshop on how to use Canada’s revised Food Guide and food labels to make healthy food choices. Book a free group workshop and a trained volunteer, who is also a senior, presents practical and usable information. To book a workshop, contact: ws_coord@coscoworkshops.org |