Cleaning garden produce

We hope you've been lucky to find something fresh and delicious in the food share stand!

Before you taste, it's VERY important to properly clean all produce before chopping, cooking or eating. All items in the Food Share Stand have come straight out of the garden, and as such are NOT CLEANED. I always give my garden produce a little extra cleaning - over and above what I do with grocery store produce. Typically I use lots of water and a little soap.

For leafy greens and vegetables with lots of crevices (ie. cabbage, broccoli, kale), this means checking them over carefully for aphids and other insects and cleaning all the cracks very well. For rounder vegetables without so many hiding places (ie. tomatoes, zucchini) I typically give them a good rinse with water. I discard any areas that are bruised or damaged.

More information on proper preparation of fresh vegetables can be found on the Government of Canada website.