VG Blog

The Victoria Day weekend is here and we’ll be honest...the weather isn’t awesome right now. Who ordered this grey, damp long weekend?! (It wasn’t us.) Sure, it’s not ideal but summer will be here soon and when that sunshine hits Southern Ontario, we’ll be ready to enjoy it!

A mother has always worn many hats but over the last few months, she’s taken on more roles than ever: mother, household manager, homeschool teacher, good neighbour, partner, friend, volunteer and more. Some new moms have had to dive into parenting without the support of their village around them. Many grandparents are missing their grandkids and other family members. Our hearts go out to everyone who is working hard, making sacrifices and giving their all to their families. You’re incredible!

If you’re a mom (or a dad), you’ve probably cooked a LOT of meals lately. With thousands of kids home from school, there seems to be a never-ending stream of snack requests in every house across Canada. How many meals can one kid eat in a day?! The answer is hundreds. (We have kids - we get it.)

Moms are used to balancing a lot of things but lately, that need has been kicked into overdrive. Worker, childcare provider, household manager, homeschool teacher, family chef and crisis navigator - they’re doing it all and then some. With that in mind, we’d like to put it out there that Mother’s Day is juuuuuuust around the corner (it’s on May 10th this year, which is next weekend). Yes, we can see it on the horizon, and it’s time to get planning! Here are a few ideas from our team.

The last few weeks have introduced us to quite a few new faces (or emails and voices on the phone, at least!) as our home delivery service keeps booming. We’re glad for this new business and of course, always happy to hear from our longtime customers and friends. Please bear with us as we continue to make improvements, increase efficiencies and reply to your questions! It’s a busy time, but we are committed to serving you well.

VG Meats has always strived to offer exceptional products made here in Ontario at great value. As a family business with close ties to our community, we care about what we put out there and can stand by our good work. As the current situation with Covid-19 has created an increased demand for online delivery, we’ve dedicated ourselves to making improvements: more selection online, more buying options and faster delivery. You may have noticed some changes to our website over the past week - here’s a brief overview of what we’ve done and why. 

Hillview Farm is looking for a partner to produce vegetables and/or flowers on our land. Part of the VG Meats family business, Hillview is a regenerative cow-calf farm located in Cayuga, Ontario. We utilize sustainable agriculture practices and are working toward becoming a verified regenerative farm.

Easter weekend is here and while these are unique times, we hope you’re still able to celebrate and enjoy the holiday. Families may not be able to physically gather with those outside of their household, but we can all find a way to connect using technology like FaceTime, WhatsApp or other video chat options. You can even make a good old fashioned phone call!

No matter what your family does this weekend, we hope you find a way to establish a sense of togetherness and enjoy the day. Plus - a delicious turkey or ham dinner can really help you achieve that traditional Easter feeling!

Hello friends and neighbours! We hope you’re all doing well and remaining healthy during this unique and challenging time. As you likely know, things have been very busy at VG Meats as we continue to operate in order to help feed our community. We’ve implemented additional cleaning and sanitation procedures in response to Covid-19 (read about that here, if you missed it) and are doing our best to keep up with increased demand. As this is an evolving situation, we wanted to share a few timely updates to keep our customers informed. Thanks for reading, and let us know if you have any questions!

Your delivery may be delayed

Delivery requests through VGFarmtoCity.ca are booming as many customers are choosing to stay healthy by staying home. Our team is working hard to get deliveries out as quickly as possible, but some orders may be delayed between two and four days due to high volume. Thank you for your patience and understanding - we are doing our best to minimize these wait times and get those deliveries out ASAP!

We’re adding to our team!

In order to keep up with demand, we’re adding to our team. All applicants must be qualified and meet strict Covid-19 screenings (no symptoms, no recent travel, a willingness to closely adhere to self distancing guidelines and cleaning/sanitation practices). Please visit our careers page to learn more about this opportunity.

Our Stoney Creek store will be closed on Monday, March 30th

In order to facilitate a full restock of the store, our retail location in Stoney Creek will be closed on Monday, March 30th. The stores will be given an extra deep clean and restocked at this time. You can continue to order online via VGFarmtoCity.ca or visit us in store after this date. Please note that we have modified hours at this time to allow for extra cleaning and sanitizing measures. 

Thanks again for your patience and positivity. Stay healthy, and please call or message us on Facebook if you have any questions!

With the COVID-19 situation leading to increasing preventative measures across Canada and around the world, it’s been an unusual and somewhat stressful week for many of our customers. There’s been a lot of information and emotion to process, particularly when the news began to hit closer to home. Many of us have had to make work-related adjustments and now, it’s been confirmed that children in Ontario will be off school for the next three weeks. It’s definitely not “business as usual” for Ontarians, but that said, we’re glad that this health crisis is being handled swiftly and that these precautions are being taken. It may be a challenging month ahead, but in the long run, we believe this too shall pass.

Safety is always our priority

As a food producer, we have always been extremely diligent about food safety, frequent handwashing, sanitation and other matters that contribute to public health. We have long-standing routines that exceed the minimum standard, and in recent days, we’re increased those measures even further. For example, in addition to the usual cleaning and sanitization routines we practice on the farm, in our plant and in our retail stores, we are now sanitizing surfaces every half hour. This includes the entire retail store kitchen and food prep area as well as counters and other surfaces on the customer-facing side. We’re sanitizing fridge and freezer doors, the entrance to our store, the cash register area and other high-touch or high traffic areas.

Our team has always worn gloves while handling food and it is normal for us to practice thorough hand washing and sanitizing routines. We will continue to make this a priority during the COVID-19 situation and beyond, as cleanliness is a cornerstone of our business. In short, your safety has always mattered to us, and we are proud to offer cleanliness you can trust.

Avoiding stores? We can deliver.

If you want to shop in store, we’d be happy to see you - we’ve taken all the necessary precautions and then some, and we’re confident that our cleaning practices will exceed your expectations. That said, we understand the stress this situation is creating for many people and are happy to provide home delivery that employs the same stringent cleaning and sanitation routines. If you’re choosing to avoid crowds or public spaces, please consider placing an order online at VGFarmtoCity.ca. We are pleased to offer home delivery to over 55 locations across Southern Ontario. We have implemented additional handwashing and hand sanitization processes with our delivery team. We can hand deliver your order or simply leave it on your porch - whatever you’re most comfortable with. Please feel free to call us at the store if you have any questions - we’d be happy to help!

Remember: it’s going to be ok.

The main message we want to get across here today is that things are going to be ok. Times may feel uncertain, but this situation is temporary. When it comes down to it, we’re very privileged to live in a country where we have the resources to identify the illness in individuals and take adequate precautions. We have a community that cares for one another, and that’s invaluable. Let’s try to remember this on days we feel frustrated - while it’s a strange time in many ways, there is much reason to feel gratitude and hope.

Thanks for reading, and all the best from the entire VG Meats team.

There have been a few exciting things happening behind the scenes at VG Meats, and we wanted to take this opportunity to fill you all in on some news. If you follow us on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram, you may already know - but in case you missed it, here we go again: VG Meats is pleased to announce that our Stoney Creek location now offers great products from our friends at Rowe Farms!