Barrie-based food delivery service offering Canadian-only option

Chapman’s Ice Cream company is entangled in the U.S.-Canada trade war, forced to find new suppliers after three decades.

A Barrie-based business that sources and delivers locally-produced food is seeing a surge in interest in light of the ongoing trade war between Canada and the United States.

Eat Impact was started by Anna Stegink in 2023. The company’s mantra is to work with local farmers and suppliers to use any surplus or imperfect produce as part of the meal boxes it delivers to its customers.

“[We] deliver to customers all over Simcoe County, York Region and the GTA,” Stegink tells CTV News. “The goal is reducing food waste and helping Canadians eat healthy and save money.”

As tensions have mounted between Canada and the United States in recent months over the imposition of tariffs from President Donald Trump, Stegink says she’s heard from multiple clients on wanting to support local.

“They were emailing us; they were calling us,” Stegink says. “They were saying we want to know where the produce is coming from and we want to buy local!”

Due to customer demand Eat Impact is now offering an all-Canadian produce box. While much of their product has always been sourced locally, Stegink says this new offering is meant to provide peace of mind to clients who want to support local.

“People are really seeing the value in supporting local and while we’ve always prioritized local farmers, we thought it was important to have a box for people that just wanted to support Canadian.”

Stegink, a former fertility nurse, launched Eat Impact during the height of the pandemic, at a time when many people were off work and looking to save money and eat healthy.

Much of the product they use is either considered surplus by suppliers or is not ideal for supermarkets but has no quality concerns.

“So every week [our suppliers] send us a list of what they have in surplus, and imperfect,” Stegink says. “We use that to create a selection for our customers. They can go in and customize their boxes. They choose exactly what they get every week, and we deliver to their door.”

The company typically has various produce and protein options available.