In one of my (many) favourite moments on The Simpsons, Marge and Lisa are souvenir shopping in Australia. Marge saddles Lisa with the “Pobody’s Nerfect in Australia” hat, a sentiment that in her “Mom Jokes” book is pretty funny. (All these years later, the phrase actually does give me a giggle, causing me to realize that somehow, I have become Marge. I used to be Lisa.)
Where am I going with this?
The point of this piece is that nobody’s perfect (or, pobody’s nerfect, if you prefer). I’m not, you’re not, your neighbour isn’t, and even that mom who shows up at drop off with her hair done and a well-coordinated outfit isn’t perfect.
Why is that relevant when it comes to choosing what we eat? Eating well can be a challenge. A week’s worth of carefully planned meals end up uncooked when a flu bug hits the house. Aspirational vegetable purchases rot quietly in their assigned drawer in the fridge.
Planning, cooking and eating with intention is wonderful, and it’s how life ought to be lived. There is no greater joy than creating something from your kitchen that nourishes your loved ones, both in body and heart. Making meals or treats with your own hands is a form of expression, relaxation or creation. But real life is full of other joys, needs and socks that have to be washed.
We want to help make real life and real food easier. That’s why there are ready to eat meals, heat & eat pizzas and grab & go granola bars in our store, and they’re all made with great ingredients that are, themselves, recognizable as food. That’s why we partner with Best Food Forward for those nights when you can’t even. That’s why we belong with you, and you belong with us.
We have lives too. We go out with friends too, and completely disregard whatever was at home in the fridge. We get home at the end of the day and will supper to make itself (hasn’t happened yet but we’ll keep trying!) But nobody’s keeping score – the great part about being a human machine that needs fuel every day is that we get at least three choices every day about what we’re going to fuel ourselves with. If seven out of ten, or two out of three, are better choices, then we’ve done our job, and you’ve done yours.
So if you see us on the street, you don’t need to hustle away your paper takeout bag, or tidy up last night’s pizza box when we come over for delivery. We’re still going to cruise up to your house, fuzzy carrots dangling from our rear view mirror (they’re real, and they’re spectacular) and we’ll hand off the best tasting, most amazing foods this province has to offer. Thank you for choosing us. We’re immensely proud to be in your home.