Vendor Highlight: Via Foods

This week for Vendor Highlight we have a blog from Christiane of Alberta’s very own Via Foods!

Hi! We are Via Foods, makers of the Alberta-based ViaBar, from beautiful High River, Alberta.

We make a line of ten healthful, yummy energy/snack bars.

ViaBar is certified organic, gluten free, 100% vegan, and  high in Omega-3s and fibre from the raw seeds and other healthy ingredients we put in.

We are a family business, which started in 2009 when my husband Phil, an industrial electrician, was laid off and really didn’t want to leave the kids and work up north again. I (Christiane) am now privileged to run the business with my grown son, Michael.

Here are some ways we, at Via Foods, love limiting waste and staying sustainable:

• We cut up incoming ingredient sacks, using the paper to wrap our outgoing online store orders

•  We flatten and use the large boxes our crisp rice comes in as corners/sides when packing pallets for our larger shipments

• Incoming pallet slip sheets and covers are reused on outgoing pallets

• We use the large plastic bags inside our rice boxes as garbage bags and other wrapping/covers

• We recycle all cardboard and paper we can’t reuse, at our local recycling compound

• Any bits and pieces of product left over after making ViaBars are given to staff, family and friends to enjoy as a healthy cereal or snack (the happy recipients call these ViaChunks!)

• Our administrative staff jump in and work in production when needed, keeping the company lean, and resulting in a happy, close-knit staff

• Our business still operates out of our repurposed garage, basement and part of the main floor of our house (fully separated, inspected and certified of course!) using space that we already had, saving on heating, maintenance, building insurance and property taxes for the business

• Our multi-talented staff hand-build all of our wooden display racks in our own workshop

• We live as healthfully, positively and actively as we can, reducing trips to the doctor and the many other stresses and costs that come with less-than-optimum health

We’ve found that limiting waste is creative, fun and rewarding – these are just some ways we’ve found. Thank you for your interest in living more simply and sustainably!

Check out Via Foods at Spud.ca in Edmonton and Calgary!