Village News

You are what you eat, but you’re also what you drink, too. If you’re like us, you’ve probably begun to focus more on your nutrition and detox since the lack of going outdoors the past year. Green juices, which are commonly made from a variety of green vegetables and fruits such as green apple, celery, cucumber, lemon kale ginger, and other ingredients as desired, have numerous health benefits such as increased energy levels, reduced heart disease risk, inflammation, nicer breath, weight loss, and clear skin, to name a few. If you prefer to buy green juices rather than prepare them yourself, we’ve curated a selection of 15 of the best green juice brands in Toronto to pick from. Village Juicery serves cold-pressed drinks made with only certified organic ingredients and processed without the use of UV light, heat, pressure, or any other preservatives. They provide an excellent range of alternatives, including cleansing bottles, booster shots, breakfast jars, kombucha, and salads. If you are having a long and dull day, you can try out their Booster shots to have an energetic and active day.   To read the full article, visit: Toronto Blogs

Dear Community, As we approach the end of this crazy year, we wanted to take a moment to reflect on 2020, and reinforce our commitment to you and our mission despite the uncertain road ahead. 2020 has been a rollercoaster. It has forced us to change and adapt in ways we could never have predicted. Many of our shops remain locked down and almost half of our wholesale partners have shut their doors. A constant barrage of opening, closing, and retrofitting. New processes. Temporary layoffs. Changing schedules. While at times it has been emotionally exhausting, the truth is that our team has accomplished so much and we’ve never felt so inspired to drive our mission.   The inspiration comes from three lessons that this experience has taught us: The importance of high integrity foods. Through this crisis we’ve seen incredible demand for our products. Many looked to us for nourishment as they focused on their immune system and craved healthier foods. We know this is a privilege for many, but this is where it starts. Real food that is made closer to home, by real people, with real ingredients. Food made from plants, in sustainable and organic ways. The future needs more of these options, not less.  We recognized this need early and responded by donating over 1,000 meals to our frontline healthcare workers and teachers. We pivoted online to make our products more accessible and delivered them to over 6,000 homes directly. Small, local businesses are the best place to get them. We all miss the local shops that we’ve lost in our communities. Places where owners are present and invested in the vibrancy of their city. Places where patrons, team-members, suppliers, and the environment are treated like neighbors. Not only do these businesses support healthy communities, but almost always have outright better products and services than their big box substitutes. Small businesses like ours are a critical part of a healthy social fabric. The importance, strength and diversity of our team. Our team has carried us through this crisis and has persevered through plenty of difficulty and turbulence. 2020 taught us to appreciate each other and listen to more voices. We’re requesting feedback more often, measuring diversity in new ways, and doing our best to raise wages at all levels despite the environment we’re facing. We’re proud that our leadership team is 50% BIPOC and 50% women, and committed to making sure this never goes unnoticed again.    While these lessons and inspiration feel great to talk about, they would be nothing without the actions that they bring; We are committing to opening at least 5 new stores in Ontario by 2022. More communities need access to high integrity food, and we are inspired to reach them.  We are committing to making more employees owners in our business. This year we rolled out an employee ownership program and will continue to include more of our team to participate as owners in our business. We are launching a new line of products  tailored to support our local restaurant and bar partners - so that they can come back stronger than ever when the time is right. In all of this, we will never stray from our 3 core values: 1) Always Fresh 2) Nutrition First and 3) Our Commitment to sustainability and community   So as we roll into this holiday season, we just want to say thank you to all of you for standing by us. For ordering online or waiting outside our doors to get in. To our partners and our team, we appreciate you all more than we have the words to say.   Despite this crazy year, we’re here to stay and look forward to continuing to serve healthier options to our community in 2021 and beyond.   In Health, Omar and Tyler

We're thrilled to announce our expansion into Farm Boy Inc. stores. We have three locations planned together - Newmarket (Now Open), Yonge & Soudan (Fall 2020) and Bathurst & Front (Early 2021). #itsallaboutthefood Click here to learn more!

We’re excited to announce our investment in Tori's Bakeshop, the best organic & plant-based bakery in Toronto. Keep an eye out for these incredible fresh goodies in our shops and retail partners around Southern Ontario. #ALWAYSFRESH Click here to learn more!

Today we stand with those opposing the injustices happening to Black People and are doing our best to ensure that our support is more than surface level. Here’s what we’re doing: For those of us who have it, acknowledging our privilege Committing to learning more about racial injustice in Canada and around the world Checking in with the Black People around us, especially our teammates Making donations to 3 organizations selected by our team Finding ways to make our support lasting and systemic “If you are neutral in situations of injustice, you have chosen the side of the oppressor” Desmond Tutu

Dear Patrons, We wanted to take a moment to express our care and gratitude for all of you, and to let you know the precautions we are taking considering the latest developments in COVID-19 information. Our priority remains to ensure the health and wellness of all patrons and staff while maintaining our commitment to producing the highest quality, organic juices and foods that support a healthy immune system and overall healthy lifestyle. In our retail stores we are taking the following precautions: We have stopped the use of dine-in dishes and cups as well as reusable mugs, using only recyclable or compostable take-away containers Enacted protocols to sanitize all high contact areas such as door and fridge handles and high-traffic countertops on an hourly basis Instructed staff to stay home at any sign of illness, symptoms of COVID-19 or recent travel to medium or high-risk areas. We will do our best to maintain normal operations during this time, but as a result you may see some gaps in our operating hours as we assess and address these issues in real-time. We apologize for any inconvenience this causes. To further reduce the risk of transmission in our stores and production facility, effective immediately, we will no longer accept cash payments OR used glass bottles and jars for return and reuse. We will restart these programs as soon as enough information becomes available to ensure that it does not create undue risk. At our production facility, we are adhering strictly to our daily sanitization schedules and preventative control measures defined by our Food Safety Program. We are complying with all the guidance available from the CFIA, CDC and other health professionals. We have increased our frequency of sanitation in high risk areas and our staff are trained to high levels of personal hygiene and uniform. Our production and distribution teams have also been instructed to stay home at any sign of illness, symptoms of COVID-19 or recent travel to medium or high-risk areas. As members of the communities that our stores are in, we also feel the stress of the current environment, and want to do everything in our power to mitigate risk, while also continuing to contribute to the health and wellness of our community. Wishing all of you and your loved ones good health during these stressful times and beyond. Sincerely,  Village Juicery

Over the past months, our inbox has been filled with an unprecedented number of questions about the nature, composition and longevity of our products. We recognize that our industry is changing, and that some brands - local and abroad - have created confusion by using words like raw or unpasteurized despite implementing mass-market technologies that extend shelf life and broaden the reach of their product. Products like these have a place - but this is not us! So we wanted to set the record straight. In 2014, at the outset of this journey, we set 3 key values in stone. Today, we want to clarify and reaffirm these commitments to each of you.   COMMITMENT 1: EVERY DAY FRESH Each of our refrigerated products is made in-house every single day. 363 days per year at our central kitchen at the border of Toronto & Mississauga. Our products are truly raw and unprocessed - No UV light, No pressure, No heat - NOTHING! Fresh organic fruits and vegetables are pressed every night, refrigerated and brought to our stores and partners overnight and in the early morning. Our shelf life ranges from 2 to 7 days depending on the product and recipe. There is no difference between the product in our own stores, and the ones found at our very much loved partners around the GTA.   COMMITMENT 2: NUTRITION FIRST Our mission is to improve the health of our community by making raw, organic plant-based nutrition available across the city. We only use organic inputs. We are the first (and by our count the only) certified organic raw juicery in Toronto. Over 40 of our products are certified organic. All of our recipes are developed by our team of nutritionists and then made in-house. No scientists. No food labs. No contractors. Only what we would be proud to feed our young families. All of our stores are staffed by a holistic nutritionist at all times to that you have informed answers to your questions.   COMMITMENT 3: SUSTAINABILITY & COMMUNITY We view the health of the earth and environment as directly linked to the health of our community. Our entire operation diverts 100% of our waste from landfill, here’s how: Using only reusable or biodegradable food packaging Composting all of our organic produce leftovers at a local farm Processing all other waste using Waste Incineration Technology Our goal is to use zero plastic packaging - right now our caps are the only plastic packaging used, we’re working on it! Each year, we proudly support 60+ organizations who are making positive contributions in the neighbourhoods we serve.

For this Be a Villager series, we sit down with our good friend Jenna, the artist behind Village Juicery’s Summer 2015 seasonal bottle, fitness model and a truly inspirational entrepreneur. VJ: Tell us how you got to be an artist? JC: I was always an artist, I think. Since I was very little, I was cutting up my clothes and wearing them differently. When I was in university, I started painting. I made my first commission at 21 years old. I got very little for it, but it hit me: I can do this for a living. My first exhibit was at the Gladstone six or seven years ago. Then, I got involved in chalk art and that’s what I mostly do now. I work with restaurants, cafes and offices. It’s a great niche for me. I still paint, but I mostly paint for myself. VJ: What’s it like to be an artist in 2015? JC: There’s a stigma that it’s a solitary profession, but it’s not. I get to interact with so many different people. Like when I’m out doing something for a restaurant, I’m meeting their whole team and getting to know the ins and outs of the city. VJ: Where do you get your inspiration? JC: Other artists, mostly. I see art everywhere – graffiti, street art. Travelling is a major source of inspiration. I’ve also surrounded myself with creative people. We feed off each other. Toronto is a pretty creative place – you just can’t avoid it. VJ: Do you consider yourself to be an entrepreneur? JC: I do. I’m overly optimistic all the time. I have a pretty positive mindset. There are times when I think: When is my next job going to come? But it does. I think there are so many ways to be an entrepreneur these days. What I love most is having control over my day. And, when I create things, it makes me happy to see my clients happy. VJ: You are a very optimistic person. What is happiness to you? JC: Happiness is your relationships with other people and your relationship with yourself. I know for me, I’m constantly working on myself – self development is very important to me. I feel happiest when I go to bed exhausted. You know, that really good exhaustion at the end of the day. VJ: You’re also a fitness model. How did you get involved in that? JC: I guess you can say I developed a health obsession. I started running, got into yoga, got certified and taught for a couple of years. I then met another fitness model named Lauren and went to one of her shows. I remember thinking all the women looked so healthy; they really inspired me.  Lauren took me under her wing. She introduced me to lots of people and that’s how I fell into it. It was just a natural progression. I’ve done six shows over three to four years. I’m planning on training for one in September with an organization called SAF(Serious About Fitness) based out of Ottawa. They’re about training healthy and clean and do a lot of drug testing. It will be my first competition in two years. I’m really excited about it. VJ: Is living a healthy lifestyle important to you? JC: Yes, I think it’s important to be active and have a well-balanced lifestyle. I eat mostly vegetarian, but mainly for ethical reasons. I know protein is good for me, so If I do eat meat it’s free-range chicken. VJ: What is a healthy body image? JC: I think it’s what feels good for you. For me, I feel my best when I’m lean and muscular. I can run faster and feel lighter. But then there are times when I’m curvy and that makes me feel great, too. I think if you close your eyes and you feel good, that’s what a healthy body image is about. VJ: Who is your mentor? JC: My parents and my sister; they’re my support system. I would say some really good friends are my mentors as well as different men and women in heath and fitness industry who have made a lifelong commitment to health. In the artists world, I follow Dana Tanamachi. She’s a chalkboard artist in Brooklyn. She’s inspired me to start this. VJ: Where do you see yourself in two years? JC: I want to be doing big pieces of work like large-scale walls, either with chalk or paint. What I love about what I did with Village Juicery is that it gets into a lot of people’s hands. It’s so cool to see. VJ: What is your BHAG (Big Hairy Audacious Goal)? JC: I want to use my art to do something that’s important. I’m passionate about animals and ethical treatment. I want to combine art with some sort of activism and social movement. VJ: We can’t end this interview without talking about your hair. Would you consider your hair as part of your identity? JC: Yeah it is. It makes me unique. And it’s only been in the last five years I’ve grown to love it. I used to do everything to change it – straighten it, add in extensions. I remember in the sixth grade, I used to cry every morning, but I guess it was the combination of the hair and the braces. It took me 20 years to figure it out! VJ: Name five things you can’t live without: JC: Music, my running shoes, my hands, a big blank wall, and of course, my mousse. VJ: What’s your favourite juice? JC: All the nut milks. And whatever’s in the seasonal bottle (wink, wink).  

As the community manager at Village Juicery, Jessica plays many roles; she manages the 540 College St location, curates products for the store, provides nutritional advice as an in-house nutritionist and builds relationships with other health-minded people and businesses in Toronto. In this Be a Villager, we get to know the person behind the counter and learn more about her passion for holistic nutrition and what it’s like to call Toronto home. VJ: How did you get interested in holistic nutrition? JL: Nutrition is the way I found myself. I was working at a media distribution company right after I graduated university. The job was a wonderful learning experience, but it wasn’t my passion. At the time, I weighed 190 lbs and was was going through depression. I thought to myself, “I should either see a personal trainer or a therapist,” and I went with a personal trainer. Through my weight loss experience, I became very connected with food – and increasingly aware about what I put into my body and where it came from. That’s when I started to seriously look into nutrition. That summer, I enrolled at the Institute of Holistic Nutrition and I started school in the fall. I began taking courses part time and while continuing to work at the media company. But I soon realized that I wanted to find more meaningful work. I took a leap of faith, quit my job and went to school full-time to fast track. I haven’t looked back since. VJ: You moved around a lot growing up. How has that shaped who you are? JL: I did grow up in different places, and continents. My father owned a shoe company so he was involved in the import and export business. I was raised in Czech Republic, Poland, Slovakia and Italy. In high school, we moved to Hong Kong for my mothers’s job. I’m very grateful to have become so culturally diverse, and it was great to have entrepreneurial parents exploring the world with me – they’ve definitely inspired me. However, moving around so much left me feeling pretty fragmented. I didn’t really know what home truly meant. I always had a connection to Toronto – I was born here – so I thought I would try my hand in living in this wonderful city and connecting to my roots. VJ: Would you say you found home? JL: I’d say so. I think you make the best out of every opportunity. Here, I’ve met a lot of inspiring people and made meaningful friendships. Toronto helped me find my passion and niche, and I’m thankful for that. VJ: Since we’re on the topic of the city. What are some of your favourite places to go? JL: That’s a hard question! I like Early Bird for coffee and to read; Trinity Bellwoods to walk Romeo, my roommate’s dog; Kensington Market, especially Hibiscus and Essence of Life for my essentials… and I’m addicted to Barreworks classes – they keep me sane. VJ: Switching back to nutrition, you started Food Conservateur. What does it stand for? JL: Conservateur translates to ‘preservatives’ in French. A food conservateur is term I created to describe someone who’s concerned with the tactics used by the food industry to remove food from its natural state. I’m a big advocate of whole foods, not over-processed, and finding a qualitarian approach to nourishing the body. Nutrition is the foundation of my transformation, and I hope to inspire other people through my career.VJ: There’s a lot of talk about whole foods and getting back to our roots, is this where you see the holistic nutrition industry heading? JL: I think there’s a definitely a revolution in terms of self-care. The health food industry is taking off and what I mean by that is there’s more accessibility to and awareness of healthier choices. I think people are turning to food as a method of healing – it’s playing a much bigger role than just consumption. VJ: Where do you see yourself in five years? JL: I want to keep helping people achieve optimal health and do so in a way that is genuine for me. Because I went through a weight loss experience, I want to guide others through healthy detoxification and weight loss programs. I also want to be able to practice what I preach and embody a healthy work-life balance as I see my career grow. VJ: What’s your favourite juice? JL: On any regular day, it’s a Be Clean, but I have days where I gravitate towards a Be Calm.

In this instalment of our #BeAVillager series, we go back to the beginning with our first hire, Karen Parucha, marketing manager, leader and most importantly, our voice to the outside world. VJ: How did you get involved with Village Juicery? KP: Sometime around the summer of 2014 I started to have an existential crisis. I was working a corporate job, travelling for work a lot and getting more serious about yoga, but it wasn’t adding up. I started to realize that I simply wasn’t happy and I needed to make a change. So I left the corporate world, shifted my focus to teaching more yoga and began searching for something I could be truly passionate about. When I met with the founders of Village Juicery, I found a common passion for entrepreneurship and was drawn to contributing to something positive from the start. It was a risk, but I wanted to see what it was all about. I wasn’t super into juicing at the time but my family always had a deeper connection with food and it felt like the right path for me. VJ: You mention your family’s connection with food, tell us more about that?   KP: I come from a long line of farmers in the Philippines. But they slowly sold land to pay for education and to create opportunity for the next generation. When I was five, my parents made the final move to Canada to give me and my brother a chance for a better life. We packed up our things, said goodbye to our pet goat and made the move. Growing up in Toronto, I was still raised with the idea that food is community and you always share what you have. It’s something that has stuck with me. VJ: You mention happiness a lot, what does happiness mean to you? KP: That’s a tough question. To me, happiness is a better understanding of your Self (emphasize: capital S). It’s when there is harmony between what you think, what you say and what you do, including what you put in your body and you who surround yourself with. I feel a little obliged to pursue this path of Self-discovery, given the sacrifice my family made to give me the chance to achieve it. I think that’s why I love yoga, it helps me keep my balance. VJ: Are you happy? KP: Absolutely. Every day I wake up and do the things I think are important and that I love. I connect with new and amazing people every day, and never leave the house without a purpose I believe in. It certainly comes with sacrifice, but yes, I am. VJ: So you teach, practice and study yoga, what’s the grand plan?   KP: Trying to keep a regular practice and work at a startup is hard, but it gives me focus and energy to continue my day. I teach about four times a week and I just started pursuing certification in yoga therapy. Ultimately, I think of yoga as my craft, something I use to communicate with others, that I will always be working on the side, trying to improve. VJ: Switching gears, tell us more about where we can find you on the weekend? KP: On the rare weekend day when I’m not working, I’m almost always found in the west end. Yoga studios, local shops or definitely in High Park with Clinton. VJ: Who is Clinton? KP: Clinton is a two-year-old Bernadoodle beast I got with my ex boyfriend. I have him whenever he’s not in town, which works fine for me; I get to be the fun parent. He’s about 100 pounds, but he thinks he’s a lap dog.  Yes I know, “who’s walking who,” I get it! He’s the most loveable dog and is the first to get other dogs to play. He only operates in two speeds: either go-go-go or passed out – just like me. VJ: What do you love most about your job? KP: For me it’s all about the people I connect with at Village Juicery – at our many amazing wholesalers, or for things like this #BeAVillager series, where I meet entrepreneurs who are so passionate about their craft. I also get to connect with like-minded people online and through social media who love our brand and are so excited to share their experiences with others. The passion and energy that comes from working at a startup fuels me. No two days are alike, working at a desk is seldom, and I’m constantly brainstorming the next set of ideas. VJ: How does your voice change when you’re speaking on behalf of Village Juicery? KP: It’s definitely still me behind the counter or at the keyboard, but I think the best way to describe it is it’s a really good, confident friend. Someone who has something to share with you, but won’t judge you for all the rest. It’s authentic, that’s what I think we’re trying to do – be helpful, add something positive, but always recognize that we all make our own choices and that it’s all good. VJ: What is your favourite juice? KP: Definitely Be Strong – it’s got it all, tastes great and the red cabbage reminds of me the old restaurants in Bloor West Village, my new hood. Village Juicery’s Be a Villager series takes a look at the men and women who have inspired us. They are members of our team, our partners and the larger community who, by honing in on their craft, are doing great things for the city in which we live.