Founder's Story
Our founder Nicole Matos was inspired to build OONNIE during the Covid pandemic. Nicole grew up in rural Alberta on a small cattle farm. Her family had their own beef butchered, they bought pork and chickens direct from one neighbour, vegetables from another, fresh bread from a local bakery and did some of their own canning and preserving.
When Nicole was graduating high school, her family moved away from the family farm into the Edmonton metro area. Like so many Nicole unconsciously got wrapped up in the hustle and bustle of school, work and having a family and began to shop where it was quick and easy - at the big box grocery store.
Fast forward to the early days of the pandemic Nicole (along with the rest of the world) was seeing empty grocery shelves while also worrying about the health of her family, friends, and community. Nicole began to question her choices - why she was no longer providing her family with local food that was better for them, supported their own community and was more a more secure and sustainable choice?
The problem was that she no longer had connections to farmers and producers and was at a loss for how to find them. The local farmers markets although lovely, did not offer the convenience she still needed and did not offer her selection to multiple vendors for one product. Nicole knew it was time to create a solution and from this, the idea of Oonnie bloomed. Oonnie’s goal is to connect people directly with their food sources so families can eat healthier, better tasting food in a way that is better for our environment and our communities.