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Fresh Baskets

Introduction

The SR Fresh Produce Basket follows many of the principles of Community Supported Agriculture (CSA). Members are asked to pay in advance for the season, thus sharing both in the risks and rewards that occur naturally in agriculture. In exchange, we commit to growing a diversity of vegetables without the use of synthetic pesticides or fertilizers. We have also developed relationships with other local organic growers in order to buy supplementary vegetables when needed.

Click here for a list of vegetables grown in our gardens and their seasonal availability.

The SR Fresh Basket is unique in that it has a strong focus on accessibility and economic solidarity. Our regular basket is sold at a cost premium ($36, for a $26 value of fruits and vegetables). This allows an equivalent amount of garden produce to be distributed at a conversely reduced rate.

The details

  • The Fresh Basket Program runs over a period of 22 weeks with basket pick-ups happening here at Santropol Roulant;
  • The cost is $36 per basket for a total of 792$;
  • The Fresh Basket is sufficient for 2-4 people depending on your diet and eating habits;
  • Payment by instalments is an option;
  • Tax receipts for $10/basket are available to those opting for the premium baskets;
  • Includes a weekly newsletter and an optional farm outing;
  • We also offer a limited number of regular baskets at reduced cost, contingent on availability;
  • If you are unable to afford the premium basket, yet are not quite of lower income, or if you would like to sign up for a winter basket, visit Equiterre to find another CSA program in your neighbourhood.

Sign up period for the 2013 season has begun.  Spot are limited, so sign up now!

First 15 people to sign up receive a 20$ gift certificate from Fabergé Restaurant.

Next 15 people receive a $12 voucher for our annual seedling sale (approx. 3-4 plants).

CLICK HERE TO SIGN UP NOW.

For more information, email tim[at]santropolroulant.org

The Fresh Basket for Seniors

It is important to us that the SR Fresh Basket remain accessible to our autonomy-reduced client-members. The typical CSA-style basket program does not meet their particular needs. For example:

  • An elderly person may find it difficult to navigate a large grocery store and even more so to make their way to a CSA basket drop-off point;
  • Many seniors depend on small retirement pensions or rely entirely on the government’s Guaranteed Income Subsidy (GIS) and thus cannot afford a typical CSA produce basket, which tend to be a bit more expensive due to the high quality of the produce;
  • CSA baskets, with their seasonal and somewhat unpredictable content, are inaccessible for individuals with contraindications (e.g. Green vegetables and the blood-thinning drug Coumadin);
  • Seniors with reduced appetites may find the typical CSA basket to be too much food for one week;
  • Mobility-reduced individuals may find it difficult to prepare certain vegetables such as winter squash or carrots;
  • Some seniors live in retirement homes with little or no access to full kitchens.
Whatever the reasons, there is much that can be done to increase accessibility to programs such as CSA. As such, the Santropol Roulant Fresh Basket proposes individualized baskets to seniors and other individuals living with a loss of autonomy, catering these to the individual needs of each recipient by, for example, offering:
  • pre-cut vegetables;
  • reduced portion sizes;
  • paying particular attention to dietary restrictions or contraindications with certain medications; and,
  • home delivery.

For more information about the SR Fresh Basket for Seniors, email Pierre-Vincent.

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