Community Supported Agriculture
The Multicultural Heritage Centre is excited to launch the community supported agriculture program, Red Brick Farms. Our unique space of over 4 acres offers an advantage to get organically grown, high quality produce right in the heart of Stony Plain.
With educational programs focused on sustainable growing running through the growing season, Red Brick Farms has an opportunity to match education with practical application, which creates an environment of ecologically sustainable integrity with the addition of our enthusiastic ‘Organic Master Gardener’ students. With a focus on nurturing soil health, the grounds incorporate a minimal soil disturbance plan along with multiple composting systems. This allows us to keep as many nutrients and microbial activity in the soil where it belongs to grow great produce.
Community Supported Agriculture (CSA), otherwise known as “Farm Shares,” puts you directly in a relationship with your farmer. You will have the assurance of knowing exactly where your food is grown and share in the risks and rewards of local farming. You couldn’t ask for a more local food system. When you sign up for a farm share you are supporting the farmer right from day one. With financial security, this gives the farmer the ability to focus on planning, planting and preparing the soil for a season of growing healthy, nutrient rich food. With a good growing year, a consumer’s investment would enjoy an abundance of product, and would vary according to each growing season. The farmer and consumer are partnered in growing ecologically responsible food with sustainable practices.
We are running the farm-share program with the plan of offering 15 weeks of food boxes. This share will typically feed a family of four, 2 adults and 2 kids. Half shares are also an option for a smaller family. We are hoping for a mid-late June start and ending mid-late September. The boxes in the spring will be filled with a selection of fresh herbs, salad greens and hardy fast-growing veggies. As the season turns to mid-summer the produce boxes will be overflowing with an assortment of fresh, tasty food. Toward the fall, expect to see more cool weather/long season crops such as squash/leeks/storing potatoes and a pumpkin or two! Every year there is bound to be struggles here or there but it usually balances out with an abundance of something else.
Vegetables that will be planted:
This is the food you will likely see in your veggie boxes:
Beans (garden)
Beets
Broccoli
Carrots
Cabbage (red/green)
Celery
Chard
Cucumbers
Greens (assorted)
Herbs
Kale
Lettuce (assorted)
Onions
Peas (snap)
Peppers (sweet)
Peppers (hot)
Potatoes
Pumpkins
Radish
Rhubarb
Spinach
Squash (summer including zucchini)
Squash (winter)
Tomatoes (cherry)
Tomatoes
You may see other treats sneaking into your boxes as we experiment with varieties and other veggies.
When and where to pick up your food:
Our veggies will be ready to pick up on location; PERC Building 5413 51st. Stony Plain, T7Z-1Y2. Wednesday evenings between 4:30 – 6:00.
Please bring clean, re-usable shopping bags to collect your share.
If you need to schedule a different pick up time, that can be arranged within reason.
How to get further involved:
While we believe that understanding how your food is grown is an important part of the CSA model, it is not mandatory to contribute your labor. However, coming out and helping on the farm is a great way to learn and appreciate what it takes to grow healthy food in an eco-responsible way. You don’t even have to drive out into the country to do so! Our Grounds Manager will be on site every Friday between 9am and 4pm if a CSA member would like to come and help out/learn on the farm. Bring your family! There is plenty of space for kids to play and lots of ways little hands can get involved.
Other Share Options:
Preserved Goods Share
Here at the Multicultural Centre we have a plethora of wonderful fruit trees. For the past couple of years we have been developing our own line of jams, jellies and pickled goods. We started with crab apple jelly, apple jelly, hearty black bean and corn salsa. They were a great success and sold out in no time! We are looking to expand our flavours and take advantage of the wonderful fruits the grounds has to offer. Some of the flavours you may see incorporated into your processed goods would be: northern apples (including crab), saskatoons, black currants, red currants, high-bush cranberries, plums, and sour cherries. We are looking to experiment with pickling as well so you may see an assortment of dill pickles, salsa, beets and others with ingredients grown from our ‘preserving garden’. With this share you would receive a jar a week along with your veggies.
Get started here:
Red Brick Farms 2019 CSA Agreement
email your saved agreement to: grounds@multicentre.org
Then make your payment online or in person guarantee your share.