Organic Farm

Collective Kitchen Groups that Cook with Produce Purchased Directly from a Local Organic Farm
Collective Kitchens that Buy Produce with no Intermediary!
Participating Organic Farms
Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) – What is It?
What Participants Appreciate Most
Do the Participants Change their Food Habits?
How Exactly Does the Supply System Work?
Were You Aware of the Power of Your Food Choices?
What to Do if Your Collective Kitchen is Interested?

Collective Kitchens that Cook with Produce Purchased Directly from Local Organic Farms

Photos by Christian Bouton

We often hear that organic vegetables are too expensive and beyond the reach of our budgets! Well, this is not always the case! There are five collective kitchen groups that cook using only organic vegetables! They buy their organic vegetables directly from a farm without an intermediary.

In winter 2005, as part of its “Citoyennes et citoyens... À votre santé !” project, the RCCQ launched a community supported agriculture (CSA) and collective kitchens pilot project in collaboration with the group Équiterre.

Purpose of the Project:

To provide greater access for collective kitchen participants and their families to healthy and environmentally friendly food.
To promote the creation of direct ties between collective kitchen groups and local organic farms.
To become associated with a local organic farm - an excellent way to benefit from the collective kitchen experience.

Collective Kitchens that Buy Produce with No Intermediary!

Signée-Femmes, Centre des femmes, l'Annonciation, Laurentians.
Aum bio, Regroupment des cuisines collectives du Grand Plateau, Montreal.
Educational kitchens, family resources centre, Huntingdon, Montérégie.

These collective kitchens cook meals using mostly organic ingredients. The meals vary in cost from $0.50 to $1.57 per portion.

The Huntingdon family resources centre increased its kitchen food supplies through the advance purchase of harvest shares from two organic farms in its area.

Participating Organic Farms

	Jardins du Petit Tremble, in Saint-Antoine-sur-Richelieu, South Shore of Montreal. Les Tourterelles farm in l'Annonciation, Laurentians. Bessette farm in La Conception, Laurentians. Runway Creek farm in Arundel, Laurentians. Terre Bleue farm in Athelstan, Montérégie. Légumes Bioterre farm in Huntingdon, Montérégie.
*These two farms are associated with the Community Supported Agriculture Network (CSA) overseen by Équiterre.

What is Community Supported Agriculture (CSA)?

Often called “organic baskets”, CSA is an approach in which individuals directly support an organic farm in a spirit of solidarity. In so doing, they become partners with the farm and make a commitment to the farm by purchasing a harvest share prior to the start of the season. In return, the farmer commits to producing and delivering once a week during an average of 15 to 20 weeks, “surprise” baskets of vegetables and fruit. The composition of the baskets varies as the season advances. Some farms sell meat. In Quebec, a diversified range of more than 85 small-sized farms are part of the CSA network operated by Équiterre and serve some 8,000 families.

Under the collective kitchens and community supported agriculture project, some collective kitchens have purchased harvest shares, while others have operated on a per-order basis with their farm. If your collective kitchen is interested in developing a relationship with a local organic farm, click here.

What Participants Appreciate Most

Knowing where their food comes from.
Being able to support the farmers in their area.
Participating in a vision of a sustainable and healthy future for the planet.
Savouring high quality, delicious fresh food.
Creating ties and sharing knowledge and information with the farmer.
The affordable prices.

The participants feel like they are making a difference to their own health and to the health of the planet! Participating groups are keen to start receiving their produce directly from an organic farm as soon as the next Quebec growing season gets underway!

Do the Participants Change Their Food Habits?

This experience has led participants to:

Gradually increase the amount of local organic food that they include in their family’s diet.
Increase their consumption of fruit and vegetables by 10% to 25%.

How Exactly Does the Supply System Work?

Some collective kitchen groups opted to buy harvest shares while others preferred to place orders:

In three groups – one member matched the produce available from the farms with the group’s recipes. Next, the order was placed with the farm, which then delivered the produce to the collective kitchen premises, or a member went to pick up the produce on the farm.
In two other groups – every week, a member of the organization would go to the closest delivery drop-off point to pick up their “surprise” basket, so called because it’s the farm that selects the contents of the basket from one week to the next depending on which food crops are ready for harvesting. The produce is naturally very fresh. These two groups then planned their recipes based on the contents of their basket and made any complementary purchases as needed.

Were You Aware of the Power of Your Food Choices?

Did you know that food bought in stores travels an average of 2,600 km before arriving on your plate?

Did you know that some 16,000 Canadians die prematurely every year due to air pollution?

Did you know that, if every week, each Quebec family were to replace $20 worth of food produce with $20 worth of produce from Quebec, 100,000 jobs could be created?

By becoming associated with a local farm, you:

Contribute to reducing air pollution.
Support small farms in Quebec and farming practices that are good for your health and the health of the planet.
Ensure that 100% of your dollars go directly to the farmer.
Contribute to the betterment of your community and to job creation.

What to Do If Your Collective Kitchen is Interested?

If your collective kitchen is interested in forming a partnership with a local organic farm, a project agent is here to help you.

Her role is to:

Put you in touch with a local farm.
Support you in:

Assessing your needs and the available resources.

Choosing your supply method.

Reaching an agreement with the farm.

Developing and holding social activities at the farm.

Do follow-up with you and the farm throughout the entire project.
Do an evaluation report with you at the end of the season (costs, level of appreciation among participants, quality and quantity of produce, etc.).

For more information, you can download the guide Fresh from the farm - Cooking According to Season.

You can also download the French version of the guide Directement de la ferme, cuisiner selon les saisons .

The Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) component of the “Citoyennes et citoyens…À votre santé!” project has been made possible through a special collaboration with the organization Équiterre.