Fundraising is imperative in providing the high-quality program that Air Cadets delivers for our children. Bingos and casinos are the cornerstone of our funding but we do require additional funds to maximize the program. We understand that parents are increasingly under staring to raise funds for schools, sports programs, and more, and so we strive to find opportunities that minimize the impact on you.
This year, we are excited to have received a spot in the Riverbend Gardens CSA School Program. This fundraiser allows the squadron to sell spots in the CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) program and in return, receive a donation of 15% of all sales for the squadron.
We must provide a special thank you to Nesh and Bella at Ritchie Foods for agreeing to be our pick-up location for the 2019 season. They have been great commuinity members in the Ritchie Neighbourhood for nearly a decade. Consider making a purchase when you're in to pick up your veggies.
When you subscribe to a CSA, you are purchasing 15 weeks of incredibly fresh, locally grown produce that you will pick up once a week from a set location (Ritchie Foods in our case). The vegetables are seasonal and will vary over the 15 weeks as things ripen. You might be amazed at the variety that can be grown in the Edmonton area.
To see a list of what vegetables you might see in your CSA, there is a chart on this page: https://www.riverbendgardens.ca/products/.
The Smaller package is good for 2-3 people and costs $350 for 15 weeks. That works out to $23.33 per week for 1 “staple” (alternating potatoes & carrots) and 3-4 short-season veggies every week of the program.
The Larger package is ideal for families of 3-5 people and is $430 for the season. If you are a vegetarian family this might be the size for you even if you're only 2-3 people. The cost per week for this package works out to only $28.66 per week and includes 2 “staples” (usually potatoes & carrots) and 3-4 short-season veggies.
The CSA is at least equal value to purchasing at the farmer’s market for the 15 week subscription. While the early weeks may be similar to what you’d get at Farmer’s market for the price, at full season, the CSA bounty is often about $5+ better value. That’s like getting a free bag of perfect potatoes or melt in your mouth carrots every week!
You can subscribe by visiting https://riverbendcsa.ca/product/school-csa/, choosing "Ritchie Foods" as your pick up location, and completing the purchase.
Choosing any other location will result in the squadron not receiving credit for the purchase!
Not a problem! You can have someone else pick up your veggies for the weeks you are away or can't make it to a pick up.
Any veggies not picked up by the end of the day will be:
Not at all. It is not mandatory to sell the CSA for any cadet and there is no penalty if they don't participate. We do, of course, encourage participation to cover the >$2,000 annual cost per cadet in the program.
Purchasing the CSA for your own family can result in a donation of $52.50 for the Small Bounty and $64.50 for the Large Bounty to the Squadron. If every cadet accounted for one Small Bounty in the CSA, the sqaudron would receive nearly $12,000.
We do need to sell at least 15 CSAs to remain in the program. If we sell over 100, then we will receive the 15% plus an extra $500.
When you purchase the CSA, you support the local economy and buy direct from the farmer. The veggies you receive will have been picked ~24 hours prior to being on your table and are at the peak of their nutrition.
You and your family need to eat and so we simply hope that you'll consider the CSA to fill your table over the fifteen weeks to benefit the squadron and the local economy!
The CSA offer for the squadron is open to all and we encourage you to share with extended family, co-workers, neighbours, and more. The more CSAs sold through the squadron, the larger the donation we'll see, so please share with anyone you can!
Just make sure they follow the correct sign-up process so we receive credit.
If you have specific questions about how the cadets intersect with CSA program, please review the information on this page and get in touch if your question is not answered.
You can also review the Riverbend Gardens website for more details about the program.