FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS 

The Schools Take Roots project enables schools, daycare centers, educational childcare services and community organizations to raise funds for their establishments through the sale of vegetable baskets in the autumn and transplants in the spring, all supplied by a certified organic farm of the Réseau des fermiers-ères de famille (RFF). This activity enables establishments to raise funds while supporting local producers. and local producers. 

It's a way for schools to raise funds while supporting local producers. It's a fundraising campaign in keeping with the ecological values of participating schools, and a unique opportunity to educate young people and their families about healthy, local and organic food! 

This year, more than a hundred establishments across the province will be running such a campaign. Initiated and supported by Équiterre since 2016, this magnificent project passed into the hands of the producers of the Family Farmers Network in 2022.

The first thing to do, before registering for the project, is to obtain the support of your establishment’s administrators. The key to a successful Schools Take Root fundraising campaign is to rally your establishment’s community around the project. It’s also important to identify a contact person who can coordinate the campaign within your establishment. This person will play a key role, with four main responsibilities:

  1. Oversee campaign logistics thanks to the new order management platform;
  2. Ensure communication between Family Farmers Network, the establishment and families;
  3. Mobilize the establishment’s community around the project
  4. Participate in the evaluation of the campaign

Once you have the support of administrators and a campaign coordinator, you can register for the Schools Take Root campaign on Family Farmers Network website.

 

Registration for spring campaigns runs from January 1 to the end of February.

Registration for fall campaigns runs from April 1 to the end of June of the previous school year.

Unlike the season-long subscription to the Family Farmers Network organic baskets, this is a single delivery for the Schools Take Root fundraising campaign.

For fall campaigns (vegetable baskets), delivery takes place in October or November.
For spring campaigns (vegetable plants), delivery takes place from mid-May to June.

If you'd like to receive a weekly organic vegetable basket, sign up with a farm using Family Farmers Network map.

 

For both campaigns, families will be able to choose from three options that follow a small, medium and large structure.

Vegetable baskets
Small at $35
Medium at $70
Large at $105.

Vegetable transplants
Combo Balcony, 6 plants at $30
Combo Small Garden, 12 plants at $60
Combo Large Garden, 18 plants at $90

The revenue distribution is as follows: 70% for the partner farm, 20% for your establishment and 10% for program administration. Your establishment's revenues are as follows:

Fall
Small vegetable basket $7
Medium vegetable basket $14
Large vegetable basket $21

Spring
Combo Balcony $6
Combo Small Garden $12
Combo Large Garden $18

Online payment is now offered to all establishments to facilitate the management of their campaign. The cost of online transactions is 2.9% + $0.30 per transaction. These costs are assumed by your establishment.

A minimum threshold of 60 baskets sold per establishment has been set for the activity to be viable for the farm. If the minimum threshold is not reached, the farm could decide to cancel the campaign and you will have to reimburse people who bought baskets, or they could decide to simply make basket drop. We encourage you to set a realistic goal in terms of baskets sold.

When you register, you'll need to estimate the approximate number of vegetable baskets or transplants combos you expect to sell during the campaign.

Your target will depend on the size of your establishment, the number of students involved and the motivation of your team. This target allows us to match your establishment with a farm that has the appropriate production capacity. Please note that it is generally possible to exceed your target. Therefore, we encourage you to set a realistic target, as too high an estimate will result in losses for the farm.

Vegetable baskets
The quantities and varieties of vegetables offered vary depending on the farm and the harvest. It's important for us to make the Écoles enracinées project a win-win partnership between farms and schools. That's why we allow growers flexibility in the contents of their baskets. You can expect to receive between 7 and 9 of the following varieties: beet, onion, carrot, garlic, celeriac, potato, Jerusalem artichoke, squash, cabbage, Chinese cabbage, kohlrabi, parsnip, rutabaga, rabiole, winter radish, kale, leek, sweet potato, radicchio, spinach, broccoli, cauliflower. It's an opportunity to discover seasonal crops and sometimes some less common vegetables.

Transplants combos
Transplants are sold in combos to accommodate the planting space available. The choice of cultivars for each vegetable variety will be specified according to the partner farm that supplies you.

Balcony Combo, 6 plants: 4 herbs, 1 round red tomato, 1 cherry tomato

Small Garden Combo, 12 plants: 4 herbs, 2 red round tomatoes, 2 cherry tomatoes, 2 peppers, 2 cucumbers

Large Garden Combo, 18 plants: 4 herbs, 2 red round tomatoes, 3 cherry tomatoes, 2 peppers, 2 cucumbers, 2 eggplants, 2 kale and 1 zucchini

During campaigns, all buyer payments will be received by your establishment.

At the end of the campaign, your partner farm's invoice will be available directly on the online platform. Your establishment will make a single payment to the farm, which will also include the program administration fee (70% to the farm, 10% administration fee).

You must pay the partner farm on the day of delivery.

 

For both campaigns, we suggest a sales period at least 3 weeks long.

Fall campaign
Sales take place in September and October. The order deadline will depend on your delivery date, agreed with your establishment and your partner farm.

Spring campaign
Sales take place during the last three weeks of March, after spring break. The deadline for orders is March 31, so that your partner farm can produce beautiful transplants for spring!

To reserve an order, families must use the Online Order Form on the Schools Take Root platform.

It is up to the schools to choose the method of payment:

  • Online payments only (Stripe)
  • Offline payments only (Cash, cheque, Interac transfers)
  • Hybrid: online and offline payments

The online platform enables the farm to track your sales and receive the final order. No changes to the order will be accepted after the order deadline. Please note that it is your responsibility to ensure that the order is correct and that you have received all associated payments.

 

 

The delivery date will be determined according to your availability and that of your partner farm. This date will be set before your campaign begins. 

For autumn campaigns, vegetable baskets are delivered in October or November. 

For spring campaigns, vegetable plants are delivered from mid-May onwards.

Deliveries generally take place between 3pm and 6pm, ideally in a gymnasium, multi-purpose hall or outdoors. In all cases, you'll need to provide an indoor location in case of rain. The ideal location should be easily accessible for the grower to limit the distance he or she has to travel with crates of vegetables or plants, and large enough to allow families to circulate freely.

 

 

Your partner farm will contact you at least three working days before delivery to arrange final details (parking, arrival time, etc.).

The autumn vegetable distribution is done in mini-market mode, i.e. people who have bought a basket must bring their bags and build up their basket by taking their vegetables from different containers laid out on the tables, following the quantities predetermined by the farm. We suggest that you organize a supply of reusable bags in advance, for those who may have forgotten them.

Spring transplant distribution is done in stations, i.e. people will walk along the tables to pick up the right quantities of plants according to the combo chosen. 

The producer will be on site and will need the help of a few volunteers (at least 3) to unload the truck and complete the distribution. Get the kids involved - it's the best way to make the delivery a success!

This moment is a unique opportunity to educate and raise awareness about healthy, local and sustainable food among young people, their families and members of your establishment involved in the project. This is also why we ask the producer to be present and to answer questions from participants about the content of the baskets. We encourage you to organize activities related to delivery, because interest in organic and local food is at its height on this unforgettable day!

  • Set the mood: music, vegetable costumes, photo booth, etc.
  • Create animations on responsible food: educational activities, creative games, role-playing games, animated stories, etc.
  • Cook a healthy snack for the reception of the participants.
  • Decorate with children: posters, drawings, crafts on fruits and our vegetables.

Get the children involve! From experience, children love to help out, especially when their gym, schoolyard or multipurpose room is transformed into a real public market! Remember to get them involved, they will come out of it so much better and richer for having a hands-on experience! 

Here are some tasks you can give them: 

  • Greeting families and tracking orders (use the document provided by the RFF to avoid miscounting);
  • Station animation (e.g. informing families of quantities, suggesting recipes, etc.);
  • Preparation of a healthy snack to welcome the families;
  • Decorating the delivery area with drawings, posters and crafts;
  • Facilitating a small activity, such as a quiz or a small theatrical performance: resources have been prepared for you!

During fall campaign, the project offers the opportunity to strengthen food security through a basket donation option. In addition to a basket for their family use, families will be able to contribute to the purchase of solidarity baskets intended for vulnerable families in their region. These baskets will be directed to an organization (food bank or neighborhood organization) decided jointly by the establishment and the farm.

To guide you step by step through this fundraising campaign, you can refer to the Guide d'accompagnement des établissements throughout the campaign. We remain available by telephone or e-mail for any questions or additional information.

To facilitate campaign coordination, we ask that you contact your Family Farmer Network contact person rather than your partner farm.

RFF contact: ecoles.enracinees@cape.coop, 514 543-1103