The Schools Take Roots project enables schools, daycare centers, educational childcare services to raise funds for their establishments through the sale of vegetable baskets in the autumn, 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 three main responsibilities:

1. Oversee campaign logistics on La Fabrique à projets;
2. Ensure communication between Family Farmers Network, the establishment and families;
3. Mobilize the establishment’s community around the project

Registrations are open until May 1 in anticipation of the following autumn. 

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.

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

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

The revenue distribution is as follows: 75% for the partner farm and 25% for 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 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.

During campaigns, all buyer payments will be received by your establishment through La Fabrique à projets. 

At the end of the campaign, you will be expected to send your entire basket order to the farm 7 days before the delivery date. 

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

We suggest a sales period at least 3 weeks long.

Sales take place in September and October. The order deadline (7 days before your delivery date) will depend on your delivery date, agreed with your establishment and your partner farm.

Orders are paid online by credit card on La Fabrique à projets platform. 

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. 

Vegetable baskets are delivered in October or November. 

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, and large enough to allow families to circulate freely.

The 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.

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!

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. 

ecoles.enracinees@gmail.com