After a craze in 2020 and 2021, Quebecers are slightly abandoning baskets of local vegetables this summer. Some farms worry about inheriting a surplus and not making ends meet.
It is this week that the cooperative Aux champs qui chantent, in the Laurentians, is handing out its first weekly vegetable baskets of the season. Organic arugula, green garlic, radish, cucumber, basil and rhubarb are among the 11 products that 225 subscribers will receive for $35 at various drop-off points, such as Montreal, Deux-Montagnes and Lachute.
However, the number of subscribers is lower than what was expected by the members of the cooperative, one of whose missions is to be welcoming to queer and trans people.
“In 2020, we had around 150 subscribers. In 2021, we went to 200 at the end of the season and we had a waiting list. This year, we took over the drop-off point of another farm which had a hundred registered members, so we thought we could get to 300 without any problem,” explains Eby Heller, who cultivates within the cooperative.
Market gardeners have therefore planned their production and their workforce according to this objective, which is higher than last year. But they got a nasty surprise. “Many people have told us that with the increase in the cost of living, they are no longer able to pay for our basket”, laments Eby Heller, who recognizes that it is more expensive to consume organic vegetables than non-organic vegetables from some major grocery chains.
One to midnight
Without being able to quantify it exactly, the Cooperative for Ecological Local Agriculture (CAPE) has noted a drop in the number of subscribers throughout its network of more than 150 family farmers.
“I hear that many people will take advantage of the summer to go elsewhere, because it is a first normal post-pandemic summer. But the weekly organic baskets require a commitment. You have to pay in advance, you have to be there on certain days and at certain times,” notes the president of CAPE, Émilie Viau-Drouin, by way of additional explanation.
At the farm Aux champs qui chantent, we fear a deficit if all the vegetables are not sold. “We put a huge amount of work into promotion to get more people, while we are super busy in the fields,” says Eby Heller.
Many people have told us that with the rising cost of living they are no longer able to afford our shopping cart
The team notably launched a campaign of “solidarity baskets”. This is a fundraising campaign whose objective is to raise $20,000 to offer up to 50 subscriptions at 50% off to families with a limited budget. Nearly $5,000 has been raised so far.
According to Émilie Viau-Drouin, “it’s a little less than one past midnight” for market gardeners, because the distribution of baskets generally begins this week.
However, it is not too late to register. The president of CAPE encourages citizens to do so, pointing out that the prices of the baskets are fixed for a period often ending in November. Even if they may seem expensive in the immediate future, they will not be subject to the inflation expected in the coming months.