2022 market box subscription opens!

The PUF box share program is here again!

What's included in your subscription?

10 boxes of freshly harvested produce 20-25 servings in each box.

Why should you subscribe to our box share program?

• Our crops are nurtured entirely by volunteers
• We do not apply any synthetic chemicals to our crops
• We prize crop diversity, and support ecologically-beneficial agricultural production practices.
• We are a non-profit community farm.Proceeds from your box share help us buy the seeds, tools, irrigation supplies, and other expenses we incur in our operations.

In other words, the produce that we put in our market boxes comes with a whole lotta love, and variety!

How much does it cost?

The subscription for 2022 season will be $350.00. The full price will be due up front, by June 15, in order to secure a share.

When can I get my first box?

We will most likely be able to fill our first boxes in early July, weather depending.

Do you deliver?

We fill our boxes on Saturday afternoons.
Boxes can be picked up at the farm.
We will offer delivery to addresses within 5 kilometres of the farm, for those who have limited mobility.

What if I am away for holiday?

No problem! Just let us know at least a day in advance and we can offer you a make-up box when you are back.

If you are interested, or know someone who might be, let us know by email at debra.davidson@ualberta.ca, by May 15.

If we receive more requests than we are able to support, we will put everyone's name in a virtual hat.

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Food-forestry workshop at Prairie Urban Farm

On Saturday, October 2, local permaculture and food forest expert Dustin Bajer joined PUF volunteers at the Farm to discuss the principles of food forestry, its many benefits, and how we can get started with our own food forest at Prairie Crab Farm. Creating food forests is a way of supporting a richly productive agricultural landscape that work with nature, rather than against it, saving volunteer labour in the process.

The foundations of food forestry are based on mimicking the many layers of plant life that make up a natural forest, from the root layer to the canopy, supporting a diversity of food crops, wildlife habitat (including our pollinators!), water retention, and healthy, nutrient-rich soils, all in an attractive landscape that just begs passersby to stay a while.

We will be working to transform our mini orchard into a food forest this Fall and next Spring, starting with removing quack grass and other weeds, introducing rich compost and mulch, and planting an understory layer, including different types of berries, rhubarb, and vines. If you would like to participate, come join us during our remaining volunteer sessions this season, and next Spring!

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New Vaccination Requirement

Hello friends,

The University of Alberta has instituted new requirements in order to minimize the spread of COVID-19. These requirements apply to all students, faculty, staff, and visitors, to all campus grounds and facilities, and this includes PUF.

According to these new requirements, everyone must be fully vaccinated by Nov 1. Rapid testing will not be an alternative to vaccination.

Between now and then, if you are not fully vaccinated, you must provide proof that you have received your first dose, and provide a negative result on a COVID test received within 72 hours of your visit.

If you plan to attend any of our upcoming scheduled events , including work sessions, our upcoming workshop, or our u-pick sessions, you will be asked to provide proof of full vaccination, or proof of first dose plus a negative rapid test result.

We will get through this folks!

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Community Conversations Event

 

We are hosting an evening of perspective and discussion around food security and sovereignty at Prairie Urban Farm with special guests, D'orjay and Saint on Saturday, September 19, from 7:30 p.m. to 9 p.m. Participation by sliding scale $0 - $20. The discussion will be followed by a group meditation. This is part of a new “Community Conversations” series we are organizing to highlight important discussions around food, land, race and community. Please note RSVP (see poster above) is required as we have limited spots available due to covid-19 safety protocols. We hope to see you there!

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A Very Wet Start to the Season

 

We often hear of farmers praying for rain, and farmers in Alberta have certainly done that often enough, but this year like last year we are all hoping for a bit more sun!

The frequent rains have certainly impacted us at PUF. We can't work during storms, and even when the sun comes out, we have to be careful because working while our plots are wet can cause soil compaction, particularly with our clayey soils.

Working at PUF always makes me think about Alberta's other farmers, the ones growing food as a means of supporting their families and communities. Our weather tribulations pale in comparison to the difficulties that the rainy season has posed for our farmers. For many their crops have been inundated, choking out young plants, so they face the prospect of harvest failure this year, an occurrence that has been happening all too often of late.

Crazy weather seasons also remind me of the direct relationship between climate change, agriculture and food, and the importance of adjusting our farming and consumption practices to adapt to emerging climate realities and avoid practices that make those realities even worse. While we cannot attribute a single storm to climate change, shifts in patterns of temperature, precipitation, and extreme weather frequency are all associated with human-caused changes to our climate. I hope we can share our views and ideas about these things while at PUF, since they certainly affect our own little farm. But they also affect our agri-food systems regionally and globally with potentially serious consequences for farmers' livelihood and food security.

The weather finally seems to be warming up and hopefully drying out a bit. Please join us for a work session. You can sign up at puf.eventbrite.com

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Our Position on Diversity and Inclusion

A Message to Our Prairie Urban Farm Volunteers and Friends

Many of the events unfolding across the world, including the pandemic and the eruption of protests against violence perpetrated by police against Black, Indigenous, other people of colour, and LGBTQ peoples, have brought several essential conversations to the forefront and highlighted the importance of kindness, inclusion, allyship, and anti-racism. While PUF has always openly welcomed diverse volunteers and groups to the farm, we haven’t yet directly addressed our stance and values relating to this important topic. We want to take this time to emphasize our strong support for inclusion and anti-racism at the farm.

We believe PUF’s biggest strength is its volunteers. Over the years, PUF has grown and flourished through the hard work and dedication of volunteers of all ages, races, abilities and genders, each of whom has contributed to a community based on mutual respect and support. This diversity has fostered a wealth of knowledge sharing while also uniting us through our collective commitment to growing healthy food in a sustainable manner.

As such, we want to encourage all of our volunteers to continue to enrich our community by sharing their unique ideas, experiences and perspectives and to listen to others who are sharing theirs.

We also recognize that discrimination occurs in a variety of ways. This includes, but is not limited to, stereotyping, racial profiling, bias, and differential treatment. Victims of discrimination often remain silent for fear of criticism, inferiority, mockery, or humiliation. To ensure that we are providing an inclusive space for everyone to feel safe, respected, and valued, we invite everyone to please share any feedback, issues, or concerns in the event that you or a fellow volunteer or visitor experiences any behaviours, actions, or words that do not reflect our commitment of inclusivity, respect and diversity.

If any volunteer or visitor experiences any form of discrimination, you are encouraged to discuss the incident onsite in a constructive manner if you feel comfortable doing so. Bringing awareness to the situation may lead to valuable and educational conversations that could bring greater awareness to everyone about how to show respect for diversity. If you prefer to speak privately to a mentor, do not hesitate to approach any one of our PUF mentors on site, or online via email or Slack. Remember that PUF is a safe space to share your concerns, and we are here to support you.

We are all responsible for sustaining a zero tolerance environment against racism and discrimination. Although it takes courage, we believe the most important means of doing so is to bring attention to acts of discrimination when they occur and t turn a hurtful moment into a learning moment. Individuals may be unaware of how their words and actions may be hurtful to others. Let’s all strive for active communication, awareness and positive change.

2020 Season Update

 PLEASE DO NOT VISIT THE FARM UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE!

The COVID19 Pandemic has several implications for Prairie Urban Farm. The most immediate one is that the University of Alberta is requiring us (and all other groups involved in field activities) to submit rigorous health and safety plans for review and approval. And until that time, we are prevented from setting foot on the Farm.

Our health and safety plans, which we have been furiously working on this past week, will likely be approved very soon. The only real frustrating thing is the weather is so beautiful right now, it's hard to be patient.

We will have some new safety rules in place:

• Before you participate in any activities on the farm, you must sign a waiver form
• You will also be required to bring your own gloves, since sharing gloves can pose a virus infection risk
• You must bring a mask with you (it can be home made so long as it covers your nose and mouth) for use in group settings

Meanwhile, I know several of you have been growing seedlings for us, and your babies might be ready for transplanting! One of our volunteers, Nils, shared this video with instructions for how to make your own pots out of old newspaper, hence no plastic waste, no trips to the store. 

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