HARVEST BOX PROGRAM

Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) is when a customer purchases a season worth of vegetables from a particular farm family. Supported because the customer joins the farmer in the risks associated with weather events. Each customer purchases, in advance, a share, called a subscription. This purchase offers important cash flow to the farmer when they need it the most and in return the customer enjoys the bounty that the farm produces on a weekly basis for the length of the season.

Our payments work on a minimum-balance system. Since our core product is the harvest box, your account “renews” whenever the balance goes below the cost needed to purchase a harvest box. If the harvest box costs $40, then if your account balance goes below $40, the system will auto-charge your card or send you a billing invoice. 

In addition to your account balance, you may also have farm store credit. This credit applies to store purchases, but not the harvest box. If you purchase items, they will reduce your credit, and charge your account balance for the difference. Note that farm store credit cannot be used for harvest boxes. 

The system works this way because it is most helpful for our farmers. Having minimum balances on the account helps our farmers have the confidence to grow crops, because they know that they are going to be able to sell them. 

It’s important to know that account balance won’t be drawn down until you actually receive your delivery. If you put your account on temporary hold (while you’re on vacation for example), the account balance will stay the same while you are away. You won’t be billed for harvest boxes while your account is on hold. If you have any other questions, feel free to reach out to us.

YYC Growers has many farms contributing to our “Harvest Box” from the Calgary area. That means there is no risk as we can source products from producers not affected by poor weather. With multiple farmers we are able to increase the diversity of what we offer each week. YYC Growers also relieves the marketing burden for our farmers so they can become even better growers. Our farmers enjoy having this stable sales channel for their e crops.

Each week you can expect to receive a diverse and balanced selection of locally grown vegetables that highlight the seasonality and abundance of our Calgary urban and small Alberta farms.

Yes! With greenhouses and indoor aquaponic growers we are able to supplement the staples of Alberta with fresh greens and microgreens. Throughout the winter, you can expect to receive an abundance of beautiful root vegetables, greenhouse produce, indoor grown greens, mushrooms, locally produced preserves, and much more!

We currently operate multiple pickup locations in the Greater Calgary Region. Click the “sign-up” button to be shown a map of our current locations and pick up times.

Yes. We offer home delivery for customers within the city limits. If you won’t be at home during the day of your delivery, remember to leave a cooler outside so that our drivers can keep your food protected. 

Payments can be made through credit card or e-transfer. Credit card payments are configured as an automatic auto renewal of your subscription. E-transfers to info@yycgrowers.com must be sent prior to your account balance dropping below the value of one week’s delivery.

Calgary Dollars can be used at all of our pop-up markets toward 25% of your purchase. They can also be used online. For every $1.00 you spend on renewing your subscription, you can use C$0.25 to load your webstore credit. For example, if you pay $119.80 for your subscription, you could send us up to C$29.95 to be added as webstore credit. Simply use the Calgary Dollars app to transfer your funds and we will add webstore credits to your account at the value of your C$ transfer.

YYC Growers is a subscription based program. The stability of a subscription model provides security for our member growers while giving them the ability to commit to you as a customer.

Missed shares can be picked up Friday at the warehouse (#18 4750 106 Ave SE) from 12-6pm. Food left over at the end of the week is donated to a local women’s shelter.

Vacation holds can be placed on your account without penalty. You will not be charged for weeks you are on hold. Holds can be placed through your account portal up until 12pm on the Friday before your delivery. Video of the process can be found here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KWTDUjrgZ8k

Your weekly email will tell you what to expect in your Harvest Box, as well as which farm each item is coming from.

Your pickup location will have a “trade-bin” with a diverse selection of produce. Simply ask your volunteer host if you would like to have an item or two swapped out. *Please note we are not currently able to accommodate item trades for Home Delivery customers.

Yes! You are always welcome to shop at our many pop-up markets hosted around the city throughout the week. You may also create an account to shop our webstore and purchase items for pickup at any of our pickup locations, or for home delivery. To do this, simply create an account and select “guest access” when prompted to select a subscription.

It is fresh. We finalize our weekly ordering details on Friday and send them to our farmers in the afternoon. They pick and pack over the weekend then deliver the food themselves to our small warehouse on Tuesday for sorting and delivery to homes and pickup locations throughout that week. Any food left over by that weekend (except for some storage crops such as carrots and potatoes) is donated to a local women’s shelter.

There are enormous hidden costs built into the global system of mass-industrialized agriculture. By spending a little bit more as a consumer, you are paying into a system that drastically reduces emissions, increases the health of soil and waterways, provides more equitable pay for farmers and their communities, and adds resiliency to your local economy. And of course, you will benefit from clean, whole, nutrient-dense food grown by farmers you can know by name!

YYC Growers is partnered with a variety of member farms, each with their own context (urban vs. rural, soil vs. aquaponic/hydroponic). Some of our members are precluded from Organic Certification because they are hydroponic or because they are urban. 

While it is not possible for us to operate as a certified organic operation, many of our member and other supplying farms do offer organic certification (Our Family Farm, Eagle Creek, Lunds Organics, Mans Organics, Poplar Bluff – to name a few). YYC Growers believes that soil health equals vegetable health and in turn, your health. We work hard to build soil by focusing on soil health through a variety of methods: no spray, no till, cover crops, adding organic matter – and more. However, all farms have different methods to enact the best growing practices for their particular context. 

YYC Growers puts transparency first, and we want our customers to know how their food is grown. We meet and travel to our member farms and would encourage you to do the same. For specific questions you may have about our farms, feel free to contact our farms directly or email info@yycgrowers.com

The following can be returned to us for reuse/recycling/composting (either by bringing to your pickup location or leaving on your porch during home delivery):

• Home Delivery cardboard boxes
• Home Delivery foil packaging
• Micro YYC compostable clamshells
• Egg cartons
• Glass jars and bottles from items you’ve received from us

All payments are posted to your account balance. Any items received (harvest boxes, fruit shares, webstore items, eggs, etc) are charged against your balance on the evening of your delivery/pickup date.

When your account reaches $40.00 (the cost of 1 harvest box), your card on file will be charged for your current subscriptions according to your current payment plan. 

If you pay through e-transfer and cease making payments, you will be automatically cancelled and taken off our customer lists once your account balance is depleted. 

If you pay through credit card auto-renewal, please email info@yycgrowers.com to have your card deleted from the system. Typically, you will simply receive the remainder of your pre-paid deliveries. If you are moving or otherwise unable to receive your last deliveries, we are able to refund your balance minus a $5 cancellation fee.

Please email info@yycgrowers.com to let us know!

We currently experience some limitations with our web platform regarding customers’ abilities to make account changes in the time between Friday ordering and delivery. Please email info@yycgrowers.com and we will put through whatever change or addition you are trying to make!