A Warm Welcome To You and To Spring!
March 24, 2025
Greetings and best wishes from the Staff and Board of Directors of Steep Hill Food Co-op, your grocery store on Broadway. What’s the old saying, “If March comes in like a lion, it will go out like a lamb”, or vice-versa? Salutations to the Vernal (Spring) Equinox! The 24-hour period of almost equal day and night. Ushered in on March 20th at 5:01 a.m. EDT, it is the astronomical beginning of spring season in our hemisphere and autumn in the Southern. The word “equinox” comes from the Latin words “Aequus” (equal) and “nox” (night). One of the most famous ancient Spring equinox celebrations took place at Chichen Itza in Mexico at the site of a huge pyramid built by the Mayans around A.D. 1000. Even today, the way the sun’s light falls on it signals the beginning of the seasons. On the spring equinox, it looks like a huge snake is slithering down the steps. The Mayans called this day “the return of the Sun serpent.”
Each year on March 22, World Water Day is observed internationally. This year’s theme is “Glacier Preservation”. Glaciers are critical to life. Their meltwater is essential for drinking water, agriculture, industry, clean energy products and healthy ecosystems. From taking shorter showers to shutting off faucets when soaping; installing sprinkler timers to writing politicians, you can support the Sustainable Development Goal 6: water and sanitation for all by the year 2030. DID YOU KNOW THAT… established in 2011, the Global Institute for Water Security (GIWS) located right here at the University of Saskatchewan, is ranked #2 in water resources research in Canada and is one of the top 30 water resources research universities in the world? That’s something to shout about!
Itching for something to do? On March 27 it’s Who’s Your Bard? At the Ukrainian Museum of Canada, a cross-cultural celebration of literary legends. On April 12, the Museum offers a Pysanka egg decorating Workshop just in time for Easter - a great all-family activity. Like to laugh? Check out Shawn Cuthand’s comedy-writing workshop at Dr. Freda Ahenakew Library on April 10 at 2 PM. Feeling a bit more outdoorsy? From April 25–28, the City Nature Challenge invites everyone to help document the city’s biodiversity through the iNaturalist app. Whether you’re a young explorer or a seasoned nature lover, this event welcomes participants of all ages to engage with the local flora and fauna. Lots going on in and around our beautiful city, even though the snow may linger. That’s never stopped Saskatoonians!
“For glad Spring has begun, And to the ardent sun, The earth, long time so bleak, Turns a frost-bitten cheek.” - Celia Thaxter, American Poet (1835-94)
Volunteers Are Our Heart
Volunteers are the heart of many organizations, providing essential support and services. Volunteers help organizations achieve their mission more effectively, bring diverse skills, perspectives, and energies while also fostering innovation and community engagement. Steep Hill and our volunteers are no exception!
The volunteers’ contributions within Steep Hill extend beyond the immediate benefits to the store – but also help foster a sense of community and belonging among members and shoppers. By contributing your time and skills, volunteers create a welcoming environment where people can connect over shared values, read this newsletter, and develop meaningful connections.
The personal benefits of volunteering include an opportunity to develop new skills, gain work experience, build a network of like-minded individuals, get out of the house, and see your efforts make a tangible impact on your neighbours and community.
The importance of Steep Hill being an alternative to chain grocery stories is well known. During these times of uncertainty to our south, the importance of supporting Canada by buying local is more prominent than ever before! Volunteering at Steep Hill if you are able is yet another way to put into action this International Year of Co-operatives theme – Cooperatives Build a Better World!
Volunteering Now and Thinking Ahead to Summer…
As the days grow longer and sunnier, our thoughts begin to turn to outdoor pursuits. While Steep Hill always needs in-store volunteers to assist with packaging and other tasks, most of the store’s immediate volunteer needs to involve tasks taking place outside the store! We are still in need of people to dispose of garbage and pick up cardboard recycling once or twice per month. If one more person joins the cardboard recycling team, then each person will only be responsible for one pick-up per month.
As you heard in the last newsletter, businesses must now, by law, compost their food waste. If you’re able to pick up a pail or two of compostables every week to add to your own home compost or green bin, you would be doing the store, the environment, and perhaps your own garden a great service!
Summer isn’t quite here yet (soon!), but this is a good time to start thinking about warm weather volunteer activities. Broadway is a busy place in the summer, with Spring Fling, Fringe, and the Broadway Street Fair happening between June and September – there may even be weekly events for the time period that the Broadway Bridge itself is closed. The store will need volunteers for the larger events to sell memberships and snacks, and promote the benefits and excellence of Steep Hill. The warmer weather will also bring the return of weekly flyers and a need for people to deliver them. For anyone who lives for yard work, consider helping to keep the back looking tidy by trimming the tree and keeping the weeds and other greens under control.
If you’re interested in any of these opportunities or have questions, please email Amielle at hello@steephillfood.ca. Two hours of volunteer work gives you working member status for the following month, which provides you with the working member discount (6% off the shelf price). For in-store volunteer work, sign up for a shift in the store or by calling (306-664-4455) or emailing (hello@steephillfood.ca) to request a shift.
Smooth Shopping Tips
We love our little store with its small footprint. Steep Hill shoppers don’t have to wander miles of aisles to find what they need! But as we get busier (a good thing!), there are a few tips to be mindful of. Remember that the walk-in cooler and back-office areas are for staff only. If you need something that may be there, please ask a staff member for help. Even if you only have to pick up a few items, you may find more catches your eye than you expected and end up trying to carry more than you can juggle! Using a basket, you won’t be tempted to leave items on any of the counters while you browse - which could result in our efficient staff putting them back before you can check out, or having someone accidentally purchase your grocery items.
Keeping it Canadian at Steep Hill
With all the news about tariffs lately, more and more people are getting interested in supporting local producers and making a point of buying Canadian products. Our federal government decided to maintain its retaliatory tariffs on selected US products, including citrus fruits, for the time being. Steep Hill’s board and manager are staying on top of the situation and finding alternative sources where necessary to minimize the impact on our product lines. Our long-standing commitment to local food and Canadian suppliers means we are well positioned because only a small proportion of our regular offerings come from the USA.
With so many companies and different information shared on labels, it can be confusing trying to figure out if the product you’re looking at is really Canadian. The Canadian Food Inspection Agency has a helpful web page that explains what different labels mean.
Here are some things to keep in mind and useful tips to help you buy Canadian.
- A great first place to start is to check if the company that makes the product is Canadian. This might be on the product label, or you may have to check the company’s website. If you want to take it a step further, you can check if there is a parent company and whether it’s Canadian or not.
- Product of Canada means the processing and labour are Canadian and a significant amount of the ingredients are Canadian.
- Made in Canada means the last substantial transformation of the product occurred in Canada. Food labelled Made in Canada must also say whether the food is made in Canada from imported ingredients or a combination of imported and Canadian ingredients.
- If “100% Canadian” is used on a label, all the ingredients, processing and labour used is Canadian.
- With the popularity boom in buying Canadian, there are some new apps and websites that have been created to help you know if the product you want is Canadian. You can check out the Maple Scan app which will let you know if an item is a product of Canada or made in Canada, or will offer suggestions for Canadian options when scanning non-Canadian products.
- The best way to buy Canadian is to shop at stores, like Steep Hill Co-op, that already focus on buying from local producers!
Wild Rice – A Saskatchewan Product
Looking for Canadian products can be a great opportunity to try both new brands and new foods. If you haven’t had wild rice before, you’re missing out! Available in bulk at Steep Hill, this is an Indigenous food that has been harvested for centuries. Wild rice is technically a grass, and grows in marshlands and along waterways in much of the central and eastern portions of what is now Canada. Northern Saskatchewan is now Canada’s leading producer of wild rice.
Naturally gluten-free, wild rice is high in fibre, low in fat, and a good source of vitamin C, calcium, and other minerals. It is a versatile ingredient in side dishes, risottos, poultry stuffing, salads, and more.
View Blueberry and Wild Rice Salad Recipe
Upcoming Event - SES Sustainable Speaker Series, April 22
“Chainsaw Retrofit” for an Energy-Efficient House
Harold Orr, retired P. Eng. and C.M., will describe a “chainsaw retrofit” of a house that greatly increased its energy efficiency and thereby substantially reduced the cost of heating it. The original “chainsaw retrofit” was done on a house in Saskatoon by Harold Orr and the late Rob Dumont. The Sustainability Speakers Series is a monthly event hosted by Saskatchewan Environmental Society volunteers and Saskatoon Public Library. This is an in-person event. Recordings of some presentations will be made available on SPL’s YouTube channel.
We Want to Hear From You!
For information about products and the store, email us at hello@steephillfood.ca or call 306-664-4455.
To contact the Board of Directors with ideas, feedback, concerns or questions, email board@steephillfood.ca or fill out a “How did we do today” card when you are in the store.
Thanks to Jasmin Carlton, Amielle Christopherson, Adam Douglas, Cathy Holtslander, Maryann Scott, Ann Smith, and Brianne Weigel for contributing to the Newsletter!
Your grocery store on Broadway!