MAY This Month Bring You Joy!
May 2, 2025
Welcome to the beautiful month of May, from your Staff and Board at Steep Hill Food Co-op. The month of May is thought to be named after Maia. The Romans had a Goddess Maia who represented fertility and growth. Greek mythology also had a Maia, her name meaning “Mother, Good Mother, Nurse and Midwife”. It is so fitting that May sees the annual celebration of Mother’s Day which falls on Sunday, May 11. Most countries celebrate Mother’s Day in some fashion. It seems to be a cultural act of togetherness, to set aside a special day to celebrate motherhood. The role of mothers has changed over the decades. From stay-at-home Moms to working Moms; from farm Moms to city Moms; from traditional to blended family Moms - but the circumstances don’t matter. What does matter, is the absolute love, care, and sacrifice that Moms instinctively provide without a second thought. Why not show that special Mom how much she means to you this Mother’s Day by preparing her a delicious brunch or supper with some exciting and local food choices available to you at your favourite grocery store on Broadway? Our friendly staff will be happy to help you find everything that you are looking for.
Right on the heels of Mother’s Day is International Nurses Day, celebrated on May 12, nursing pioneer Florence Nightingale’s birthday, to honour and acknowledge the many contributions nurses make to society. Nurses care for our loved ones at some of the most challenging times. It is often said that nurses are “called” to the profession as it requires an out-sized portion of compassion, dedication, patience, sensitivity and nerves of steel. A big shout out to all of our amazing nurses! If you are lucky enough to have a nurse in your life, be sure to tell them how much their work matters.
May is a great month to throw open the windows and welcome the smell and sounds of spring into your home. Read further for some great spring-cleaning tips! Gardening is also top of mind for folks who have a little patch in their yard, a couple boxes or planters, and certainly for market gardeners, as they are well in to starting tender plants for replanting as soon as danger of frost is past, and seeds are waiting to go into the moist, black Saskatchewan dirt. Ready or not! Here comes another busy growing season. And we can’t wait to get out there and get our hands dirty!
Spring Cleaning with Steep Hill
Steep Hill Food Co-op has built a well-deserved reputation for being a provider of organic and local food, so much so that many people think that the co-op only carries food (to be fair, that’s right in the name!). However, the store is also a source of eco-friendly cleaning, laundry, and personal care products. With spring upon us (finally), we’ve decided to highlight some cleaning and laundry products the store sells.
As you would have read in the last newsletter, world events have meant that we are focusing on providing Canadian-made products as much as possible. Steep Hill has carried Ecover and EcoLiving Club dish and laundry detergent for many years; these are both made by American companies. Currently, there are still a few of these products on the shelves, but no more will be ordered.
Fortunately, the store has a wide selection of Canadian-made cleaning products for you to try! The Unscented Company, as the name suggests, produces scent-free home and body care products; currently, Steep Hill has laundry tabs and dish detergent in stock. Myni concentrates on…well, concentrates. Just add water and a concentrate tablet to a container or spray bottle for minimal waste cleaning. Steep Hill has carried Nature Clean for a number of years, including their laundry detergent sheets and dishwasher gel. Eco-Max laundry detergent is currently in stock in two scents. Attitude offers a wide range of products, from makeup to cleaning supplies. Simply Clean, based in Guelph ON, is a source of household cleaning and laundry products, including the washing and baking soda, soap flakes, and stain remover bar currently on Steep Hill’s shelves.
If you haven’t tried these items before, now is a great time to discover a new favourite, Canadian cleaning or laundry product! As always, if you know of other products that Steep Hill could look at bringing in, contact the store at 306-664-4455 or at hello@steephillfood.ca.
Store Updates
Longer days - longer hours!
Starting May 15, Steep Hill’s doors will be opening one hour earlier - at 10 AM on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays. Watch for and share social media posts on Facebook and Instagram to let your friends and neighbours know about the added morning shopping hour on these days.
World Fair Trade Day
Nancy Allan and Rae Hearn will be running a World Fair Trade Day mini event at the store on May 17 starting at about 11:30 am. There’ll be some Camino chocolate and Level Ground coffee to sample, as well as two door prizes. Fairtrade means better prices, decent working conditions, and a fairer deal for farmers and workers in the countries where our commodities like coffee, cocoa, and bananas are from, and it enables farmers and workers to have more control over their lives. Stop and chat with Nancy and Rae to learn more about what Fair Trade certification means and why it is an important part of what Steep Hill offers.
Local Product News
The new growing season’s local produce has already started appearing on Steep Hill’s shelves! We’ve got Roma tomatoes, mini cucumbers, and will soon have cherry tomatoes from Floating Gardens, along with their zucchini, lettuce and some herbs. Asparagus will be in by the middle of May. Expect to see more greens and other fresh, local produce towards the middle or end of June.
After many years of operating Carmen Corner Meats on their family farm near Waldheim producing pork products, Don and Louella Friesen have decided to retire and will be ceasing operations at the beginning of June. If you would like to get some of their delicious local pork products – all gluten- and dairy-free from hogs raised without hormones or antibiotics – for your freezer, you can put your orders in by May 13, and May 27. Carmen Corner will do their best to accommodate an increase in orders, and if they are unable to supply all requests, Steep Hill staff will let you know if this affects your order. We are also looking to find a new local pork supplier, in addition to Original Family Farm’s grassfed pork products. Many thanks and best wishes to Don and Louella!
Cardboard Recyclers Needed!
While Steep Hill tries to minimize waste at all times, the fact is that almost all the produce and other products arrive in cardboard boxes, most of which are flattened for recycling. There are a few dedicated volunteers who come weekly to collect the recycling, but more are needed. Currently, if one volunteer isn’t able to complete their scheduled pick-up, no one is available to fill in. This means that the accumulation of recycling must be dealt with by a staff member to avoid overwhelming the next scheduled volunteer. The same is true for garbage collection – the store needs more volunteers to pick up and dispose of garbage on a regular basis.
Once the snow has completely melted from the store’s ‘back yard’, it would be wonderful to have someone trim the tree and work to keep the weeds under control. The fence is also in need of a paint touch-up. We’ll be looking for volunteers for Spring Fling on June 5. A sign-up sheet will go up in the store at the beginning of May. Shifts will be two hours. Summer will also bring more volunteer opportunities – delivering flyers, working at the Steep Hill table at the various Broadway festivities – so stay tuned for more details in the coming months.
If you’re interested in any of these opportunities or have questions, please email Amielle directly 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 or emailing to request a shift.
Drop your Bottles and Cans at SARCAN and Donate to Steep Hill
Did you know that you can donate your bottle and can deposit refunds to Steep Hill through SARCAN’s Drop and Donate program? It’s a quick and easy way to support our co-op while putting our eco-values into action. SARCAN’s top recycling priority is to feed materials into circular economies, reducing the need for mining natural resources and reducing the greenhouse gas emissions from production cycles. So, when you’re tidying up after entertaining, or decluttering your garage, basement or back porch, think of SARCAN and Steep Hill at the same time!
At the SARCAN depot, look for the Drop and Go entrance off to the side of the main entrance. You’ll see computer screens on the wall where you type in the phrase “Steep Hill Food” to indicate where to direct your donation (see photos). You don’t need to set up a personal account to do this. The machine will print a barcode sticker to put on your box of glass containers or bag of cans before you leave them on the rollers for processing. SARCAN staff will calculate your donation amount and e-transfer it to Steep Hill’s bank account. The funds will help with some needed improvements and upgrades around the store. Every little bit counts towards reaching our goals!
Saskatoon has four SARCAN depots. They are open 9 AM til 5 PM Monday to Saturday, located at 2900 Jasper Ave South, #7 - 2305 22 Street West, 350B - 103 Street East, and 3803 Kochar Ave. The Drop and Go areas at the Kochar and 103rd Street locations are open until 9 PM on Thursdays and Fridays. For more information visit SARCAN’s website.
Broadway Bridge Closure
Starting in May 2025, the Broadway Bridge, a key route for many Steep Hill Food Co-op members, will be closed for extensive rehabilitation until October. This closure will impact daily commutes and access to our co-operative, but it’s essential for ensuring the safety and longevity of the bridge.
The rehabilitation includes concrete deck repairs, waterproofing replacement, new asphalt, and upgrades to traffic barriers. Improvements to the multi-use pathways, arches, and railings will enhance both functionality and aesthetics. This construction will also be a part of the city’s preparation for the Link system, the bus rapid transit initiative with four Link stations being constructed on Broadway Ave.
During the closure, members will need to find alternate routes. The Victoria Ave bridge, Idylwyld bridge, and University bridge are recommended alternatives. The city is committed to providing regular information and updates every two weeks.
Despite the inconvenience, pedestrian access to the Meewasin Trail will be maintained via scaffolding tunnels. Friendship Park will remain open, though fenced off near the bridge, and the boat launch on Spadina Crescent will stay accessible.
We encourage all Steep Hill Food Co-op members to stay informed by signing up for the city’s bi-weekly updates by emailing constructionupdates@saskatoon.ca and to support local businesses on Broadway during this period. Your patience, understanding, cooperation, and commitment to Steep Hill and all Broadway based businesses during this construction period is greatly appreciated as we navigate these changes together for a better Broadway future.
Avoiding Dairy in Food Products
There are a variety of reasons that you might be looking to avoid dairy in your next grocery shop; whether it’s for food allergies, lactose intolerance or a dietary preference (like going vegan or trying out more plant-based eating). Sometimes, the dairy ingredients can be difficult to spot if they are something other than milk or cheese. Here are a few tips for what to look for and how to avoid dairy:
- Check the allergens listed with the ingredient list. Food manufacturers are required by law to list allergens such as milk on processed food labels. These may be listed as “containing” or “may contain”.
- Commonly used dairy foods include ingredients like: milk, milk powder, cheese, butter, cream, sour cream, and yogurt.
- Other dairy foods or ingredients to watch for that you may be less familiar with are:
- Ghee: clarified butter
- Kefir: fermented milk drink
- Casein or caseinates: processed milk proteins
- Modified milk ingredients
- Whey: protein that comes from the curdling process when milk is made into cheese
- Milk from other animals, like goat milk, will still contain lactose but may have lower levels than cow’s milk
- Look for dairy-free alternatives. Plant-based eating (which would exclude animal products like dairy foods) is becoming increasingly popular and there are a growing number of options for dairy-free milks, cheeses, yogurts, and much more! You can also often find substitutions for ingredients, like using a banana or coconut oil instead of butter
How to Waste Less and Taste More!
Here’s a sobering statistic: 50 percent of food waste in Canada happens in our kitchens. Almost half of that is wasted produce—fruits and vegetables tossed because they’re past their prime. In fact, 60 percent of household food waste, including leftovers, is preventable if only we ate it instead of discarding it.
This represents an annual cost of $1,300 per average household, according to the National Zero Waste Council of Canada. More sobering is the environmental cost. Households discard 2.3 million tonnes of edible food per year. Given the environmental toll of growing, processing, transporting, storing and disposing of that food, it represents 6.9 million tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions, equal to an extra two million cars on the road.
How not to waste so much food? It seems too simple to say: don’t buy so much or such large quantities. That’s hard to do when grocery stores offer large, over-sized packaging, and we load up for the month. Good intentions end up trashed. Consider shopping more often for smaller quantities. Make a realistic plan to use it all. Shop where quality and flavour (and local) are guiding principles rather than over-selling with a “waste factor” built into the profit model. Spend the money saved on better quality food.
Don’t toss that soft carrot, wrinkled apple or little stub of cabbage left over from a recipe. Over-the-hill produce is great roasted, as a stir-fry or in a pot of soup. Droopy spinach is prime for an omelet or frittata. Wrinkly red peppers are Mediterranean goodness as roasted red peppers. A fistful of parsley or cilantro does double duty when dried and crumbled for another day. It takes a bit of planning, but the reward tastes great.
As winter gives way to spring and the summer produce season, it’s a good time to be more mindful of where we shop, what we buy and what’s in the fridge. Sometimes, we can’t use everything at the peak of perfection. But we can, with care and attention, use what we’ve purchased before it goes bad.
This rustic tart recipe is perfect for using bruised or wrinkled apples. It can be made with regular pastry or a sheet of puff pastry. The size of the tart depends on the size of your pie plate.
Comic Book & Graphic Novel Co-operative Day Camp!
Here’s some summer fun for creative kids! Over the course of a week, camp attendees will learn about the power of co-operatives through the art of creating comics and graphic novels. Led by local artists, illustrators, and writers, comic book campers will attend workshops that will teach them about story structure, page composition, pacing, materials, and creative techniques. At the end of the camp, campers will work together to create and publish a comics’ anthology.
The Saskatchewan Co-operative Association will be running three one-week camps for different age groups: July 2-5 (ages 12–13), July 8–12 (ages 14–15), and July 15–19 (ages 16–17). Camp attendance costs $350, which covers art supplies, snacks, and a printed copy of the comics they create. Each day will run from 9:00 AM to 4:00 PM, and extended hours pick-up and drop-off are available for an additional $40. All our camps filled up quickly last year, so we highly recommend registering early to secure a spot.
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, Amy Jo Ehman, Cathy Holtslander, Maryann Scott, Ann Smith, and Brianne Weigel for contributing to the Newsletter!!
Your grocery store on Broadway!