Gee, I Sure Wish There Was A Grocery Store On Broadway!

May 11, 2026

Believe it or not, there are still people in our area who don’t realize that Steep Hill is a grocery store, that you don’t need to be a member to shop, that we carry a wide range of products to serve many tastes, needs, and preferences, or that it is open daily!

To raise our profile, we created a welcoming and informative poster that many of our neighbouring businesses and community gathering places around Broadway have happily placed where folks can see them. This is an easy way to encourage folks to stop in to Steep Hill while they are out and about.

If you would like to introduce Steep Hill to more future shoppers and potential members you can click on the picture below to download the letter-sized poster, then make copies with your colour printer. Most small businesses are happy to put the posters up. Many community centres, gyms, workplaces, and coffee shops have bulletin boards, and condo or apartment buildings often have a spot where people put up notices.

If you don’t have a colour printer, you can pick up copies at the store. Call or email ahead, so staff can have some ready for you - and mention some of the places you’re thinking of placing the poster. It will be good for us to know how far and wide they are being seen.

A poster advertising about the benefits of the Steep Hill Food Co-op that includes hours, location and informing that a membership is not required.
Click Image To Download Poster

Victoria Day Holiday

Steep Hill will be closed on Victoria Day, Monday, May 18, 2026.

Shopping News

Back in stock!:

Fresh produce:

Tasty, nutritious and Canadian (of course!):

A close up view of three bottles of Good Food For Good lined up side-by-side of BBQ sauce, tikka masala sauce, and ketchup.
Photo Credit: Amielle Christopherson

Lavonne Derksen and Derksen Family Farm

Our series of profiles of woman farmers in honour of the International Year of the Woman Farmer continues with Lavonne Derksen of Derksen Family Farm.

Lavonne grew up in a grain farming family who always had a large garden and produced a great deal of their own food. Although Lavonne and her husband initially lived in town, this early experience with access to straight-from-the garden produce led them to garden on a somewhat larger scale than that of their neighbours. When their six children were young, the couple purchased land to set up their acreage near Rosthern. Their journey to larger-scale food production began with learning about the University of Saskatchewan’s experimentation with prairie-hardy sour cherries and a visit to an apple orchard; they decided to plant their own orchard of apples and sour cherries. Their young sons, budding entrepreneurs, came up with the idea of planting carrots to sell.

After that start, there was no turning back! Since then, the Derksen Family Farm has become known for its healthy, naturally grown, delectable produce. Committed to organic growing practices, the farm produces apples, carrots and sour cherries along with potatoes, onions, beets, pie pumpkins, and more grown seasonally. At its largest, the farm had over 1800 fruit trees and grew 60,000 lbs. of carrots in a season. As the children have grown up and most have moved on, Lavonne has downsized to 1500 fruit trees and a few thousand pounds of carrots per season.

Despite the labour intensity of farming for little financial gain, Lavonne is thankful for healthy food that her whole family and many others can enjoy and benefit from. She and her family are also grateful to everyone who supports small local producers. Much of Steep Hill’s carrot supply comes from Derksen Family Farm (make sure to watch the carrot harvesting video linked below!). If you’ve ever purchased bags of local Sensation, Misty Rose, Grannie Annie, or Autumn Delight apples in the fall, you’ve sampled the results of Lavonne and her family’s work and care.

Derksen Family Farm Promo

Derksen Family Farm Carrot Harvest

How to Spend a Saturday in June

Do you have plans for Saturday, June 13th? Steep Hill is still in need of a few volunteers for the Broadway BID’s Spring Fling event. Spring Fling features musicians, dancers, family-friendly activities, and food, and well as booths set up by craftspeople, artists, and Broadway merchants. If you’re able to help with Steep Hill’s contribution to this event, please sign up. Broadway BID will be providing volunteer t-shirts, as well as snacks and drinks during your shift! If you have any questions, please contact the store.

Two hours of volunteer work (in-store or in another capacity) 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.

View May 2026 Volunteer Schedule 

View June 2026 Volunteer Schedule

A Tale of Two Rhubarbs

Originally, rhubarb was considered a medicinal plant. Native to northern Asia, the rhubarb root was dried and used to treat digestive ailments and internal inflammation. As medicine, rhubarb spread to Northern Europe and then to New France (i.e. North America) in the 1600s. No one ate the stalks!

It wasn’t until the early 1800s, when sugar became more plentiful and affordable, that people started eating the tart red stalks, turning them into delicious pies, puddings and jams. British and Scandinavian immigrants brought their sweet rhubarb recipes to North America, where rhubarb earned the nickname “pie plant.”

Here on the Canadian plains, settlers arriving overland from elsewhere in Canada and the United States brought cuttings of rhubarb root with them. Once established, these homesteaders shared their rhubarb with newcomers from overseas. Rhubarb did well in northern gardens and was welcomed as the first “fruit” of spring. It’s really a vegetable, but who cares?

Perhaps there was a time when the root of rhubarb was used for ailments at the same time the stalks were used for food. But don’t dig those roots! Modern nutritional analysis shows that the stalks are also beneficial—high in fibre, antioxidants and vitamin K, aiding digestion, inflammation, cholesterol and bone health.

This recipe for rhubarb pudding was brought by Norwegian settlers Hans and Kristiane Lien, who settled first in North Dakota, then came north to homestead in Saskatchewan in 1903. Among their family keepsakes is this recipe for rhubarb pudding, written in original Norwegian. It’s a delicious way to welcome spring in Saskatchewan.

Rhubarb Pudding

  1. Cut butter into small pieces.
  2. Cut rhubarb into thin slices.
  3. Mix flour and brown sugar.
  4. With your fingers, rub the butter into the flour until evenly blended.
  5. Put rhubarb pieces in a lightly buttered baking dish.
  6. Mix white sugar and cinnamon together.
  7. Sprinkle sugar and cinnamon mix evenly over the rhubarb.
  8. Press the flour mixture over top, covering the rhubarb.
  9. Bake at 325 °F for 45 minutes.
  10. Serve warm or cold, perhaps with vanilla ice cream or yogurt.

Recipe sourced from the cookbook Out of Old Saskatchewan Kitchens by Amy Jo Ehman

A plate sitting on a table with a table spoon placed beside a portion of rhubarb pudding.
Photo Credit: Amy Jo Ehman

Catch The Wave On May 29!

Meet neighbours, share some food and enjoy the artistry of our community members at the community potluck, music, spoken word and jam session at Grace Westminster church. On the last Friday of the month from September to May, Brian Paul DG and friends host a potluck (6 PM), variety show (7:30 PM), featured artists (8:30 PM) and music jam (9:40 - 10ish PM). On May 29 the featured artists are Kevin Wesaquate, spoken word and Wild Prairie musicians. Everyone is welcome!. Grace Westminster is one block west of Steep Hill on the corner of Eastlake and 10th Street.

An event poster for Catch The Wave featuring Kevin Wesaquate and Wild Prairie at Grace-Westminster United Church.

Follow and Share Steep Hill Online

Between monthly newsletters, Steep Hill staff post new product information, staff picks, supplier news, and timely updates on our Facebook and Instagram accounts. If you like Steep Hill - “like us” on Social Media too. You can go to the home pages to check in on the latest, and share posts from there or from your news feed with your own network. You can help expand our online reach by tagging Steep Hill Food Co-op in your own posts too.

A colourful poster of a shopping bag spilling out new grocery items with a title above of 'New at Steep Hill' and 'Visit Us In Store Today!'.
Image Credit: Paige Tellier

Put Your Pop Cans To Work

You can use SARCAN’s Drop and Donate program to help Steep Hill! To “volunteer” your pop cans and returnable bottles, go to the Drop and Go entrance off to the side of the main doors. Fill in the computer screen form, and put the phrase “Steep Hill Food” to tell SARCAN where your donation should go. The machine will print a barcode sticker for your bag or box of cans/bottles. SARCAN will calculate the value of your donation and e-transfer it to Steep Hill.

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 Amielle Christopherson, Adam Douglas, Amy Jo Ehman, Cathy Holtslander, Brian Paul, and Maryann Scott for contributing to this Newsletter! If you would like to join the newsletter crew, email board@steephillfood.ca.

Your grocery store on Broadway!