Produce for all
Student-run organization Square Roots provides cosmetically imperfect vegetables at accessible prices
“You can’t really know people’s situations … So we just go by the no-questions-asked policy to make it more welcoming and dignified — a space for everybody that wants to come and support the program.”
Melissa Baxter Square Roots
“The world produces enough food to feed every single person; so why are there people still hungry and unable to access this food?”
That’s the question Square Roots asks every day – and tries its best to solve.
Started in 2016, Square Roots was created by student entrepreneurs at Saint Mary’s University to address the issue of food insecurity among students and Nova Scotia in general – the most food insecure province in Canada. Ironically, the province also wastes the most food.
“A lot of people think that because we’re students and have the money to attend school that we have money to eat,” says Square Roots Bundle Service co-project manager, Hannah Tibbet.
“A lot of people are just basically scraping by right now.”
Through its Bundle Service, the organization purchases seconds produce in bulk from local farmers and packages root vegetables, fruits, and more into 10-lb. bundles. The cosmetically imperfect (but otherwise nutritious) produce is then supplied to community managers, who sell the produce at various locations throughout the province at the end of each month – keeping 90 per cent of the profits.
“You never know who is food insecure and who isn’t,” says Tibbet. “Someone who’s driving the nicest car isn’t always someone who has food on their plate at night.”
Using a social pricing model, Square Roots offers its 10-lb. produce packages for $5 and $10, no questions asked.
“You can’t really know people’s situations,” says Bundle Service co-project manager, Melissa Baxter. “So we just go by the no-questions-asked policy to make it more welcoming and dignified — a space for everybody that wants to come and support the program.”
EFFECTIVE ACTION
Square Roots was created under Enactus, the largest student leadership organization in the world, which strives to solve environmental, social, and economic issues through entrepreneurial action. Staying true to that mandate, Square Roots diverts food waste from landfill-bound produce (101,000 lbs. to date), which creates methane – far more detrimental than CO2 – provides affordable food to those using the service, and economically empowers the farmers and community managers it works with.
Creating a sustainable model that benefits people on many fronts, the organization is garnering interest from others near and far.
In May, Baxter and Tibbet visited Enactus members at Sheridan College in Mississauga, Ont., and established Square Roots’s first out-of-province hub.
“It’s really exciting for us that we’re expanding throughout Canada,” says Tibbet.
And the possibility of taking Square Roots international is on the table as well after a successful networking event caught the attention of Enactus members from the U.K. and South Africa in September.
In addition to expanding their hubs and selling produce, Square Roots has forged partnerships with companies such as Boxing Rock Brewing Co., who helped create 14 Carrot Gold — a beer made from imperfect carrots. Furthermore, Hellmann’s has partnered with the student-led organization by including vouchers for free mayonnaise with the purchase of each produce package.
“We’re just looking to expand and spread our message,” says Tibbet. “For us, Square Roots is more of a lifestyle. We hope to expand beyond veggies and show people they can reduce waste in everything they do in their everyday life.”
And the future looks bright. Having received funding from various competitions, Baxter and Tibbet say Square Roots is very sustainable and they hope to invest in more hubs in the near future. In addition, they hope to partner with grocery stores, new produce sources as well as new community managers — expanding on a mission which seemingly benefits everyone.
“One of the big goals is to make it so accessible; because it’s just as easy as a grocery store and it’s less expensive – so why wouldn’t people choose the more sustainable option?” says Tibbet. “I guess the goal is to be more convenient and always the better option.”
Go online: For more info about Square Roots and bundle pickup dates and locations, visit instagram.com/squarerootssmu/.