Riverbend Gardens

I haven’t been out to Riverbend Gardens (yet), but I’ve been a subscriber to their CSA for two years now, as well as a customer at City Centre market before that. I love what they do, from their veggies to their online presence. You can visit the farm as well, to pick saskatoons or visit their greenhouse, but I haven’t done that yet.
Their CSA is a great way to make sure you’re eating your veggies, and to expand your vegetable horizons. Each week, you get an assortment of vegetables. They let you know a day in advance, and there are a few standards (potatoes and onions usually), but often you end up with something that might be new to you. Last year I learned all kinds of ways to cook fennel! It is pretty reasonably priced too; around $ 25/​week depending on the size you get, and we didn’t have to buy vegetables anywhere else once the CSA started.
The CSA keeps expanding, adding more and more pickup locations each year. Riverbend partners with various other local businesses, which serve as pick up locations for the veggie bags. I’ve been picking up at Acme Meat Market, which makes for a lot of delicious meals in the summer and fall.
Love it!

I have always enjoyed the vegetables from Riverbend Gardens found Saturday mornings at the Strathcona farmers Market. But to know them is to love them and since being on a tour of their farm I really really love their veggies. A bus tour of the great farm land in Edmontons NE was held by Live Local and GEA. The tour visited 6 great producers all sitting on healthy productive farmland. On the tour I met the family that farms Riverbend, I saw the beautiful farm and learned about their farming practices/​land stewardship. They recently added CSA (Community supported agriculture) with 3 delivery sites in the city. You can sign up for next year and have fresh veggies delivered. Their Spanish onions are so superior to the ones that we find in stores. Many store bought veggies are travel hardy but not very exciting to taste. Riverbend has lovely varieties of corn and they are having a great corn year. They tend to get their veggies to market very early in spring due to their micro climate. So in these categories I give them 5 stars: helping to develop local food economy, great tasting veggies, civic boosters (they love Edmonton and sell locally/​hire locally), advocates (they are working with others to educate people about the importance of good land use planning), support of CSA.