Incorporating Multiple FarmRaisers Into Your School Calendar

by Chief Cultivator
Posted on August 16, 2016

pumpkinpatch_small-993x461 Chances are, sometime in the next few weeks, you’ll be meeting with your PTA, fellow coaches or teachers, or school administration to take a look at your school calendar and figure out when and how to fundraise! One of the benefits of working with FarmRaiser is that there is no limit to how many you can host; while no one wants to buy cookie dough or wrapping paper more than once (and really–who wants to buy it at all?), selling seasonal products throughout the year in conjunction with school events, holidays, and other days to celebrate lets you fundraise AND delight your supporters throughout the year.

Check out some examples below of the different types of FarmRaisers schools host throughout the year, and take a look at the sample calendar we’re put together that lays out a year of FarmRaising. Feel free to email us with questions or to share what you’re thinking, and sign up or log in to schedule your next FarmRaiser today!

Great Ideas for FarmRaisers

Fresh Produce sale: Seasonal veggie bags, local salad kits, apples in the fall, strawberries in the spring…talk to your cultivator about when to plan your fresh produce sale!
Seed sale! : Your Pick of awesome seeds! Baker Creek, Seed Savers, Terroir, High Mowing
Plant sale: Perfect for fall mums, holiday poinsettias, Mothers’ Day, and more! Let your Cultivator know if there’s local nursery or greenhouse you love!
Holiday sale: Thanksgiving turkeys, holiday cheese boards, Valentine’s healthy treats, etc.
Picnic or Festival-themed sale: Put together a locally sourced picnic selection like this one for supporters to pick up at the event
Community Service sale: Students sell healthy local products in their FarmRaiser, then donate proceeds to a a great cause. Check out this example, which sent over $3,000 to Stop Hunger Now

Sample School FarmRaising Calendar

Back-to-school (Early September/Oct): produce, healthy snacks, and food literacy books
Halloween (presales in early Oct): healthy treats instead of junk, pumpkins
Harvest season (up to Thanksgiving): fresh produce and value added products (honey, jam, etc.)
Holiday Season (presales starting in late Oct/early Nov): gourmet host(ess) treats, local gifts, wreaths, poinsettias
Winter/Early Spring (Jan-March): seeds, value-added products, healthy Superbowl treats
Valentines Day (presales in mid Jan): Flowers, dark chocolate, V-day meal supplies or meal kit
Mid Spring (early March – April): seeds, plants, early spring produce, UPick coupons
Mothers Day: Mom wants some locally grown flowers and snacks!
June/late spring: Local strawberries! (Talk to your cultivator about dates for your region)

Contact your cultivator for more ideas, questions, or a quick brainstorming session! As always, thanks for your hard work connecting your kids, students, and community to the amazing locally made and grown food around you. You rock!