Nourish the North
Give and grow with rocket greens
For our 2025 Year-end Fundraiser, we are launching a subsidized Rocket Greens Launch Box subscription through CanadaHelps to offer a free program for households in Churchill who identify cost as a barrier to accessing fresh produce, while also making our paid service more affordable. This initiative is part of our ongoing commitment to food justice and community care, and for every dollar donated, we’ll match it! We recognize that food insecurity in Churchill stems from structural inequities that disproportionately impact northern, remote, and Indigenous communities. While we’re proud of our progress in expanding local food production, reducing reliance on Southern supply chains remains critical, especially when most fresh produce travels over 3,000 km to reach our region. This food mileage increases costs, shortens shelf life, and leaves a significant carbon footprint. By shortening the distance from farm to table, your donations directly support a climate-conscious fund that makes Rocket Greens more accessible to everyone in Churchill.
How the Program Works
Each week, greens are harvested on Wednesdays, packed in reusable Launch Box bags, and delivered right to subscribers’ doors. For the fully funded subscription trial, we are focusing on the Mini-sized Launch Box, which includes 3 heads of lettuce and a bundle of herbs – perfect for individuals and small households. Each participant will be able to try out our Launch Box for 3 months at a time with deliveries at no-charge so we can reach everyone who is interested. Participants will also have the option to join our complimentary compost service, allowing food scraps to be returned to our industrial composter.
For those that enroll in our program, we’ll offer optional check-ins and conversations with participants to ensure the program is meeting real needs and to guide future improvements based on community feedback.
Curbing Our Emissions:
Since 2017, we’ve been proud to supply local restaurants, contribute to food bank donations, and support community events with the goal of making fresh greens available to as many people as possible and reducing reliance on southern food production. When you consider that a single head of lettuce shipped from California adds around 260 grams of CO₂ emissions just in transportation, the impact adds up fast. By growing and distributing lettuce locally, we’re significantly cutting fossil fuel use: our entire weekly delivery route emits just 15kg of CO₂, less than the emissions from a single shipment coming from the south.
In 2024 we launched our new compost program that is on track to divert 18,700 lbs of food waste from our landfill annually, preventing over an estimated two metric tons of carbon emissions. With enough funding, we could welcome 20 new households into the subsidized program. If those households also participate in our compost service, we estimate over 10,000 lbs of organic waste could be diverted from the landfill which would prevent nearly three metric tons of carbon emissions every year. This includes both avoided landfill methane and reduced transportation emissions, thanks to our local Rocket Greens delivery service replacing long-distance shipments.
Churchill’s Food Heritage
Churchill holds a rich history of living sustainably and respectfully off the land, guided by knowledge systems that prioritize balance, reciprocity, and the equitable distribution of food. As we turn to hydroponic farming to address gaps in our modern food system, we recognize that it is complementary to the deep-rooted hunting and harvesting culture already here and we are working to ensure our efforts align with Churchill’s rich land-based heritage.
In September we organized a berry-picking event that brought 20 community members to the grounds near the CNSC by the rocket range to harvest wild blueberries, cranberries, currants, and cloudberries. For many, access to country food is limited by transportation barriers and safety concerns, such as the need for bear guards. In partnership with Training to Employment Churchill, we provided the means necessary for community members and CNSC staff to enjoy an afternoon foraging in the berry patches.
Just like the Launch Box program, this event helps make nutritious food more accessible and reflects a broader effort to support local options.
Looking to the future
We’re still in the early phases of this program as we continue to challenge dominant food systems and reconnect with more just and regenerative ways of growing food. With enough fundraising, we can pilot a program that benefits the whole community.
We are deeply grateful to the donors, subscribers, and community members who make this work possible. This is one small step toward a larger vision: a food system in Churchill that is community-led, environmentally sustainable, and rooted in care.
