GUYSBOROUGH – In the end, for Rhonda Procure, it was all about her kids. And so, the former schoolteacher is stepping away from the affordable-food program she has built and led in Guysborough over the past three years to spend more time with them.
“The big thing is family time,” she told The Journal Aug. 30, shortly after announcing her decision on Facebook. “Weekends is all we get with them, really.”
In her post, Procure said she had been considering the move since last spring as she tried to balance Square Roots with family life.
“Spending many hours on Friday evenings and Saturdays has made it difficult to have the quality time with my school-aged children that I truly value,” she wrote.
Procure and her partner have three children – one still at home and two who attend École Belle-Baie in Larry’s River, adding time to their weekdays.
“No, no, not right now. Just the kids,” she said when asked whether she planned to take on something new after Square Roots.
Her departure does not necessarily mean the end of Square Roots Guysborough.
Procure said no one had expressed interest in taking over as of Sunday afternoon, but she had only made the announcement about an hour before speaking with The Journal.
“It is a lot of work, but it is good for the community and it is needed in the community,” she said. “It would be good if someone wanted to take it over.”
In her Facebook post, Procure said she would help an individual or community organization interested in assuming responsibility for the program, including sharing what she has learned over the past few years. She also said one more Square Roots Guysborough event will be held, with details to come.
The decision comes after a year of sharp swings for the volunteer-run food program.
Over the winter, weekly produce orders fell from as much as 2,000 pounds to roughly 500, prompting Procure to survey customers about whether the service was still needed. The response showed strong support, although the program was also facing the loss of funding that had previously covered unsold produce and food waste. At times, volunteers were left absorbing losses of more than $300 in a weekend.
By earlier this summer, demand had rebounded sharply.
At one Guysborough sale, Square Roots moved 2,000 pounds of produce and sold about 98 per cent of it. Procure attributed the increase to greater awareness of the program and its price savings, while customers increasingly favoured market-style purchases and individual advance orders over the traditional 10-pound produce bags.
The local operation has brought fresh produce from Annapolis Valley suppliers into Guysborough County at prices intended to provide an alternative to grocery-store costs. It has also staged larger free distributions, including more than 5,600 pounds of produce handed out over two days in Guysborough and Canso last December.
Procure said Sunday that the Halifax-based Square Roots organization had been supportive during her time. Recent trucking and delivery problems had caused some disruptions locally, she said, but she characterized them as operational issues rather than a reason for leaving.
Procure opened her own roadside farm stand, Porch and Petal, in Boylston this summer, selling baked goods, homemade jam, herbs and some Square Roots produce during distribution weekends. She told The Journal Sunday that she plans to keep it operating “as long as we can into the season.”
For Square Roots Guysborough, however, Procure said leaving after almost three years is difficult.
“I am very sad to let it go,” she wrote Sunday. “I will truly miss seeing everyone every couple weeks and having the chance to chat with you all.”
