About Us
Our Story
1982: The RRCRC was established with a mission to provide a wide range of social support and services that enable residents’ empowerment, community resilience, and inclusion of all.
2016: The RRCRC expands its programming related to food security to better meet the needs of the community. They began to explore the feasibility of renovating an unused greenhouse to grow produce.
2018: Evaluation of the space at the new Rideau Hub on St. Laurent Blvd and brainstorming of a new social enterprise start.
2019: In November, Social Harvest Ottawa is introduced as a new program focused on food security and environmental education. The operation of the 713 square feet urban greenhouse begins.
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What we do:
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Food security: We improve food security by providing activities and services such as online and in-person workshops; community gardens; and growth of community projects. Respectively, these increase the number of residents with knowledge of food literacy, agriculture, and environment-related topics; expand partnerships in Ward13 to contribute to local food insecurity and poverty reduction solutions; and increase the availability of fresh locally-grown produce.
Innovative farming: Social Harvest operates an urban greenhouse and produces microgreens from fall through spring and hot-house crops in the summer. Our produce is always fresh, local, nutritious and free of chemical pesticides and fertilizers. Find out where you can purchase our products on our website or by reaching out directly to us. All of our proceeds are re-invested in the Rideau-Rockcliffe Community Resource Centre.
Youth employment: Through our Professional Intern Program, in partnership with incubator13, we provide work experience to youth who face barriers to employment. The three-month paid internship helps support youth between the ages of 18 and 29 years old to develop their professional and entrepreneurial skills.
Community engagement: We aim to improve food security in our community through a range of programming such as offering workshops on food literacy and hosting events related to urban agriculture. We like to engage volunteers in these activities and welcome people of all ages to part-take in our events.