Introducing the star behind the namesake for Ryder Rhubarb!

We continue our tradition to honour a real-life community hero namesake with each of our monthly feature flavours. Last month’s local hero was Julie Donaldson, the owner of Home Instead Winnipeg.

In honour of Julie, we will be donating $1 from every pint of Julie Berrycake sold in June to the Alzheimer’s Society of Manitoba in memory of her grandmothers Sylvia and Kathy. Home Instead will match every $1.

In July, we decided to use a seasonal fruit that we had never worked with before.

Say Hi to Ryder Rhubarb! Ryder Rhubarb is reminiscent of rhubarb crisp. In case you’re not familiar with rhubarb, it has a tangy flavour that, when perfectly sweetened, strikes a harmonious balance between tartness and sweetness. Toasted oats and brown sugar round out a crisp, just like Gramma made! We sourced locally-grown Manitoba rhubarb from Riverbend Orchards Farm. It brings us such joy when we can create something entirely local and perfectly in sync with the season.

Ryder Rhubarb is named after Ryder Smith, and he is our July Community Champion. Ryder is a 13-year-old who lives in Winnipeg. Ryder was born with cerebral palsy, requires the use of a wheelchair, and uses an augmentative communication device to communicate. Ryder has raised over $145,000 for the Cerebral Palsy Association of Manitoba through his Ryder’s Riders bike race team with the help of his many friends and his family. He is also a big baseball fan and loves playing alongside his teammates in the Challenger Baseball League. 
Ryder and his family are truly inspirational.

In honour of Ryder, we will be donating $1 from every pint of Ryder Rhubarb sold to Ryder’s chosen charity – Disability Matters Vote.

Disability Matters Vote is a non-partisan public awareness campaign. This campaign is a joint initiative of Abilities Manitoba and Barrier Free Manitoba. The main goals are:

• To ensure all Manitobans with disabilities can participate fully in election activities and those who are eligible to vote can do so.
• To promote priority attention for disability issues in the provincial election.
• To support Manitobans in making informed voting decisions.

We hope you will visit us this month, purchase a pint of Ryder Rhubarb and know that you are supporting a great cause while you enjoy this month’s feature!