Westbrae pumpkin patch is back for Albany PTA fundraiser
Westbrae Nursery raises about $35,000 a year for Albany schools.
One of the area’s few pumpkin patches is back for fall, filling Westbrae Nursery with pumpkins and gourds while raising money for Cornell Elementary School in Albany.
The fundraiser generated about $32,000 for the school’s parent-teacher association last year. Westbrae donates the proceeds from the pumpkin patch to the Cornell PTA, while the pumpkins are supplied by Larry’s Produce in Fairfield.
The fundraiser was established with the nursery’s previous owners and was once larger in scale. But that model "wasn’t sustainable" for the cooperative, Joshua Hincks, a nursery buyer and co-op board member, told Albany Scanner, prompting Westbrae to seek a partnership that would lower costs while allowing more of the proceeds to go to the PTA.
Hincks said Larry's had been a fantastic partner.
"He doesn't charge us for delivery and gives us a discounted rate. Sometimes he donates whole bins to us for the cause," Hincks said.
With those savings, the pumpkin patch generates up to $35,000 a year, Hincks said. "It’s a lot of money for the PTA."
The money is used for direct classroom support, lunch club supplies and grade-level field trips, among other expenses, said Cornell PTA president Alix Kottke.
"Our PTA works very closely with our principal and teachers to ensure our funds have the greatest impact possible and improve equity across our campus," she told Albany Scanner.
"We feel very grateful to have several local businesses that host fundraisers for our school and share out a percentage of their profits. For this partnership, Westbrae Nursery provides the pumpkins and Cornell Elementary volunteers do a lot of work to advertise and promote the pumpkin patch," she added.
Parent-teacher associations across Albany Unified School District raise money for individual school sites through donations and fundraisers, helping pay for classroom supplies, assemblies, field trips, technology, library materials and other expenses.
At Westbrae, preparations for the pumpkin patch begin well before the pumpkins arrive. Employees started clearing space and moving nursery inventory last week, with the first batch of pumpkins arriving Wednesday. Nursery workers used a pallet jack to move tables and displays, making room for about 50 bales of hay.
As one of the few pumpkin patches in the area, Westbrae draws visitors of all ages, including daycare and preschool classes as well as retirement groups.
The patch features traditional orange carving pumpkins, along with jumbo pumpkins and decorative varieties including turban-shaped gourds and flat pumpkins.
Jumbo pumpkins are among the most popular sellers, Hincks said, while Cinderella and heirloom pumpkins are often purchased as seasonal decorations.
The patch features traditional orange carving pumpkins. Allyson Aleksey
The nursery also plans to bring a large pumpkin to Cornell’s school garden.
"Students can gather around and learn more about pumpkins from their teachers, and we hope the students at Cornell will save the seeds and plant them," Hincks said.
The pumpkin patch is one of Cornell PTA’s three major sources of revenue, Kottke said. The other two are direct donations from Cornell families and the school’s Fun Fitness Week activities.
"Each provides about a third of our budget," Kottke said. "Because of the success of the Westbrae pumpkin patch, we have been able to build out more community events instead of having to focus additional efforts on fundraising."
The PTA will host bake sales at the pumpkin patch from 11:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. on two Saturdays in October, Oct. 3 and Oct. 17.
As Halloween approaches, the nursery typically sells most of its pumpkins. Any that remain are usually given away rather than discarded, Hincks said.
The pumpkin patch is open daily from 9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. now through Oct. 31. Westbrae Nursery is located at 1272 Gilman St. in Berkeley.
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