The Sudbury Food Bank has planted 14 community gardens and is hoping families in need will reap the benefit.
Executive director Dan Xilon said the idea is to have families come and tend to the gardens, and when they start to produce fresh vegetables, those families can harvest them for themselves. Each garden will have a variety of vegetables from radishes to onions to green beans and tomatoes.
“There's a certain feeling of pride when you serve vegetables to your family, knowing you were the one who grew those vegetables,” Xilon said. “Families can spend a little bit of time outside, enjoy themselves while growing their own vegetables. We supply everything the need, they just need to come and put in the work. Our community gardens will be an important part of our effort in fighting hunger and feeding hope.”
In addition to tools, families that adopt a garden of their own will also recieve advice and education on gardening, from planting to harvesting, Xilon said.
“We had a few boxes last year, and people seemed to enjoy it, so we wanted to expand it this year,” he said.
The 14 gardens are part of Phase 2 of a three-phase project. Phase 3 will see the construction of a number of composting bins, as well as the addition of more gardens, depending on the success of these gardens, Xilon said.
A grant from the Sysco Feeding Fresh Community Garden program made the garden plots a reality. The Ontario Association of Food Banks provided support, as did Union Gas, which provided the plants and seeds. Union Gas retirees were responsible for planting much of the gardens on June 3.
For more information about the program, or to apply for one of the garden, email [email protected].
