Ten years ago, seeds were planted for the first time in the garden centre at the Peter McKee Community Food Centre.
Executive Director Christine Taylor says they now have a plentiful crop nine months of the year. “When the Peter McKee Centre was transformed into a food bank, the garden was the old tennis courts at the time. So they put a wire fence around it and started to put the boxes in then. We’re now up to 118 garden boxes. When it started, I think it was around maybe 88 or so. So we’ve grown. And we also have two greenhouses.”
Garden party planned from 4 pm to 6 pm on Tuesday, open to the public
“Just to showcase the work that we’ve done in the garden, showing some of the plants and some of the food that we’re growing for the food bank. And to acknowledge our garden sponsors too. We’re pretty proud of it,” Taylor said.
A lot of tomatoes were planted this year, along with zucchini, cucumbers and carrots.
“We’re going to try to create a specialized tomato sauce for our clients from those tomatoes that we’re growing. And we’re going to do that in our community kitchen,” Taylor explained.
The centre also has 15 boxes that they rent out to seniors in the community who enjoy gardening and want to grow their own food.
The garden also has flowers, but Taylor says they are special varieties, including marigolds, which are known to help keep pests away.
Around 10,000 pounds is expected to be grown in the garden this year. Some will go directly to the food bank for clients, while the rest will be turned into other products in the community kitchen.
The Peter McKee Community Food Centre is located at 475 St. George Street.
