Our garden club helps care for the beautiful gardens on the Parkwood Estate, which helps support our local hospital. It helps maintain the flower beds at Hearth Place Cancer Support Centre, a caring agency.
But why does our garden club put time and effort into a Giving Garden?
– Here in Oshawa, there are many adults and children experiencing food insecurity – too many. We can all see food prices going up in the grocery stores, increasing food insecurity for needy and low-income people. Our garden club can’t fix the problem of hunger here, but we can donate healthy fresh vegetables that we have grown without pesticides or herbicides. Our produce can make a fresh, healthy, and tasty addition to someone’s meals, while learning about gardening and contributing directly to our community.
– We have a great location for our club’s Giving Garden: the Salvation Army’s Community Garden, where we rent several beds.
Why do we rent garden beds from the Salvation Army’s Community Garden?
– Their Community Garden is fenced and it has a locked gate: this has reduced theft from our vegetable beds to almost nothing.
– It has full sun and a water tap within the fenced area: vegetables need full sun and dependable water.
– Our Giving Garden volunteers come twice weekly (Tuesday and Friday mornings) to sow, plant, weed, and water vegetables. Most weeks we are also harvesting, the fun job! All of our produce is donated to the Salvation Army Food Bank. How much do our gardens produce? Last year we raised over 800 lbs of vegetables, all of which we donated to the Salvation Army Food Bank.
Why do we donate our vegetables to the Oshawa Salvation Army Food Bank?
– It is centrally located, where there is need.
– Most importantly, the Salvation Army Food Bank, as with all their other community services, serves based solely on a person’s need and its capacity to help, regardless of the individual’s race, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity, age, or religion.
Why should you join us as a Giving Garden Volunteer aside from doing something that helps so many others?
– Because we have fun! We have a great bunch of volunteers. We joke and laugh while we are gardening. And you do not have to be an expert to join us! Almost none of us knew about vegetable gardening before volunteering. This offers a great opportunity to learn about food production in an urban environment for people of all ages and stages of gardening ability. One of the best things about joining us? Our “office meeting” afterwards, at a well- known local coffee shop, LOL, where we have more fun getting to know fellow Oshawa Garden Club Members!
