As the days grow shorter and the leaves begin to turn, the volunteer gardeners of Meaford’s Community Garden are reaping the rewards of their season’s work: cucumbers, lettuce, kale, garlic, tomatoes, red peppers, green peppers; a cornucopia of fresh food. The garden, now in its twelfth year of operation, grows food for the local food bank on a large common plot. Volunteers also love the opportunity to grow food on their own allotments.
“It’s wonderful to see boxes of produce heading off to help people,” said Donna Penhale, one of the volunteers, as she weighed a dozen bright red tomatoes on a portable scale. In fact, the garden shares about 300 to 400 pounds of fresh food monthly.
The volunteers, who put in 25 to 35 hours each month, gave more reasons for taking part in this community project: making new friends, learning from each other about gardening, excited to fight food insecurity locally, and experiencing the bounty of nature.
“It gives you hope for future,” said Mark Plummer, another volunteer. “And optimism about our ability to work together to solve the big problems facing all of us on this earth. And the best thing is that we share a lot of laughs!”
Interested in joining our team at the Community Garden? No experience is necessary and tools are supplied. For more information, contact Simona Freibergova at meafordcommunitygardens@gmail.com.
Submitted by David Penhale
