Britt Santowski
Sooke News Mirror
Paula McCormick, the Coordinator and Mentor at Sunriver Garden, dropped by the Sooke News Mirror with a garden update: In the past few weeks, the garden’s harvest has been weighing in at approximately 200 pounds. The freshly harvested produce goes to a variety of places, including Sooke’s food bank and transition house, Vital Vitals, and Meals on Wheels.
“We’ve been donating since May,” said McCormick.
Where the produce goes depends on what the produce is. Last week, for instance, a single 37-pound cabbage was donated to Meals on Wheels because they could cut it up and distribute it. Other “ball-sized cabbages” are being grown for the food bank.
The weekly donated harvest comes from the community garden plots, managed by volunteers, and by donations from other privately held plots.
Sooke gardeners interested in contributing can drop by the Sunriver Garden on Wednesdays and Sundays between 1 and 4 p.m., which is when McCormick is on site.
Grow a Row:
Food Chi’s Grow a Row program at Sunriver Community Garden is producing 200 to 300 lbs. of food a week for Sooke’s Food Bank. The production and distribution of local vegetables will go on at least until October and by then there will be greens planted for winter distribution.
We can always use a few more volunteers to help us out – Wednesday afternoon or Sundays between 1 and 4 p.m. Even an hour to help weed, water and harvest is always welcome. Come on down to check us out. Novice gardeners are welcomed to this friendly site. In the meantime Food Chi is planning its annual fundraising feast at SRG on Sunday, Sept. 22, the equinox...tickets on sale soon. This feast is an outside sit-down white linen table cloth event... local foods, Culinary Arts students from EMCS and others have all begun to plan and gather the foods for this fun event, including fishing for salmon. There will also be crabs for the delicious dinner. For more info go to www.sookefoodchi.ca
Any spare veggies in your garden? Sooke’s Food Bank is most appreciative of the fresh vegetables donated by backyard gardens and SRG. If any readers have any surplus may we suggest you drop off clean veggies to the food bank by 9 a.m. every Thursday, back of the community hall, basement doors. There is no food bank on the fourth Thursday of each month.
For those not able to grow any of their own food, this is a very welcome nutritious addition. They even accept zucchinis and beans. A handful feeds a family.
Phoebe Dunbar