A meeting to explore the idea of setting up a community garden project here “was a great success with lots of enthusiasm surrounding local food in general,” says Belinda Wick-Graham, economic and business manager for the Town of Minto.
About 30 people attended a meeting coordinated by the town’s economic development department at the Harriston Curling Club on April 4. In addition to the community garden proposal, accessibility of healthy, local, ecologically-sustainable food was a focus.
The keynote speaker, Angelica Nef brought the group’s attention to the Guelph Wellington Food Charter and the Food Round Table, explaining the vision and the mission of the organization. They work together to build “a vibrant, sustainable, food-secure community” and support the development of “thriving regional food systems that are socially, economically and environmentally stable.” The Guelph Wellington Food Charter is looking to engage with new people and partner with other organizations. Nef explained the organization is centralized in Guelph but covers all of Wellington and the organization can be used as a networking tool by those looking to improve accessibility of healthy food in their communities.
Rebecca Sutherns of Sage Solutions, led a discussion on existing resources and what can be done to strengthen a sustainable food system locally. The list of existing resources recognized by the group included:
– farmers markets in Harriston and Palmerston;
– the Community and Environmental Leadership Program (CELP) and Green Club at Norwell District Secondary School;
– the Savour the Flavours local food showcase;
– inclusion of area producers on Guelph-Wellington local food map;
– agricultural awareness programs at local fairs; and
– programs through local food banks.
Creating a community garden and finding ways to make local food accessible and affordable were high on the list of things the group would like to see happening. Food swaps, school gardens and “farm incubators,” were also among the suggestions.
A community garden would involve the designation of a plot of land where local residents could work together to grow food which could be shared among participants. Mayor George Bridge said he was confident municipal land could be found in Harriston, Palmerston and Clifford for projects in each community.
Wick-Graham said the Guelph-Wellington Public Health Unit is compiling the information from the meeting and putting it into a report and have applied for additional funding to move the idea forward in the fall. She said she foresees the project moving forward in terms of policy and planning this year with next summer as a target date to have gardens in place.
