Growing vegetables and connections at Inglewood Community Garden

Article content

Volunteers at the Inglewood Community Garden recently wore long sleeves to harvest among wasps, but this group isn’t deterred by insects or drought as they raise organic produce for organizations serving marginalized Calgarians, many experiencing food insecurity.

Growing more than 2.3 metric tonnes of veggies — more than the weight of a hippopotamus — to donate each year, garden volunteers nurture relationships alongside the veggies.

Article content

“We are drawn to organizations that are caring for women and children. Hundreds of people have been touched by our organization,” says Julia Hinman, chair of the garden’s non-profit organization since 2011.

“And we’re often fortunate to meet our recipients. They come and bring us lunches they have made or they come just to say thank you.”

Community gardens can be public or private and purposes vary. Some are places for condo or apartment dwellers to grow fresh food, while others have broader mandates.

According to the Calgary Horticultural Society, there were 169 public and private community gardens in Calgary and area in 2016.

Some of the oldest — such as the Bridgeland/Riverside Vacant Lot Garden — served as victory gardens, providing food security during wartime.

During the First World War, then-U.S. president Woodrow Wilson called on people to plant vegetable gardens. During that war and the Second World War, people turned front yards, schoolyards and vacant lots into gardens. The U.S. Department of Agriculture reported in 1944 that victory gardens provided 40 per cent of that country’s vegetables.

Article content

Article content

With Statistics Canada reporting rising food insecurity rates, gardens are still important. Data collected in 2023 showed 22.9 per cent of Canadians live in households where people worry about running out of food or don’t have enough to eat, a significant increase from 18.4 per cent in 2022.

For Calgary gardeners, this year might have been one of their toughest, with water restrictions making it a challenge to grow young plants.

At Inglewood Community Garden, volunteers brought water from rain barrels, while others gathered river water for the crops.

“We have always practised good principles of gardening that save water in drought conditions, such as mulching or ensuring that you always water deep,” Hinman says.

After the major water main break on June 5, the board met and looked carefully at their methods and ways they could save water. “Before we were able to do much watering from the water system, we went and got water from the river. And that’s a lot of pails of water,” Hinman says.

It might sound like too much work for a hobby, but something is bringing people back to this garden year after year.

Article content

“I think the basic value that these people bring with them is their care for the people in their little corner of the world, and care for people that are without means to put a decent meal on the table,” says Hinman.

Organizations get ‘barrier-free access to produce’

For several years, Arlie Donnelly has been gardening and volunteering in Inglewood, gaining physical and social benefits. It was also important to her to do something charitable and where she could visually see results.

“Water restrictions made gardening more difficult but we produced all of this stuff anyway,” Donnelly says, motioning toward buckets of produce ready to distribute. “We’re making a visible contribution to the community.”

For clients at Discovery House, an organization focused on ending the cycle of domestic violence for families with children, food from the Inglewood Community Garden is important nutrition. The donations go into a pantry or fridge that shelter residents can draw from 24/7.

“We don’t receive a lot of perishable food donations, so (the Inglewood garden is) one of our main donors for this,” said Jennifer Young, volunteer and donations co-ordinator at Discovery House. “To be able to provide barrier-free access to produce and in a safe environment is very helpful. It gives them the dignity of a shopping experience within the safety of the shelter.”

Article content

Young says many of their clients have limited income, so not having to forgo fresh produce for cheaper food removes a difficult choice for parents.

Nurturing relationships is at the heart of the Inglewood Community Garden. Each person or family renting one of 121 3.5-square-metre beds also donates at least five hours each year to tending the 0.18-hectare community plot. There are no paid staff.

Gardeners grow catnip for the MEOW Foundation. They also raise tobacco that is used in Indigenous ceremonies at Piitoayis Family School and Discovery House. They stock a food donation kiosk that can be accessed anytime.

Bees create honey, visual artists paint storage facilities, fibre artists gather biweekly to stitch and there’s a weekly work session with musicians adding tunes after the turnips are dug.

In spring and fall, gardeners and interested Calgarians gather for barbecues.

Volunteers also host learn-to-garden evenings for newbies and mentor students volunteering as part of school projects, all to grow their community of compassionate gardeners.

“We’re a grassroots organization,” Hinman says. “We want to be able to grow food, harvest it and carry it to the groups that need it.”

Article content