Growing Food for Families
The Community Care Garden Program was launched in the Spring of 2020. It is a partnership between Project Literacy Central Okanagan Society and KCR Community Resources. The Community Care Garden has fourteen (14) garden boxes located around the outside of the KCR building and Project Literacy’s Learning Centre. Each Spring, the boxes are planted with vegetables, which are watered, pruned and harvested under the guidance of a Community Gardener. Staff and volunteers water the vegetables regularly each week and once harvested, the vegetables are provided to families in need, as identified by KCR.
Food Literacy sheets, identifying how each vegetable is grown, its nutritional values, and how to it can be cooked, is included with each harvest of vegetables. This enables families who are unfamiliar with local vegetables, to gain a better understanding of their value and how locally grown vegetables can be incorporated into their traditional diet. For families who wish to try their hand at gardening, instructions on how to grow each vegetable is also provided.
The Community Care Garden is active from May to September. Each season the Community Care Garden produces approximately 250 pounds of fresh vegetables. Over the past three years, over 100 families received vegetables from the garden.
The list of vegetables being grown in 2023 include:
- Tomatoes
- Peppers
- Bush beans
- Peas
- Strawberries
- Kale
- New Zealand Spinach
- Mustard Greens
- Cucumbers
- Buk Choy
- Swiss Chard
- Pumpkin
- Eggplant
- Radishes
- Collard greens
- Herbs – basil, mint, parsley, curry, dill, rosemary, oregano and chives
For more information on our Community Care Garden Program contact our Executive Director, Paul Zuurbier. [email protected]
2023 Season – Community Care Garden Sponsor
