PARRY SOUND, ON-The new Growing Together program is looking for donations to help supply fresh fruit and vegetables to feed families in need.
Organized by the Georgian Bay Biosphere Reserve (GBBR), this program will give out planters to various community organizations so that people can adopt an easily maintained gardening and harvesting hobby, all while allowing them to have access to fresh and healthy food.
The GBBR is a non-profit charity that works with partners in the region to protect the environment.
Rebecca Pollock, Executive Director of GBBR, told the MyParrySoundNow.com newsroom that this program is primarily about helping others in need. How the program works is that when the GBBR receives a donation, they reach out to local businesses to create small planters that contain a variety of vegetables and fruit. After a few months of caring and preparation, those planters will be delivered to food banks and other organizations. From there, people are invited to take these planters home with them.
Pollock said that if they receive donations this time of the year, they will be able to have these planters ready for people to take home by the summer. “The planters will already come full of plants. That includes strawberry plants, maybe some lettuce and some tomatoes. The idea is, the ready to grow planters are for beginner gardeners, and it adds a bit of fresh food into anyone’s diet, and they can be easily maintained,”
The planters will also come with a guidebook on how to properly care for the plants, such as where to put it, how to maintain and water it as well as what you can do with the planter at the end of the season.
Georgian Bay Township Mayor Peter Koetsier said that he is a fan of the program and thinks it is a great idea to take part. He is encouraging people to get involved and help their neighbours during the COVID-19 outbreak.
The GBBR’s goal is to distribute 1,000 planters throughout the community. They have partnered up with Harvest Share Food Bank, the Friendship Centre, Community Living Parry Sound, the Mary St. Centre and Community Kitchens, Parry Sound District Social Services Administration Board, Wasauksing First Nation Healing Centre, Espirit Place, and Georgian Bay’s Baxter Ward Food Banks in Honey Harbour and Mactier.
If you are interested in taking part and donating to the program, you can go to the GBBR site here or by contacting Laura Peddie at [email protected] or 705-774-0978.
Check out our on-air interview here.