Growing season is just around the corner, and the Revelstoke Local Food initiative is gearing up.
LFI announced on Wednesday that they will be accepting applications for their community garden plots.
Community gardens are a fun and easy way to learn how to grow food in a group setting, and the LFI runs two community garden spaces: one downtown in front of the United Church on MacKenzie Avenue, and another one beside the Revelstoke Visual Arts Centre.
LFI coordinator Jodi Kay said the community garden is where the seeds of what became LFI were first planted in 2010.
“The downtown community garden is where the roots of the LFI started to take place back in 2010,” said Kay. “ We grew from there and eventually created a second community garden space in 2015 beside the RVAC.”
“Our mission at the LFI is to enhance local food production and utilization and our community gardens play an integral role in achieving that.”
The community gardens are a multi use space, providing growing plots for residents of Revelstoke, but they also provide the space to grow food for the Community Connections Food Bank, a space for the Little Sprouts Program garden, and a few pollinator plots to keep the local bees happy.
In 2017 the LFI donated over 200kg of fresh produce to the food bank harvested from both community gardens.
“This year we have decided to use the space at the downtown community garden to expand our Little Sprouts Program and to grow more food for the food bank,” said Kay. “We will also increase the number of plots available at the RVAC garden.”
The garden plots are also great for those seasoned growers who are looking for a productive patch of dirt. Garden members can work independently, but are also invited to work collaboratively on projects and in the communal growing areas.
Weekly harvesting and maintenance sessions give members a chance to interact and learn from each other. The LFI’s Garden Guru Workshop Series provides another way to learn the best techniques for growing food locally.
“Food is more than nourishment, it is social cohesion, and community gardens are where it all starts”, said Community Connections Food Security Coordinator, Melissa Hemphill.