Calgary Food Bank gets boost from volunteer gardeners

Volunteer gardeners step up for food bank The Calgary Food Bank is about to get a big boost from volunteer gardeners donating upward of 70,000 pounds of fresh produce.

The Calgary Food Bank is facing a challenge – demand for food is high, while donations are down.

Tuesday, a dedicated group of volunteer gardeners brought out the shovels and hoes to provide a much-needed boost.

The volunteers, mostly retired TransAlta employees, have been tending a nearly 1.5-acre garden east of Calgary since spring.

Now, it's harvest time, and every single vegetable they reap will be donated to the food bank.

This single harvest is expected to yield 70,000 pounds of fresh produce, surpassing the amount collected in many citywide food drives.

The value of this donation is boosted by the fact it's all locally grown, healthy food.

"One of the things that's really important to us at the Calgary Food Bank is not just to provide food to those who are in need in our community, but to provide nourishing food," said Melissa From, Calgary Food Bank CEO.

"This allows us to offer fresh, local produce to our clients, at least for a short period of time in the fall."

The volunteers say they get as much out of their hard work in satisfaction, as the food bank does in produce.

"There's a huge need there," says Fred Ritter, volunteer and TransAlta retiree.

"And it continues. We hope to continue this for years to come. It is very satisfying to be able to benefit people in need."

Eagle Lake Professional Landscape Supply plays a crucial role by donating the land and providing irrigation throughout the summer.

"We're also rotating the crops so we're getting new ground each year," said Nathan Gill with Eagle Lake.

"We're tilling in compost every spring, so we're enriching the soil."

This harvest comes at a critical time for the Calgary Food Bank.

A recent citywide food drive fell short of expectations, leaving the food bank's shelves "a little bit emptier than we'd like to see them," according to From.

"Unfortunately, what we are seeing is that we are struggling a bit on the donation side, and particularly on the food donation side," she said.

Over the past 25 years, with the garden at Eagle Lake and another closer to Calgary, the volunteers say they've harvested just over 700,000 pounds of fresh produce.

Their sights are set on reaching a million pounds within the next few years.

The Calgary Food Bank currently supplies food hampers for up to 750 households every day.