Examining the Impact of a Community Garden
One of the theory classes that Level 2 students take at Stratford Chefs School is Gastronomy, which seeks to examine the critical issues facing our food systems, sustainability, and the roles food and cooking play in modern culture. An example of a course assignment is to ask students to reflect on the food world around them, and investigate a current issue in Canadian food production and consumption of personal interest, such as food security. We have received a number of very thoughtful essay submissions that we think would be of interest to you, our followers.
Examining sustainability and such wide-ranging issues as community gardening in Stratford, commercial fishing on Georgian Bay, agri-business labour shortages, and urban agriculture in Toronto, our students engage with the realities of the world around them with curious minds and great sensitivity. With the students’ permission, we continue to share some of their assignments with you.
‘How Does Your Garden Grow, Stratford?’ by Elizabeth Kerr (Class of 2021)
A community garden is a shared, semi-public space where people in the surrounding neighbourhood share the work and harvest of maintaining a garden space for growing fruits and vegetables (1).
Stratford’s First Community Garden
Throughout Canada, community gardens offer individuals, many without sufficient land and/or financial means, a spot to grow and harvest their own food. As well, these plots afford food advocacy agencies the ability to grow and offer fresh produce to their clients, many of whom wouldn’t otherwise have access to such food. Back in 2016, The Local Community Food Centre (LCFC) undertook the challenge of planning Stratford’s first community garden. Met with minimal local resistance, LCFC persevered and, in 2017, offered plots for the growing season. Four years later, the garden has been expanded annually to accommodate an ever-growing waitlist of eager gardeners (2).
But what impact has the community garden made in Stratford? Is it anything more than a good vibe project for the community or is it now a viable way of distributing food to Stratford’s most vulnerable citizens?
Will It All ‘Go To Weeds’?
As a volunteer at LCFC in 2016, I heard of and was dubious about Stratford’s community garden. My family had, on many occasions, planted a vegetable garden, only to lose patience and let it “go to weeds” by late July. I worried about the frustrations of gardening – weeds, bugs, drought, time – and the disappointment that might be felt by the gardeners. Thankfully, I kept my opinions to myself and focused my efforts elsewhere with LCFC. But over the years, as I’ve heard about the evolution of the community garden, I’ve wondered about the criteria used to evaluate the garden’s success and if it could, in fact, be a long-term answer to improving food security and distribution in our community.
Advocating for Food Security
According to the United Nations’ Committee on World Food Security, all people must have access to nutritious food that meets their dietary needs for an active and healthy lifestyle. Food insecurity has been known to cause much more than hunger; in fact, it leads to diabetes, heart disease, depression, and anxiety (3). At first glance, one might imagine that there is little concern for food security in Stratford, Ontario and the surrounding area. However, according to Perth-Huron United Way, in 2019, half of all households in Perth County earned below a living wage and were unable to consistently afford healthy food (4). Since its inception in 2011, LCFC has focused on advocating for Food Security and has assisted clients through education, assistance, advocacy, and provision/distribution of nutritious food. By 2016, LCFC had a plan to attack the statistics and provide an opportunity for clients to 1) grow their own fresh produce and 2) purchase nutritious food at cost from an on-site Community Market. This plan depended on the development of an off-site community garden! (5)
Reaping the Harvest
Stratford’s community garden, located behind Dufferin Arena in the southeastern quadrant of the city, has grown from an initial 20 plots to include 50 plots, 6’ x 10’ approximately, 1,500 square feet of communal space to grow food solely for LCFC programs, an edible forest (fruit and nut trees), seed sharing events, and programming in cultivation and sustainable growing methods. Between 2016 and 2020, the Total Produce Harvested (in pounds) has grown 1400% from 186.69 pounds to a whopping 2,697.58 pounds (6). This produce has been shared between gardeners who took what they required (World Health Organization recommends vegetable consumption 200-250 grams per day) (7) and LCFC’s Affordable Produce Market and other programs.
The Local Community Food Centre: An Essential Service
With a large percentage of the harvest going back to LCFC in 2020, they were able to respond to the 39% national increase in food insecurity issues since the COVID-19 pandemic began (8). In fact, when surveyed, 32.4% of LCFC participants screened positive for food insecurity. The community garden has become, over the past five years and especially during the pandemic, an invaluable tool for feeding Stratford’s vulnerable citizens, “those who had inadequate or insecure access to food due to financial constraints (9).” Deemed an essential service by the Ontario government on April 29, 2020, LCFC was able to open the garden, following strict safety measures, and ensure that one of the best ways to provide access to good food continued to serve Stratford during the present crisis (10).
Be Aware of Invasive Pests
Given the significance of Stratford’s community garden, it is important to note the potential problems that could sabotage returns and hurt the community. Gardener dropout, volunteer burnout, vandalism, and interpersonal conflicts could wreak havoc on the garden’s viability (11). Luckily, Stratford’s community garden has not suffered to any significant degree from these invasive pests! With strong, effective oversight and management by the Local Community Food Centre, Stratford’s community garden continues with opportunity to expand, flourish, and sustain.
Impactful Abundance
Stratford’s community garden grows in abundance, providing sustenance to the community it serves. This community garden may only be the start to affording all of Stratford’s residents’ food security, but the statistics show that it is an impactful and critical beginning, growing to conquer this issue in our community!
About Elizabeth Kerr
Born and raised in Stratford, Elizabeth Kerr earned a Bachelor’s degree at The University of Waterloo before pursuing a career in the metal stamping industry. After living abroad in Colombia, China, and the Czech Republic, Elizabeth returned to Canada in 2011, and to Stratford in 2012. Elizabeth volunteered with The Local Community Food Centre, Stratford Perth Humane Society, IODE, and Stratford Garlic Festival before enrolling in Stratford Chefs School’s 32 Week Professional Program. Upon graduating with distinction in 2021, Elizabeth worked with Chef Tim Otsuki (Class of 2002) at The Common, Stratford, Ontario and served for a time as the Stratford Chefs School’s Director, Marketing & Admissions Development.
Says Elizabeth: “Raised by a Polish grandmother who insisted that I discuss with her the details of every article and recipe in Gourmet magazine each month, I understood the global power and beauty of food from a very early age… Throughout my adulthood, I have always felt most comfortable in the kitchen. Whether that kitchen was a commercial bakery and I was packaging and selling the product or it was a friend’s glorious renovation and we were preparing a feast for 20, that room is where I spend my time, where I show my love, where I live my best life.”
Photos 1 and 3 courtesy of thelocalcfc.org | Photo 2 Student Headshot by Terry Manzo / Photo 3 by Galen Simmons/The Beacon Herald/Postmedia Network
Footnotes
(1) What are Community Gardens,” “Community Gardens: Definition, Benefits, Rules &Best Practices,”www.study.com/academy/lesson/communiy-gardens-definition-benefits-rules-best-practices.html2
(2) Debra Swan, Executive Director, The Local Community Food Centre, MicrosoftOutlook email message to author, February 8, 2021
(3) “Topic: Food Security,”www.ifpri.org/topic/food-security
(4) “How Much is Enough?”www.perthhuron.unitedway.ca/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/20
(5) Debra Swan, Microsoft Outlook message to author, February 8, 2021
(6) Page 19 “Appendix A: Program Outputs, The Local Community Food Centre 2020 Annual Evaluation Report (Draft), February, 2021, Stratford, On
(7) “Vegetable consumption across the world,”https://ourworldindata.org/diet-compositions#vegetable-consumption-across-the-world.
(8) “Food insecurity during the COVID-19 pandemic,” Statistics Canada,https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/pub/45-28-001/2020001/article/00039-eng.htm
(9) Page 9 “Food Insecurity,”The Local Community Food Centre 2020 Annual Evaluation Report (Draft), February, 2021, Stratford, ON
(10) “Green thumbs get a thumbs up,” April 29, 2020,https://www.stratfordbeaconherald.com/news/local-news/green-thumbs-get-thumbs-up
(11) “Why community gardens fail & how yours can succeed,” ioby crowdfunding for communities, March 20, 2018, https://blog.ioby.org/why-community-gardens-fail-how-yours-can-succeed/
Bibliography
“What are Community Gardens,” “Community Gardens: Definition, Benefits, Rules & Best Practices,”www.study.com/academy/lesson/communiy-gardens-definition-benefits-rules-best-practices.html
Debra Swan, Executive Director, The Local Community Food Centre, Microsoft Outlook email message to author, February 8, 2021
“Topic: Food Security,” www.ifpri.org/topic/food-security
“How Much is Enough?”www.perthhuron.unitedway.ca/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/20
Debra Swan, Microsoft Outlook message to author, February 8, 2021
Page 19 “Appendix A: Program Outputs,The Local Community Food Centre 2020Annual Evaluation Report(Draft),February, 2021, Stratford, On
“Vegetable consumption across the world”, https://ourworldindata.org/diet-compositions#vegetable-consumption-across-the-world
Food insecurity during the COVID-19 pandemic,” Statistics Canada,https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/pub/45-28-001/2020001/article/00039-eng.htm
“Green thumbs get a thumbs up,” April 29, 2020,https://www.stratfordbeaconherald.com/news/local-news/green-thumbs-get-thumbs-up
“Why community gardens fail & how yours can succeed,” ioby crowdfunding for communities, March 20, 2018, https://blog.ioby.org/why-community-gardens-fail-how-yours-can-succeed/
Start a Community Food Garden: The Essential Handbook LaManda Joy, TimberPress December 2014 Portland Oregon USA
The Basics of Food Security, WorldVision, https://www.worldvision.ca/stories/food/the-basics-of-food-security Updated September 28, 2020
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