As rising food prices become problematic for families, community gardens may be part of the solution

For the last six years, the South Merritt Community Garden in Windsor, Ont., has been a place where people can learn how to grow their own food by acquiring gardening skills. But all these years later, volunteers say the need for a garden that the community can access is greater now than ever.

"Even if people are employed, it's not enough for a family to be able to feed all of their needs — with gas prices hiking, food prices hiking and housing prices through the roof," said Christine Paris, founder of the Serenity Song Community Association which oversees community gardens across Windsor-Essex.

Along with about 10 volunteers, Paris attended to the South Merritt Commnity Garden on Sunday to plant vegetables and herbs. Much of what was planted Sunday will be donated to school-aged children across the community in need of fresh food. But as the price of seemingly everything continues to increase, Paris added, more people are looking toward community gardens to get their food.

The community garden at South Merritt Park, located near the University of Windsor, is one of six community gardens on municipal property.

According to Paris, the purpose of a community garden is to address food insecurity — which has also been made worse due to the COVID-19 pandemic and, more recently, rising food prices.

"It's not that some people don't have any food. It's that they don't have enough or it's not good-quality food."

A recent report from Dalhousie University suggests more than one million Canadian households intend trying gardening for the first time in 2022. Among those already growing food at home, 41 per cent of respondents said it's to save money.

But according to South Merritt Community Garden coordinator Tammy Murray, gardening isn't a feasible option for everyone. That's why a community garden can be so beneficial.

"We're hearing more residents talk about wanting to start a backyard garden, but not everybody is in a position to do that. We have some people in social housing down the street here," she said, referencing the costs associated with gardening. "We have some people who find it's a little too back-breaking for them."

"So it's better for them to participate in this type of collective where there's a communal harvest and a communal effort. Everybody helps each other out that way."

Volunteers are calling for more assistance to help get its food from garden to table. The South Merritt Community Garden currently has just five student volunteers. For anyone interested in volunteering, people are asked to contact the Serenity Song Community Association on Facebook.

For those wanting to take food from the South Merritt Community Garden, volunteers just ask those same people do their part in helping the green space thrive.

"We also need help with weeding and watering. So please put in a little bit of sweat equity — and then you can harvest from the garden with us," Murray added.

According to the most recent Consumer Price Index, released by Statistics Canada, food prices have risen 8.7 per cent compared to 2021.