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Jr High students from the Argyll Centre dug up potatoes to donate to the Youth Empowerment and Support Services. |
The same philosophy rings true when it comes to feeding our children, our families, and each and every person within our community.
Prairie Urban Farm's volunteers range from children who aren't quite old enough to articulate the joys of gardening to older folks who have been working the soil for generations. That inter-generational diversity creates the community of sharing, teaching, and learning that is so core to what we're trying to accomplish at the farm.
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Volunteer Iris helps visiting Grade 4 students to taste the kale. |
Averaging the volunteers at our sessions over the 24 weeks we've been operating since the beginning of this season, we've collectively sent over 500 bags of farm fresh produce to volunteer homes around Edmonton.
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Volunteers harvested, weighed, washed, and packaged produce for sale at one of our summer markets. |
When we pack up a box of harvested produce for one of these community organizations, the vegetables have a history.
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Beets, potatoes, greens, herbs, tomatoes, and leeks donated to Meals on Wheels in time for Thanksgiving. |
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Meals on Wheels volunteers prepare fresh and frozen meals in their in-house production centre under the guidance of Red Seal Chef Robin Cheverie. |
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Youth volunteers from E4C's Art Adventures Summer Camp create new lettuce, arugula, and beet plots. |
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Youth from Edmonton's Inner City High School plant late-season lettuce rows. |
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Neighbours and volunteers at The Neighbour Centre prepare a nutritious meal at their weekly Dinnerclub. |
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A salad party at Prairie Urban Farm during E4C's Art Adventures youth summer camp. Mmmm eating veggies has never looked so good! |
The Neighbour Centre is a drop-in resource centre for adults living in poverty. They're "spreading good through their 'hood". Staff, volunteers, and 'neighbours' (people in the community using their services), came out to volunteer at Prairie Urban Farm every Monday morning from July - October. They harvested produce for their drop-in centre and for their weekly Dinnerclub (where they all get together and cook a meal in a community Church kitchen).
E4C's Art Start has been collaborating with us since 2014 in facilitating art projects at many of our community events. Art Start is a free after-school art program offered in lower-income schools across Edmonton. This year we hosted two days of the Art Adventures youth summer camp which brought over a dozen youth to the farm to learn about food security and urban agriculture.
Do you have fresh produce to donate?
Bring it to any of the community service groups mentioned in this article! Chefs and volunteers on-site at YESS will create wonderful meals to feed and nourish at-risk youth living across the city. Food Banks will keep fresh produce in their coolers until they can include it in hampers going home with people.