‘I’m hoping you used it well’: Produce taken from Battlefords food bank garden project

The Battlefords District Food and Resource Centre (BDFRC) said its community garden is still doing what it was meant to do – feed people – even though much of this year’s harvest slipped away before staff could gather it.

Executive Director Erin Katerynych said the vegetables grew well, but many were taken early by people she suspects needed the food. Potatoes were dug up before they were ready, onions and celery vanished, and even the garden’s largest pumpkin disappeared.

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“We’re okay if people are taking the food from the garden because they’re hungry and need to feed themselves,” she said. “But a lot of it was taken, so we have no idea how great our harvest actually was.”

Katerynych said she understands why the product was taken.

“Oh, the cost of living, the cost of food…it’s so expensive these days just to survive,” she said. “So if you really need it, I’m hoping that you used it well.”

Volunteers water the community garden. (The Battlefords District Food and Resource Centre/Facebook)

Now in its fourth year, the garden continues to grow as a community hub. BDFRC manager Fatima Canoy said the garden is also benefiting the community in unexpected ways.

“I have one client who volunteers and treats it as therapy to help with their mental health, so the garden would be helpful for them as well, right?” she said.

Katerynych pointed to the support that has kept the garden alive: the North Battleford Fire Department filled the water tanks, Catholic Family Services and local teachers pulled weeds, and Sunshine Gardens and Reuben’s Roots offered plants and produce. Lyle V Shell Construction donated the land.

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And while the harvest itself fell short, the food bank’s shelves were bolstered by donations. Katerynych said the Gold Eagle Casino, through SIGA’s Day of Caring, provided 600 food bags on Sept. 5 for its Food for Kids program.

“With their help, we were able to make these bags even bigger than what we normally give out. We’re so thankful to SIGA and the volunteers who came down to make these bags. Without companies like them, we couldn’t do what we do.”

The volunteers from Gold Eagle Casino fill bags with food at the Battlefords District Food Resource Centre. (Submitted/Battlefords District Food and Resource Centre)

Normally, students from local schools rotate through the food bank each week, packing about 150 bags that go home with children on Fridays across about seven schools. This September, the Gold Eagle Casino’s contribution covered the whole month in one effort — and made each bag nearly twice as large as usual.

“Kids are excited. They are like, ‘Oh, it’s Friday, I got my bag,’” Canoy said.

For Katerynych, the garden and the donations remind her that the community is being fed and she hopes those who pick from the plots in the future will be mindful enough to leave some behind for the next family.

“Feel free to give us a call at the food bank if you want to try something out of our garden and we’ll tell you if it’s ready or not,” she said.