In the news: Orillia neighbourhood 'building community through food'

There was a time when the community garden at High Street Park didn’t add up to a hill of beans.

No more.

Today, the south-end site is flourishing with an abundance of fresh produce, the bountiful spread the result of a collective effort involving nearby residents whose achievements here offer a taste of what could be elsewhere in Orillia.   

Among those mining the earth for edible gems is Jacqueline Kerr, who had been experiencing food insecurity due to a pandemic-related job layoff.

“It had a real, tangible impact,” Kerr said of her involvement with the garden, where she’d planted lettuce, beans, kale, tomatoes and nasturtiums, a salad-ready flower with a peppery bite.

While Kerr has since moved from the neighbourhood and regained employment, she continues to work an allotment bed here.

“I can source fresh food that I know where it’s coming from, the kind of soil that it’s been grown in and how fresh it is when I get it,” she added.

Established in 2010 on city-owned land behind the Brian Orser Arena, the garden had fallen into disuse after close to a decade of operation, its future unsure.

“It was just a mess,” recalled Emily Wilson. “That’s not any one person’s fault — it was just a thing that happened because no one picked up the ball.”

Wilson became involved with the local community gardening movement several years ago, and was employed this summer as Orillia’s community garden co-ordinator.

It was the arrival of the pandemic — and with it, growing concern over food security — that prompted a new group of residents to band together and revive the once-thriving space.

Infrastructure for the garden was funded by the municipality, which last year installed six allotment beds where residents could reserve spaces to grow vegetables for their households.

The remainder of the garden is available for the public to drop in and share in the produce while helping participate in its growth.

“The real purpose of this community garden is building community through food,” Wilson said.

For Amanda Baye, who grew up in the neighbourhood and returned as an adult, the garden is a place to reconnect with her community.

“This has been a really great step for me to feel a little bit more grounded,” Baye added.

As the project evolved, it managed to overcome the inevitable hurdles that cropped up, including questions over potential liability issues should someone become injured at the site.

“As long as there (is) a staff person who (is) able to come around and make sure things (are) safe, it’s not a problem,” Wilson said.

Meanwhile, interest in the initiative continues to build, the momentum leading the city to install six additional allotment beds in preparation for planting next spring.

Coun. David Campbell sees the opportunity to expand the model to other areas of the city, pointing to underused parks as ideal candidates.

“There is huge potential,” Campbell said.

High Street Park is home to one of two city-supported community gardens, with the other located at Lakehead University.

-Original article written by Frank Matys and posted on Simcoe.com