Society tackling growing problem of food security
October 16, 2024
A group of volunteers in Judique is looking to improve food security in their community one small project at a time.
“It’s small, manageable, fun projects,” says Bill Murphy, the lead for the Tartan Gardens Society of Judique. “You’re not talking about changing the entire world.”
With the society’s latest project called ‘Grow a Row,’ they’re asking local gardeners to set aside a small part of their garden to produce food for their neighbours. Many of those gardeners were the beneficiaries of a previous project in which the society built close to 30 waist-high garden beds and delivered them to residents free of charge.
“We’ve asked local gardeners to give a small part of their garden and grow either beets, or tomatoes or pickling cucumbers – all of which we have a use for in the fall,” Bill explains. “We want to grow those particular things this year and we’re aiming to do something in the fall called ‘Bottled in Judique.’”
“We have lots of people in Judique who are experts at bottling,” he adds. “We’re going to have a big bottling event, or series of events, and we’re going to create lots of pickled beets. We’re going to create green tomato chow, tomato paste and things like that.”
About four years ago, the society converted what had been an ornamental garden that won international awards into a vegetable garden, and soon found that their efforts were producing more food than society members could use.
“With any garden that’s productive, you have extra produce,” Bill notes. “Our lead gardener, Marie Brideau, started taking any extra product we had and would put it in the gazebo, located near the community garden, and people could just take it to use themselves, or Marie would take it to some people in the seniors’ complex or around the community.”
He says there’s a donation box on site for those who want to make a donation, but the food is also free to those who want it, noting that the same approach will be taken with the bottled goods, as some of that will also be made available to the public.
About two years ago, the society started building waist-high raised beds, and close to 30 have already been delivered, many to older residents who stopped gardening because it was too difficult to do so anymore.
Volunteer gardeners (from left) Bill Murphy, Donna MacLellan, Mildred Lynn MacDonald and Father Allan MacMillan tend the vegetable garden beside the church in Judique.
Darlene MacDonald, one of the recipients of a free raised bed, works on her garden.
Mildred Lynn shows off some of the fruits (vegetables!) of their labour.
The raised beds are made from slabs donated by a local sawmill, or from pallets provided by Port Hawkesbury Paper, or the Co-op and Home Hardware stores in nearby Port Hood.
While planning was underway for the society’s latest project, something else happened that they weren’t counting on, and that was the arrival of about $7,000 worth of seeds donated by Halifax Seed Company.
The company had approached community health boards throughout the province, and the Strait Richmond Community Health Board, which is co- chaired by two Judique residents, Theresa MacInnis and Mildred Lynn MacDonald, gladly accepted their offer. The board was able to distribute the seeds to groups throughout their catchment area, including the Tartan Gardens of Judique Society.
“The aligning of the stars and many moving parts came together to make this happen,” says Mildred Lynn, who is also a member of the society.
“Tartan Gardens applied for the Community Health Board Wellness Fund and were successful in receiving a grant for this project, so it’s truly a partnership,” she adds.
Bill says the society recently received $500 from the Nova Scotia Liquor Commission and it plans to use that money to convert three or four of the raised beds into greenhouses so that those gardeners can continue to grow year-round.
Another project in the works is called ‘The Forgotten Apples Trees of Judique,’ which will see apples from trees throughout the area processed for use throughout the year. He says they’ll be looking to use apples from trees that have long been abandoned.
“What can be done with those, you can put them in a large freezer bag, and you stack them like a deck of cards in your freezer, and then all winter long you have apple pie filling, or you’ve got something to make an apple crisp or you can take it all the way to apple sauce,” says Bill.
Mildred Lynn says many residents are already recognizing the possibilities. “We have people enthusiastically volunteering their trees, so it’s changing the conversation and opening up doors,” she says.
“We want to empower people to produce food locally,” Bill says, noting that there’s an aspect of food security that many people don’t think about.
“People need to be able to access food with dignity,” he explains. “If you live in downtown Toronto and you go to a food bank, it’s totally anonymous. When you live in a rural area, it gets trickier.”