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Canada: Montreal’s food banks reap rewards from bountiful harvest at Botanical Garden

As of early September, 2,300 bins of fresh produce have been given to food banks. (Catherine Legault/Radio-Canada)

Doubling production of vegetable and fruit gardens this summer benefits 4 local non-profit groups

CBC News
Sep 04, 2020

Excerpt:

The team at the Montreal Botanical Garden has been busy this summer, harvesting more than 2,300 bins of fresh produce for the city’s food banks.

The project was launched in the spring when the pandemic-spurred economic shutdown cost people their livelihoods and, in turn, put a heavy burden on food banks, which suddenly had long lines forming at their doors.

Horticulturists expanded the garden’s vegetable patch from 1,100 to 1,800 square-metres, allowing them to double the usual amount of produce they donate each year.

They chose squash, cucumbers, tomatoes and other plants that grow in abundance to ensure there would be plenty to donate.

“It was very demanding physically for the back. But, in general, it was very satisfying. It was really a summer like no other,” said Isabelle Paquin, a horticulturist with the garden.

Anne Charpentier, director of the Botanical Garden, said the Edible Garden is usually a display of a wide variety of vegetables. This year, the focus was on productivity and four organizations are benefiting from the harvest.

Read the complete article here.