Canada: Winnipeg’s Rainbow Community Garden grows connections and weeds out food inflation
On the University of Manitoba campus, 279 families grow their food in plots in the Rainbow Community Garden. The garden has been there for 15 years and in a time of major food inflation it’s only becoming more popular.
By Amy-Ellen Prentice
Global News
Sept 3, 2023
Excerpt:
Many Manitobans resort to grocery theft as food prices out of reach: union president
Ngarboui says organizers recently caught some people stealing from the garden but later learned they were single parents who could not afford fresh produce.
“Considering what those families or single mothers have been going through, we decided to, instead of punishing them, invite them to come to the garden, and what we do is take them to the community plots.”
He says they were able to take whatever they needed from the community plots and they were even offered the opportunity to help grow as well and even secured plots for some of their families for next year. “This can be considered a hub of healing,” he says.
Ngarboui says a compassionate approach is what the garden is all about because so many of these families are newcomers to Canada and it’s an important place to connect. Sharing the passion for the gardens can help many feel less isolated, he says.
