Fresh produce harvested from a garden at the University of Regina is helping combat food insecurity and teaching people about the art of gardening.
Members of the Regina Public Interest Research Group — a student-funded resource centre at the university with a focus on social and environmental justice — have been growing vegetables, from zucchini to tomatoes to spinach, in a garden located behind the Dr. John Archer Library since the spring.
They’ve harvested over 100 kilograms of vegetables, which are then donated to local organizations, including the Cathedral Community Fridge, Carmichael Outreach and YWCA Regina.
Tayef Ahmed, the group’s executive director, said some of the food also gets donated to a fridge run by the University of Regina Students’ Union, which students can access.
Regina Public Interest Research Group executive director Tayef Ahmed says the organization’s garden at the University of Regina will help feed people in the community, but can also be an educational tool to teach people how to grow gardens of their own to combat food insecurity. (Ethan Williams/CBC)
According to a 2024 study by University of Saskatchewan students, nearly a third of Canadian post-secondary students said they experienced food insecurity in 2023. While Regina’s public interest group is currently collecting U of R-specific data, Ahmed said demand for the food donated to the student union’s fridge has increased.
“Within five to 10 minutes, almost all of the food [is] gone,” said Ahmed. “We have way more interest or demand in getting vegetables than we ever anticipated.”
Ahmed said newcomers to Canada are the largest group among the fridge’s clientele. As a result, his group has started growing a more diverse variety of foods to suit their needs, such as amaranth and peppers, he said.
“When people from different backgrounds comes and says, ‘Hey, I used to grow up eating this, I’m so glad I got this’ … they would come every week and say, ‘Can I have some vegetables?'”
Over 100 kilograms of vegetables, including zucchini, were harvested from the garden. (Ethan Williams/CBC)
Ahmed believes the fresh vegetables in the garden offer an alternative for more expensive produce at the grocery store, which may also be damaged or close to expiration, he said.
His organization is now expanding its garden and offering gardening sessions, which Ahmed hopes will help students find ways to grow their own food.
“Eventually, when they buy a new house or apartment … they get this education themselves, and when they get older, they start something [of] their own,” he said.
Community organizations grateful for food
Grayson Somers works in the kitchen at Carmichael Outreach, which serves lunch to people experiencing homelessness in Regina every weekday. He said the produce from the garden is put to good use.
“We prepare it all and we’ll make meals — about 150 to 250 meals per day,” said Somers.
“With the grocery stores nowadays, the price changes, and I just think everyone should be growing their own gardens.”
Grayson Somers, who helps in the kitchen at Carmichael Outreach, says the vegetables from the Regina Public Interest Research Group’s garden will be used to help make between 150 and 250 meals per day. (Dan Plaster/CBC)
The produce will be similarly used in the YWCA Regina’s kitchen.
“We don’t typically get this much fresh produce,” said Mackenzie Thiessen, who works in the YWCA’s outreach area. “To have a lot of it will mean a lot.”
Thiessen said their clients are “like a kid in a candy store” when they see the fresh food.
“When you’re on the street, you don’t get access to fresh stuff often. It humanizes their experience, makes them feel normal, regular.”
Mackenzie Thiessen, who works with YWCA Regina, says their clients are ‘like a kid in a candy store’ when they see the fresh food from the Regina Public Interest Research Group’s garden. (Ethan Williams/CBC)
Back in the garden at the U of R, garden assistant Brooke Litzenberger laughs as she shows volunteers how to pick beans in the hot August sun.
She’s spent hours working since the spring to get everything ready for harvest.
“Being able to give back to the community … and watch everyone enjoy everything that we’ve worked so hard with has been a really great part of this job.”
Regina community garden provides fresh free vegetables to local groups
The University of Regina community garden is a place to learn about gardening as well as providing vegetables to a handful of charitable organizations in the city.
Comments are closed.