1. High quality food is costly. Low-income families can not afford it. Fortunately, it costs little to grow nutritious food. Having a safe food source nearby (like your own back yard) is a great equalizer.
2. Fruits and vegetables picked right off the plant are at their peak of flavour and nutritional value.
3. Growing and eating chemical-free foods are better for your health.
4. Being outside is always better than being inside.
5. Kids who follow you around in the garden learn a lot about dirt, bugs, raw beans and having fun with their parents. Adults can learn about having patience.
6. Gardening can offer you the Zen-like experience of eating a sun-warmed strawberry as you stand in your bare feet, listening to the distant drone of an airplane.
7. Gardening opens the door to other experiments in self-sufficiency, such as wandering up the bluff to pick berries for jam, or harvesting roots for coffee substitutes, or starting an herb business.
8. Every time you feed yourself from your garden, you reduce the amount of pollution a truck would create bringing that food to your local store. You also eliminate your own pollution and fuel costs by not driving to that store to buy that produce.
9. Gardeners tend to form into local “packs’ to exchange seeds, plants and information. When they see your interest, from over the fence or in the garden supply store, you’ll gain a whole new support system.
10. Growing a garden with seeds that haven’t been genetically modified (GMO) and paying close attention to companion planting to avoid pesticide use gives one a great sense of satisfaction to know successful gardening does not need to rely on fossil fuels and inefficient energy consumption.
Taken from Food Security for the Faint of Heart by Robin Wheeler

Funded by Government of Canada’s New Horizons for Seniors Program.

Friends of the New Victory Garden -
The Freedom Garden
& Master Gardeners are inviting you to attend the

SEEDY SATURDAY GARDENING EVENT in Kamloops.

You don’t have a garden space in your yard?  Or you don’t have a yard at all?  Did you know that Kamloops has several community gardens at which you can rent a plot and have your own garden?  If you would like more information, just contact the City of Kamloops to ask about the community garden program.