City Farms gardening program shuts down, Edmontons Food Bank feels the hit – Edmonton [Video]

A gardening program meant to serve families experiencing food insecurity has been shut down.

Known as City Farms, about five acres of land at the Old Man Creek Nursery was used to grow fresh produce for donation to Edmonton’s Food Bank.

But the program has been discontinued as part of budget cuts by the City of Edmonton.

“We had shed some tears a little bit,” said Tamiscan-Bencz Knight, manager of strategic relationships & partnerships at Edmonton’s Food Bank.

The program started in 2020, with more than 200 volunteers getting their hands dirty by planting and growing a variety of fruits and vegetables.

According to the city, over the four years the program operated, more than 250,000 pounds of produce were harvested and donated to Edmonton’s Food Bank.

Aabout 40,000 people rely on the food bank’s hamper program each month and the loss of produce from City Farms means there will …