The Assiniboine Food Security Alliance (AFSA) is about getting people to grow, and the Prairie Sun Seed Festival is a big part of that initiative. The one-day event gathers people to swap and buy seed, learn new gardening techniques and connect area gardeners so they can discuss what they do to grow successfully.
The day also highlighted some of the other initiatives undertaken by AFSA, including the community garden project and some of the spin-offs. Fred Schneider, vice chair of AFSA and chairperson of the Community Garden, says that the project is continuing to grow and taking on an educational spin. Last year saw a wide variety of people take on a plot.
"We got a number of people from very different walks of life, old and young. The grade six class from St. Michael's took a plot. We had mothers and daughters, mentors with people who didn't know how to garden," Schneider says.
Having a variety of people involved is connecting people who have years of experience to those who are new to gardening. Schneider notes that even he has benefited from the years of experience of some garden members, as decades of growing food means they have solutions for any gardening questions one might have, something that is invaluable for beginners.
"The benefits in the long term of learning how to work the land, gaining patience and slowing down your lifestyle, it has positive benefits," Schneider says.
One of the big advances for the project last year was the hiring of a Community Garden Coordinator, thanks to a grant from the Painted Hand Casino. Schneider says that the person they hired, Linda Dawson, was vital for getting projects organized and moving the different ideas and plans for the garden forward. Schneider credits having a coordinator with making it possible to spread the word and get more gardeners involved, whether experienced or not.
While a portion of the produce grown goes to the Food Bank, Schneider says that they were producing more food than they could handle, and so they need to find new places which need food. He notes that some seniors homes received produce, because there are many seniors who don't talk about their hunger but don't have the income to buy what they need.
A new initiative was the Gardener's Market, which took place on Saturdays at the north parking lot at Prairie Harvest Church. Schneider says that it's about connecting successful gardeners with people who need food. He says anyone who wants can sell their vegetables for whatever price they want, and the goal is to prevent vegetables from going to waste, by connecting people with more than they can handle with people who might need it.
With the education focus comes encouraging schools to start their own garden plots. Dr. Brass, which also hosted the Prairie Sun Seed Festival, is one school which is on board with developing their own garden plot. AFSA helped with the project, and Schneider says that it's something that is becoming a greater priority for school divisions. They are happy to lend support to schools as they develop gardens of their own.
Education is vital for AFSA, and he says connecting kids with where their food comes from is important to growing future generations.
"It's getting back to what the earth was meant to do, feed the inhabitants of it," Schneider says.
The ultimate goal of any education in gardening is to feed people, which gets to the core of why groups like AFSA exist.
"All people should have access to healthy, cheap, sustainable food," Schneider says.
