'It's truly a gift': City farm grows thousands of pound of produce for families in need

In a green space east of the city, a group of green-thumbed volunteers is hard at work getting this year's crop underway at the City of Edmonton's farm.

The five-acre spread, located at the Old Man Creek Nursery in Sherwood Park, has been producing food for the Edmonton Food Bank since 2020 and is expecting another big yield this year.

Joy Lakhan, community garden team lead for the city, said the project was created to address food security concerns during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Since then, Lakhan said the farm has almost doubled its yield of produce; last year, around 65,000 pounds of food were harvested and donated.

"We've worked closely with the Edmonton Food Bank to learn more about the types of produce that moves very quickly," Lakhan said.

To meet demand, this year the farm will focus on varieties of squash, root vegetables, corn, garlic and onions.

Tamisan Bencz-Knight of the Edmonton Food Bank said hampers regularly include shelf-stable staples like canned fruits and vegetables, as well as fresh and frozen products donated by the food industry.

But there's nothing like a fresh, locally grown vegetable, she added.

"It's truly a gift," she added. "Somebody spent their time and energy growing that food and harvesting, and making sure it gets to people in need. And that's beautiful."

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While the farm is operated by the city, it's volunteers that help bring the bounty to fruition.

"This is a project where we get to celebrate Edmontonians building that community and feeding other Edmontonians," Lakhan said. "It's about that education piece about, participating – about getting your hands a little bit dirty."

Lakhan said the farm is expanding its volunteer program, and she hopes to see more people coming out to learn about urban agriculture and lend a hand.

"Those skills are highly transferable," Lakhan said. "Whether it's people learning about food production here, bringing that back to their community through starting a garden in their backyard or participating in a volunteer program … we're excited to build those perspectives."

The Edmonton Food Bank serves around 34,000 people each month through its hamper program.

With files from CTV News Edmonton's Marek Tkach