Taber Vegetable Garden Grows Produce and Harvests Community Spirit

The Vegetable Garden in Taber, Alberta, provides about 16,000 pounds of fresh produce annually to food banks in southeastern Alberta and across the province while building relationships and fostering community engagement among its donors and volunteers. The garden began in 2016 on farmland near Barnwell, Alberta, owned by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

The garden project started after local Church leaders were encouraged to find ways for volunteers to help those in need by growing food. These local leaders discovered a need for fresh produce at the Taber Food Bank. They decided to allocate their farmland and resources and work with community partners to support the food bank.

The Vegetable Garden Thrives on Donations and Volunteer Labour

From the beginning, the garden has been a community project made possible by many donors and volunteers. Though the Church provided some of the funds to get the project off the ground, the garden owes much of its success to other contributions. For example, one company donates fertilizer every year, and another provides a portable toilet. Local farmers volunteer their time and equipment to till and spread compost and to plant corn.

The garden operates on volunteer labour — 1,500 hours per year. Church members work side-by-side with faith, community and school groups, food bank staff and others who want to help. Food bank clients are also among those who find meaning in volunteering in the garden. Garden manager Andy Puskas and other members of the Church’s garden committee arrange for groups to go to the garden on Tuesday evenings (and at other times) and organize tasks for each session. Depending on the season, tasks could include planting, weeding or harvesting. On a typical Tuesday, 30 to 50 volunteers come to the garden to work.

“Families will bring their little kids, and it’s just a great way for people to be out together,” explained David Torrie, a former counsellor in the Taber Alberta Stake Presidency and chair of the garden committee. “It’s really popular.”

“[The garden] has been the single best thing to build community relationships in Taber, without a doubt,” said Tami Torrie, Taber Alberta Stake communication director.

Guns and Hoses Night Is a Community Highlight

The highlight of the season at the garden is Guns and Hoses Night, when local police and firefighters work in the garden alongside other community members. The Knights of Columbus cook food for a barbecue, including fresh corn on the cob from the garden. Some years, the event has included a live band.

A New Home for the Garden

In 2023, the Church sold the farmland where the garden was located, and it looked like the garden might be at risk of disappearing altogether. However, the town of Taber stepped up and leased land for the garden to the Taber Food Bank. The Church’s Humanitarian Aid Fund provided money to support fencing, an underground water pipeline, gravel for parking, and electrical work at the new location. Once again, community businesses chipped in.

One company installed the electrical wiring at cost, and the town donated the compost and provided the electricity for the irrigation pumps for free. Farmers tilled the virgin soil and worked in the compost. The new garden plot, now within Taber town limits and close to trails and parks, is more accessible to volunteers. The move refocuses the garden as a community-driven project with support from the Church rather than vice versa.

Food Distribution

The Vegetable Garden’s impact goes far beyond the Taber area. Although the primary recipient is the Taber Food Bank, the garden’s production often exceeds local needs. The Taber Food Bank passes along extra produce to its associated food banks in the area. Other southern Alberta food banks and soup kitchens send their vans to the garden to pick up produce for their clients.

The Okotoks Food Bank wrote: “We are tremendously thankful to the Taber Food Bank for sending us two pallets of corn. We always appreciate fresh produce [being] utilized in our Help Yourself Shelf program. An additional shout-out to the Vegetable Garden and Aaron Harris of Countryside Transport for their time, effort and dedication.”

Paul, a patron at the Okotoks Food Bank, said, “From the bottom of our hearts, thank you. Thank you for the gift of corn. I am a recipient of the Okotoks Food Bank, and wow, this is incredible.”

Excess produce is also distributed to food banks around the province and beyond via the Food Banks Alberta terminal in Leduc, with local farmers donating the shipping costs to Leduc. Michelle Haro, warehouse manager of the Edmonton Food Bank, said of food they received from the Taber Vegetable Garden: “This donation was offered to all of our agencies, and it went into hundreds of hampers.”

Impact

Municipal District of Taber Reeve Tamara Miyanaga shared her thoughts on the significance of the garden at the ribbon-cutting event for the new garden location: “The garden is so much more than the food that is produced here. The garden here tonight, and every night that you’ve seen people work at it for the last eight years, brings the community together. It makes our area stronger. We are able to recognize the difference we’re making standing side by side being strong neighbours to one another, ensuring that people have food.”

Elder David C. Stewart, an Area Seventy for the Church, said, “I feel that the community garden is a very great opportunity to both feed the hungry and also to help build community. Our common desire to serve sons and daughters of God unifies us in a remarkable way.”

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