Coast Food Action.org

The “Grow your Own Dinner Project” is a community gardening mentorship program sponsored jointly by Vancouver Coastal Health and the One Straw Society. Our goal is to create a garden mentorship program that will help put more local food on the tables of families in our community. There is nothing quite as satisfying as eating the healthy, organic food you have grown yourself. Knowledgeable and experienced organic gardeners will assist new gardeners to start their own backyard endeavors. No plot is too small: you can grow your dinner even if you only have a patio!

Interested participants will apply with a short questionnaire and be set up with a mentor in their area. Mentors will arrange a time to meet each participant in their home where they will help to choose a garden site and design a garden plan. They will then return to help with the initial planting. Harvesting, preparing or preserving produce, saving seeds, composting and winter gardening can also be discussed. New gardeners will receive recommendations on tools and seeds, educational material, and an optional beginners’

Winter Harvest gardening book by local author, Robin Wheeler. Gardening participants can expect 2-3 home visits and lots of email or phone support throughout the whole growing season. We hope to share some fun and enthusiasm as well as thrifty, good, common sense.

Organic produce from your own garden is the most sustainable, affordable and nutritious food you can eat. Gardening provides great exercise, increases local biodiversity and reduces greenhouse gas emissions. It also builds strong families, neighborhoods and communities. Our goal is to help our community reclaim the art of backyard gardening for the benefit of all. Gardening is more than just a pleasurable hobby — it’s sustainable, small scale, eco-farming!