Gardeners and nurseries around the region pulled through to give the Boundary Community Food Bank a much-needed hand in fundraising.
People lined up early on Saturday morning to get their hands on plants for their homes and gardens at the fifth annual Plant Sale. Volunteers put out trays and tables full of vegetables, herbs, houseplants, shrubs, flowers and even tree seedlings for purchase.
Donations were down slightly by the time the sale started, said food bank inventory co-ordinator Lynda Hines, but it was still a significant amount of donations brought in from private homes, nurseries and even Interfor, who donated tree seedlings.
“We have such generous gardeners that donate by going through and dividing up all their plants and give us what they can spare,” she said. “Some even start plants for us early in the spring, like one gardener that gave us a bunch of tomato plants in cups, complete with a picture of the fruit and its characteristics.”
Plants were priced affordably, she said. Where a small plant may sell in a greenhouse for retail, gardeners coming to the sale will find a large clump that people can buy, take home and divide up
She added Durand’s Nursery also dropped off a large donation from their greenhouse.
Donations were collected on Friday for volunteers to sort through, price and make a tidy display.
While it’s a way for gardeners to augment their own plots and foster food security, Hines said the sale is primarily a fundraiser, with proceeds going to help the food bank run operations and most importantly, buy food.
“Our numbers are increasing every year, every month now, with the food bank serving about 600 people every month,” she said. “If you’ve been to a grocery store lately, it takes some cash. Expenses keep going up so we have to keep the word out there about what we are doing and we need help with extra funds.”
Even though it’s for a serious reason, volunteers and donors make it a fun event, with some gardeners making it a highlight of their year to add diversity to their own gardens, or share their own locally-grown plants, she said.
A final tally of what was raised wasn’t available by press time.