Fresh From The Heart
Food connects us as a community and is a way to build each other up in times of need. Every year Calgarian green thumbs, grow vegetables for their neighbours in need. Some tend private and public community gardens, and others are organized volunteer efforts exclusively for the Calgary Food Bank.
Large or small, every donation from a garden makes an incredible impact. We add fresh produce to a family or individual’s hamper, as just one way help them build their resiliency. It is critical to eat well when you are in crisis so when we can give fresh vegetables it tells someone they matter. It’s fresh from the heart! Grow a row and help us ensure food is accessible to everyone in our city.
What Can I Grow?
Dirt is a good thing
Garden soil, free of pesticides or chemicals, creates a protective layer that keeps the produce fresher, longer. When we wash vegetables so they look ‘good’, they are now vulnerable to the air and will start to decompose. Special cleaners are not necessary, just a simple wash just before use is the best.
Donating Your Harvest
It’s easy! Bring your harvest to our warehouse so we can store it at the proper temperature and add to hampers right away! When donating your produce please do not wash it. The dirt helps to keep it fresh for longer. Please drop-off your unwashed produce in a container (bag, box, bin) that you ideally don’t need back.
Please note we don’t accept crab apples, rhubarb or any home grown fruit. Many people aren’t sure what to do with them and we find it very hard to give them away to clients and agencies.
5000 11 Street SE (Donation Centre which is Loading Dock, Door 7)
Monday to Thursday: 8 am – 7:30 pm
Friday and Saturday: 8 am – 3 pm
Featured Community Gardens
TransAlta Retirees POWER Garden
The acronym stands for Projects Organized with Energetic Retirees, but POWER is an understatement for these dedicated TransAlta pensioners. Since 1999, more than 60 passionate volunteers have tended the .55-hectare parcel that grows vegetables for the sole purpose of donating them to the Food Bank. A partnership with Eagle Lake Landscapers in 2020 added a new 1-acre garden, the Get Growing Garden, to their inventory, doubling the donation of fresh vegetables.
Chevron Retirees Garden of Eat’n
In 1997 Marlene and Jack Begg wanted to do something helpful in their own community and realized they could make a difference right in their own backyard. That first year, 25 volunteers from AmoCARES, BP and Chevron combined their forces to plant, weed and harvest almost four thousand pounds of beets, carrots, potatoes and onions.
After a few years hiatus, the Garden of Eat’n was reborn in a new location. A core group of hard-working volunteers has inspired a new generation of community gardeners.
Feed The Hungry Garden
When this garden started, the produce grown was used to serve healthy, high-quality meals to unhoused and marginalized Calgarians at Feed the Hungry, a program of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Calgary. In 2017, they planted a large plot just outside the city limits where their clients helped grow and harvest additional fresh produce for the Calgary Food Bank. Although the Feed the Hungry program has ceased in the wake of the pandemic, the garden is still producing thousands of pounds of vegetables for use in the thousands of hampers distributed every week.
It Takes a Village to Grow A Row!
CAMPAIGN CHAMPIONS
CAMPAIGN SUPPORTERS
Altalink
ENMAX
Fortis Alberta
Imperial
Upper Green Farms
Waste Management
West Coast Seeds
MiniBulk
Community Gardens 2024
volunteers
pounds harvested
value of food harvested ($)
Get In Touch
Contact our Community Engagement team at 403-253-2059 Ext. 3 or email at events@calgaryfoodbank.com
How You Can Help
Donate Funds
Donate funds online, by mail or in person.
donate food
Donate non-perishable food items.
Host an event
Engage your community with a food or fundraiser.
Social Media
Follow us on socials! @calgaryfoodbank