Airdrie Horticultural Society gardeners donate harvest to local food bank

Members of a community garden in Airdrie are paying it forward as part of a 'Grow to Give' initiative that will benefit the local food bank.

The Airdrie Horticultural Society is helping residents struggling with food insecurity through its Give to Grow program, which sees fresh produce grown at community gardens donated to the Airdrie Food Bank.

The program builds off of the organization’s Harvest Share program from 2024, which saw gardeners donate more than 725 kilograms of produce to local charities.

So far, the 2025 Grow to Give campaign has resulted in the donation of more than 1,037 kilograms of produce.

• The information you need to know, sent directly to you: Download the CTV News App

“The idea is we all contribute,” Ormson, the Airdrie Horticultural Society’s grow manager said. “Whether it’s one carrot or a package of seeds to grow them, one beet, a zucchini; a few of our gardeners have donated their entire plot, which is just amazing.”

Ormson said Mother Nature helped gardeners this year with lots of rain.

“It has been a fantastic year for root crops,” she said. “The stuff I harvested this morning, there’s some giant beets and carrots; potatoes have been huge this year.”

Meghan West, Airdrie Food Bank executive director, says the organization is lucky to be supported by the gardening community.

“One of the really big benefits is that it gives people the opportunity to try fresh, healthy food that otherwise maybe they couldn’t choose to try,” she said. “Because if your budget is really limited, you can’t afford to buy something you know your kids won’t eat or you’re not sure if they’ll eat it.”

West says the food bank’s hamper program serves close to 500 people each month, while its walk-in pantry sees 100 visits daily.

“The quality of produce that we’re getting from this program is just incredible,” she said. “There’s some beautiful stuff over on the table that I’ll bring back to the food bank – and it’s a ten minute drive, so the stuff that gets pulled in the morning often gets distributed the same day."

Kent Scott, who calls himself a garden hobbyist, spends most of the winter starting plants from scratch in his basement.

This spring, he had 2,000 seedlings that needed a place to mature.

“It just happened that this year I had a whole bunch of extra plants,” he said. “Then Yvonne reached out to me (with her idea), and at first they wanted to buy them, but I said ‘No, just take them away, just go and do what you need to do with them and help out the community.’”

Sue Methuen is one of the plot holders in one of the Airdrie Horticultural Society’s two community gardens, and says her haul was spectacular this year.

“You always have more vegetables than you need,” she said. “Sometimes, you give them to neighbors, sometimes I give to the food bank, so the program here is amazing! I know the need is so important; it’s a community here.”