Update: The city reports that the 700 kits that were available were reserved in just a few hours.
The City of Guelph, through the Our Food Future initiative, is distributing 700 free home gardening kits to children and youth in Guelph and Wellington County.
The kits are part of Grow Back Better: Our Food Future’s new 10-point recovery plan to respond to COVID-19.
The Kids Get Growing Garden Kits is one of the first initiatives to launch as part of Grow Back Better, and is being offered in partnership with the YMCA-YWCA of Guelph.
“We recognize that home gardening is a great way to provide food for the family, learn more about where food comes from, and spend time together while being able to maintain physical distance from others,” says Barb Swartzentruber, executive director, Smart Cities Initiative, in a city news release.
Each kit includes materials and resources that families need to start a home garden:
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planting soil,
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vegetable seeds,
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a seedling,
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a food grade bucket, and
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instructions to guide the gardening process.
To ensure physical distancing, families are required to sign up for a free kit in advance, selecting the time and location of pickup. Kits are available for pickup on Friday, May 22, rain or shine.
Family-friendly activities and gardening tips from Our Food Future and partners will be posted on foodfuture.ca throughout the season.
A downloadable BYO (Build Your Own) Gardening Kit guide will be posted on foodfuture.ca on May 22.
