Ksan Place’s volunteer-based ‘Share the Harvest’ community garden program is struggling and cutting down on add-on services due to lack of volunteers.
Compared to the more traditional assigned spaces in traditional community gardens, Share the Harvest is led by volunteers who cultivate the land as a communal whole.
Based on the time given, the volunteers can then take some of what they grow home.
“The volunteers will take what they need and they don’t seem to take excess. Anything that is a surplus from the volunteers is then used towards the food security programs, (like Food Share Fridays)” said Kaitlin Todd, the garden coordinator.
“At the end of the day, the more time you spend here, the more you’re welcome to take for your efforts.”
Food Share Fridays, a program which provided soups and sandwiches alongside groceries to its clients until last year, is now only able to provide groceries due to lack of volunteers.
“Unfortunately, we just don’t have the human power to do that anymore,” Todd said.
“We can only run the food-share program now, not the nice little bonus of having to take home a soup and a sandwich.
“The programs get down to the bare minimum (due to lack of volunteers).”
The community garden grows crops like tomatoes, peppers, squash, melons, plums, grapes, crab apples, regular apples, pears, cherries, berries, and more.
Ksan also holds workshops to educate the volunteers about farming and recently also held a seed swap partnership with other community organisations. Skeena diversity and Terrace Food Association also partner in Share the Harvest.
“We have folks coming in here for 15 years,” Todd said.
However, “there’s a decline in volunteer-ship at Ksan Place, and Canada-wide,” she noted.
On Food Share Fridays, Ksan Place sends 35 boxes for delivery and has about 40 walk ins, a number Todd said has doubled since December 2023.
“We used to have only one page of sign-in sheet of walk-in participants on Food Share Fridays which has now increased to two pages.” Todd noted. “More and more people are also walking into our lunch program on Tuesdays.”
Speaking about a massive decline in volunteerism across Canada, Todd noted, “There’s a lot of factors highlighted for that, one of which is cost of living and lack of time, which then has a double knock-on effect.
“The world’s getting more expensive, those individuals struggling need more support, but those who were there volunteering before, are also struggling now. It is one of the things that we struggle with at Ksan Place a hundred per cent.”
As a majority of the volunteers are above 55, Ksan has helped with accessibility by providing raised beds.
Mats are also be available so that mobility aids can cover the ground more easily.
“We need the community just as much as anyone else,” said Todd.
“It’s a great opportunity to meet people outside of your social circles.”