It might come as a surprise to some, but the Park Place shopping centre has been home to a sustainable rooftop garden for 14 years.
“We’re doing it for our community,” said Kevin Brees, regional manager of operations for Park Place. “We’re doing it for the people who need it.”
The season winds down, and one final harvest of potatoes is set to take place next week, but the garden thrived over the summer.
Carrots, tomatoes, peppers, onions and even corn grew on top of the local mall, which was shared with both the Lethbridge Food Bank and Interfaith Food Bank.
Brees shared that since inception back in 2009, Park Place has donated more than 1,000 pounds of fresh produce to the two non-profit organizations.
“We started with just two boxes because we didn’t know how well it was going to do and now we’ve grown to 13,” said Brees.
Taking advantage of the ample space, the sustainable garden is built from recycled pallets, fed with harvested rain water and given compost and organics from food court tenants.
Brees says it’s a team effort from maintenance and operations staff keeping up with the garden’s needs during its peak months, but that it’s worth it to help out.
Danielle McIntyre, executive director with the Interfaith Food Bank, says the donation of vegetables is extremely helpful.
“Usually, we get the distressed produce that no one wants to buy at the grocery store. But with the cost of groceries being so high right now, people are willing to pay for less-than-perfect food,” she explained. “So that chain has dried up a little bit for us.”
McIntyre adds it’s a nice initiative that shows creativity in where people can grow food, encouraging others to plant a row in their own garden next season to donate to a neighbour or the food bank.
“We just don’t see a whole lot of fresh, so when Park Place does initiatives like this or other community groups it means a lot to the families we’re helping.”