COVID-19 desperation may have led to ‘frustrating’ Calgary garden theft: volunteers

Young volunteers were enjoying spending time in their school garden on Thursday in northwest Calgary.

“It’s fun because I get to learn how plants grow,” eight-year-old Titan Wilcox said.

And the volunteers are growing all kinds of plants at the Bowcroft School garden in the Bowness neighbourhood.

“Carrots, lettuce and I think some beans,” nine-year-old Quinn Bacon said.

People who volunteer their time at the garden are welcome to take some veggies home.

“Some kids and families just need help and support for food and stuff,” Anderson Bacon, age 12 , said. “Because they can’t afford it.”

Produce grown in the garden also goes toward Bowcroft School’s breakfast and lunch programs.

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‘We help families have healthy treats and snacks,” 10-year-old Noah Wilcox said.

Potatoes were going to been part of the crop this year, after volunteers planted seed potatoes in a big tub over the past weekend.

But by Monday morning, the tub had been stolen from the garden.

“This wasn’t the first vegetable theft we’ve had,” Bowcroft School garden coordinator Kerry Wilcox said. “In the past three years we’ve had people harvest big patches of carrots, greens, squash.”

Kerry Wilcox believes desperation brought on the by the COVID-19 pandemic may have been a factor in the theft.

“We are seeing record numbers of children collecting lunches from our teachers — people who are relying on CERB payments — they’re not able to buy food for their children,” Kerry Wilcox said.

“And I just wonder, as this person is watering these stolen potatoes, how they feel about that and I guess that’s what made me the most angry.”

“There’s other kids that need this food,” Bacon said. “So why do you take it?”

“We hope that they need it more than us,” Titan Wilcox said. “But it’s so frustrating.”

Kerry Wilcox wants the thief to reflect on what stealing the potatoes means to the volunteers and the community they’re serving.

“Every day, when you water those potatoes, I just want you to think about the children that you stole from,” Wilcox said. “And if you want to return them and they end up back in our garden, we will say nothing about it.”