Fresh vegetables from The Growing Place are being distributed to the North End Food Bank. Image supplied by The Growing Place.

A community garden in Cresent Valley is delivering fresh vegetables to the North End Food Bank.

More than 350 pounds of vegetables have come from The Growing Place so far this year.

Anne Driscoll, executive director of the Crescent Valley Resource Centre, said people love getting fresh food.

“It could be carrots, it could be tomatoes, it could be cucumbers in the summer, it might be leafy things this time of year. It’s a variety so it’s a bit of a surprise each week. It’s kinda fun to see what is delivered,” Driscoll said.

The Growing Place has 68 beds which feed more than 60 families. Because it has a greenhouse, it can plant all year round.

Six vegetable beds are designated for the North End Food Bank.

“The majority of [the beds] are outside and there are quite a few inside the greenhouse. The gardeners are from all over the city. Some are from right here in the neighbourhood. There are some from all over Saint John,” Driscoll said.

While work on The Growing Place began three years ago, this is the first year it’s been fully open.

The Growing Place is a partnership of Hazen White-St. Francis School and the Crescent Valley Resource Centre.

Support has been provided by the City of Saint John, the Greater Saint John Community Foundation, Food Banks of Canada, the Department of Social Development and the New Brunswick Economic and Social Inclusion Corporation.

The project was also supported by Nutrien, a grant from New Brunswick Active Communities, along with private donors and volunteers.