Greenhouse sprouts in inner-city neighbourhood

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This article was published 14/10/2021 (1454 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

AN inner-city greenhouse will soon burst with plants and people, and tackle food insecurity and unemployment.

The Spence Neighbourhood Association unveiled its community greenhouse at 689 Maryland St. Wednesday.

“In our neighbourhood, food access is a big issue,” said Mandalyn Unger, a co-ordinator with the non-profit.

The group regularlys accepts input from locals about their vision for the neighbourhood.

“It was the community who identified the greenhouse as a need,” Unger said. “It’ll be a place where people can learn about food, grow food and also get paid a fair wage to grow food.”

The 15-foot by 30-foot structure is tucked among rows of a community garden that’s between two residential apartment blocks. Its wooden shelves are empty, and the electricity isn’t yet running — but, visions of peppers and tomatoes growing in the shelter are so close to being reality for Unger.

“It’s sort of like a dream come true,” Unger said.

The association will hire locals to care for the plants and will host training sessions and workshops on food production.

The site is the first of its kind in downtown Winnipeg, organizers said.

The group hopes to sell its produce to nearby businesses or create products, such as salsa and salad dressing, to sell.

“(We’re) still kind of in the development phase, and we also want to make sure we’re designing that with lots of consultation with the community,” Unger said.

The greenhouse will operate year-round. Each season will bring new herbs and vegetables.

Stephen Kirk, the association’s community greenhouse co-ordinator, is working on a salsa recipe that neighbourhood youths can make — and be paid for. He hopes to have jars for sale this winter.

Youths will also help in the greenhouse, Kirk said.

“We’ve been trying to make (this) happen for a super long time, so it’s exciting that it’s here and real,” said Olivia Michalczuk, the director of grants for the association.

In 2019, Manitoba gave $75,000 to the project through its Building Sustainable Communities Program, said Jocelyn MacLeod, who assists the program for the province.

Red River Co-op donated more than $61,000 in the same year.

“It connects on so many different levels,” Kelly Romas, the company’s director of marketing, said about the partnership. “We can’t wait to see people from the community gardening here and reaping the rewards of the harvest.”

Several things delayed the project, including the pandemic and bureaucratic red tape, Michalczuk said.

A new set of raised beds was built Tuesday, but locals have used the space for gardening, in older raised beds, for years. The space’s apple tree remains, as do the berry bushes and medicine garden near Maryland Street.

“We wanted to make sure that we were still keeping some of those crucial components that people found valuable to the site,” Michalczuk said.

Next, organizers want to place a large wooden table near the garden for communal gatherings. They expect the greenhouse will be finished this month.

gabrielle.piche@winnipegfreepress.com