Affordable gardening kits: Delivery Day

Members from Sustainable Communities SA Unley groups recently received a grant from Unley Council to provide kits to help people to grow more of their own food – part of Unley’s Food Security Strategy. The particular targets were people on low incomes or without easy access to a garden that they could work.

We advertised through the Council’s HACC newsletter (1000 people who receive home and community care through the Council), did extensive letterbox drops, advertised in all  libraries and community centres in the City of Unley, worked with the Salvation Army, spoke to community groups and a school and gathered additional names through an article in the Eastern Courier. Over 50 people registered and most attended a spirited training session on 3 August where many gardening problems were thrashed out. There was a strong community feeling and excitement in the air on the day.

Delivery Day was 31 August – a gorgeous spring day. We marvelled at the vegetable seedlings that Diana Bickford had grown, and loaded each vehicle with organic soil (one bag from SA Composters), seedlings and fertilisers and 4 planter boxes for each participant. It felt like a Santa run. Everyone was pleased to get their kit. The first photos of the plantings came through within a few hours.

On 9 November all the growers will get together and we will talk about what has worked and where to next.

Anne and Graham, Anne, Ashley, Bob, Jenny, Pat, Peter, Russ, Steven and Sylvia