New Community Garden on Booth Street
It is April and the weather has finally taken a turn towards spring-like temperatures. By mid-May the ground will be dry and warm enough for the plants to thrive. 
It has been a busy off-season and there is a lot of news regarding a new Community Garden at Booth Street, a successful Trillium Grant for Community Kitchens and a Food Charter.
Parry Sound Community Gardens (PSCG) Steering Committee was approached last October regarding interest in building a new garden at Booth Street Park which is being revitalized by the Town of Parry Sound, Georgian Bay Native Non-Profit Homes and Parry Sound Non-Profit housing. We quickly offered our support to this project. A grant proposal was submitted by Glenda Clayton of Georgian Bay Biosphere Reserve and we were successful in receiving a $3,500 grant from Walmart-Evergreen Green Grants Program. This money will be used to purchase topsoil, provide two on-site educational workshops, fencing materials, and other garden supplies and equipment. Garden plots will be available, please contact rharrington@clps.ca or 705-746-9330, ext. 222 if you are interested.
Last year a Community Kitchens Steering Committee was established, partnerships were formed and a proposal for funding submitted to promote Community Kitchens in Parry Sound. As a result, the Ontario Trillium Foundation has granted $57,500 to the Georgian Bay Biosphere Reserve to expand community kitchen opportunities available at Parry Sound Friendship Centre and the Salvation Army. This two-year collaborative project is also supported by North Bay Parry Sound Health Unit and District of Parry Sound Social Services Administration Board. It builds on a successful community kitchen pilot program initiated by Salvation Army last year. This grant will help bring six to eight people together to cook on either a weekly or monthly basis and take home both food and knowledge to share with their families. In addition, local chefs who have a strong interest in community development will be engaged to help groups develop specific cooking skills. Health professionals, such as dieticians, will be invited to share their knowledge.
Last November, the North Bay Parry Sound District Health Unit presented an information session titled Food Connects Us All – Creating a Food Charter for Parry Sound. This session was held at Canadore College and after several follow-up meetings; a Parry Sound & Area Food Charter has been developed. Food Charters vary from region to region, but the underlying common goal is to promote healthy eating, encourage local food production and accessibility to healthy food as well as to support healthy living opportunities. The Food Charter is currently being printed so please stay tuned for its debut very soon.
Rick Harrington