This Thanksgiving, families across Newcastle, Orono, Newtonville, Kendal and Kirby will sit down to plates full of local food. Crisp apples. Sweet corn. Roasted squash and potatoes grown just down the road.

That didn’t happen by chance. It happened because local farmers and gardeners chose to share their harvest with their neighbours.

Fresh produce is one of the hardest things to keep on our shelves at Clarington East Food Bank. It’s also one of the most important. So this Thanksgiving, we want to thank the people who grew it, picked it and brought it to our door.

Meet our harvesters

Wilmot Orchards: summer in every handful

Wilmot Orchards donated 96pints of fresh blueberries this season. For a lot of families, berries are a treat that just doesn’t fit in the grocery budget. Thanks to Wilmot Orchards, kids in our community got to enjoy them all summer long.

Kent Farm: the heart of the holiday table

Kent Farm supplies potatoes, squash, carrots, apples and onions for our Thanksgiving and Christmas hampers. These are the foods that turn a box of groceries into a real holiday meal. Kent Farm also hosted Dinners in the Orchard with The Yardbird Restaurant this September. Their support for our neighbours runs deep, and we’re so grateful.

Gibson Farms: apples from September to May

Gibson Farms keeps us stocked with fresh apples from September right through to late May. That’s nine months of crunchy, healthy snacks for lunchboxes and kitchen tables. Their support is steady and reliable, and it keeps making a difference long after harvest season ends.

Naomi’s Homestead Gardens: fresh-picked corn

Grown by neighbours, for neighbours

Some of our freshest food comes from community gardens, where volunteers plant extra rows just so they can share. These gardeners spend their spring and summer weeding, watering and harvesting, then bring the extra to us. Every vegetable that comes through our door from these gardens was grown with care, right here in Clarington.

Jury Lands Foundation: a garden with roots in history

Ask the Jury Lands Foundation (JFL) why they grow a garden at 2020 Lambs Road, and you’ll find the vegetables are only part of the story.

A garden means people on the land. Volunteers come out regularly to plant, weed and harvest, and they get to chat with the many walkers who use the site. It also brings back something this property has always been about. This was agricultural land, and growing food there carries that history forward.

And then there’s what happens to the harvest. In the Foundation’s words, “Growing vegetables meant JLF could give back to the community.” They choose to donate to us because it helps them meet their own goals for the site, and we couldn’t be happier to be part of that.

Newcastle Community Gardens: bringing people together

The Newcastle Community Gardens started with a simple idea, and they put it best themselves:

“The Community Garden in Newcastle was founded on the idea of bringing our community together. Our gardeners enjoy sharing their harvest to help our neighbours at CEFB.”

Neighbours helping neighbours, in the most literal way possible.

Wilmot Creek Garden Club

The Wilmot Creek Garden Club gives in more ways than one. Every Saturday, the club runs a market, and the proceeds go to a variety of charities, including ours. On top of that, members shared their harvest with us this season. So every time you shop their Saturday market, you’re helping feed your neighbours too.

Why fresh food matters so much

This season, our local farms and gardens donated over 5256 lbs of fresh produce and that number is still growing. That number means a lot more than full shelves.

When money is tight, fresh fruits and vegetables are often the first thing to come off the grocery list. They cost more and they don’t last as long. Families end up filling the gap with cheaper, more processed foods. Over time, that takes a toll on health, energy and how well kids can focus at school.

Fresh produce changes that. A child gets an apple in their lunchbox. A senior gets vegetables for a proper dinner. A parent can cook a healthy meal without having to choose between that and the rent.

The most popular choice on our shelves

We use a points-based shopping system, so the people we serve choose what goes in their own cart. From August to September, fresh produce was the most popular choice in the building. When people get the chance to pick fresh food, they take it.

That tells us something important. Our neighbours want to eat well. They just need access, and our harvesters give them exactly that.

Thank you, from all of us

To Wilmot Orchards, Kent Farm, Gibson Farms, Naomi’s Homestead Gardens, the Jury Lands Foundation, Newcastle Community Gardens and the Wilmot Creek Garden Club: thank you. You fed this community with your hard work, and you did it with real generosity.

And to our volunteers who sort, wash and shelve every crate, thank you too. You make sure it all gets to the right table.

Want to be part of next year’s harvest?

• Grow a row. If you have a home garden, plant a little extra next spring and share your surplus with us. Drop off fresh produce Tuesdays or Thursdays at 250 Mill St. S, Newcastle.
• Give funds. Monetary gifts help us buy fresh food when donations run low, especially in winter. Donate here.
• Help us sort and stock during our Tuesday and Thursday hours. Call us at 905-987-1418.