The Stewardship Pemberton Society (SPS) is inviting residents to roll up their sleeves and fill their bellies at the first-ever ‘Weed and Feed’ event, held Thursday, July 17 from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. at the Pemberton Secondary School (PSS) Farm.
The evening will begin with a volunteer weeding session at the school’s educational farm, followed by a free community meal made with ingredients grown on site. On the menu: vegan chili, a fresh garden salad, and zucchini bread for dessert—all sourced from the farm.
“It seemed like a fun opportunity to invite the community to the Pemberton Secondary School Farm, help with some summer weeding, and celebrate the produce being grown at the school by sharing a community meal,” said SPS coordinator Nikki Lax. “We're looking forward to it, and hope to run more events like this in the future.”
SPS partnered with the secondary school in fall 2023 to launch a small-scale garden aimed at bolstering food education and production on campus. In 2024, the garden grew more than 1,300 pounds of vegetables, all of which were used in the school’s food classes, cafeteria lunches, community fridge and garden activities. Summer harvests were preserved for the fall semester, Lax told Pique.
SPS was inspired by a similar initiative led by the Youth Garden Project, a non-profit farm in Moab, Utah.
This year, with expanded growing space and new programming, the garden has begun supplying vegetables to school families through a subsidized harvest box program. That bigger mandate prompted a name change—from a school garden to a school farm.
“In addition to produce being used in the school, we have also started a subsidized harvest box program for school families, which provides vegetables to students and their families at low or no cost,” Lax said. “We also wanted to host at least one community gathering at the school farm, as sharing food is a key component to community food security.
“Cue the Weed and Feed!”
Attendees of the July 17 event are asked to bring their own gloves (if they have them), reusable dishes and cutlery, and to RSVP in advance by emailing [email protected]. Tools and gloves will also be provided on site.
For more information about SPS and its partnership with PSS, visit stewardshippembertonsociety.com/pss-garden.
