Saturday, April 25 the list of essential services was expanded to include community gardens! I am so glad this decision was made now as it is time for those who use the community gardens to be accessing them. The community gardens were originally included with the closure of other outdoor municipal amenities such as sports fields, dog parks, playground structures. But, the community gardens are not a recreational amenity; rather, they are a source of food; produce from community gardens is both a food source for the individual gardener & his/her family and for food banks. Like other essential businesses and services operating through the pandemic gardeners in the community gardens will need to maintain social distancing along with implementing procedures re: sanitizing tools etc. As King has two community gardens, the King City Community Garden and the Schomberg Community Farm, King Township Staff will be providing specific guidelines to ensure safety for both the gardeners and the community.
I am very glad to see community gardens in King Township and across Ontario re-opened. Debbie, as you highlighted – community gardens provide an important source of food for individuals, families and food banks. Good timing too, as we start into May.