The number of people who need the London Food Bank has gone up by 30% since this time last year according to co-executive director Glen Pearson who says they’re looking for new ways to get more food into the system outside of donations to keep up with growing demand.
Their greenhouse, located behind their location on Leathorne St., was built in 2020 and Pearson says it’s one part of that solution. He says the Food Bank also gives out 10 by 20 foot greenhouses to churches or other organizations who need them.
“We’re going to have to find a way to grow more food,” says Pearson. “You can’t just always go to the public and say ‘look it, here we are again with a food drive, we really need your help.’ If the public is challenged to the degree that it is right now, we have to come up with some proactive solutions.”
According to Pearson, 56% of the food they give out is fresh, compared to 26% back in 2016 and it’s not just because of the Food Bank’s initiative with their greenhouse project.
“It’s because the public themselves are on that track,” says Pearson. “They’re trying to grow their own food, they want local food and they also have a real interest in getting back to the land and seeing what they can do.”
The greenhouse located behind the London Food Bank. (Mike Lacasse/XFM)
“They’re trying to grow their own food, they want local food and they also have a real interest in getting back to the land and seeing what they can do.”
Glen Pearson, co-executive director of the London Food Bank
Chilean-born agronomist Luis Reyes is the head gardener at the greenhouse and moved to London 3 years ago to work in urban agriculture. He says this is the largest, and most successful, greenhouse project he’s worked on.
He says the greenhouse holds 14 tables, and each can grow upwards of 700 plants because they use 3 gallon grow bags, which are perfect for plants with shallow roots like the ones grown there.
“Right now we’re growing tomatoes, peppers, eggplant, golden berries, spinach strawberry,” says Reyes. “Just in the leafy part we have 30 different kinds of greens growing. Like from kale, swiss chard, ancient greens, some of the stuff you don’t expect to grow in a greenhouse like purslane, it’s really a weed but this is the variety that has been enhanced to grow for greenhouse. Everything you see here is edible.”
Inside of the London Food Bank’s greenhouse. Grow bags allow them to use the space efficiently and grow far more plants than they would otherwise. (Mike Lacasse/XFM News)
He says one of the advantages of having the greenhouse directly in the city is that it’s far more efficient and gets to people faster.
“In a commercial setting you have to plan your harvest for three weeks, a month in advance and wait weeks in transit,” says Reyes. “We can get a better product more full of nutrients, and deliver it today, and they can have it in their home and eat it at the peak of nutrient, the peak of flavor.”
Growth is quick in the greenhouse. Reyes says that they plant and harvest every week, tasks that he says volunteers are more than happy to help out with.
Reyes says he’s proud to be working with the London Food Bank on this project and loves how it helps connects him to the community while doing something he loves that helps people.
“My idea to work in agriculture in the city is that I know it’s easy to make these connections to a community when you’re growing food,” he says. “When your parents or the person that’s taking care of you gives you food, that’s the first thing you learn about your culture. That’s how people connect.”
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