Longford Men’s Shed has welcomed HomeGro into its back yard, turning over seven unused community garden beds to the local charity food producers.
A conversation between Men’s Shed president Bob Thomas and HomeGro founder Alan Power resulted in the collaboration which is already bearing fruit, and vegetables.
When the produce has grown HomeGro plans to hold a morning market to sell or give away the food that is grown.
“We supply The Helping Hand with produce from our members when there’s excess, but the previous model of everyone sharing their harvest grown at home isn’t working – it’s being used at home and not benefiting the wider community.
“Now our members have dedicated garden beds so that they can supply those in need in the community, and each bed is assigned to someone to maintain.”
While the finer details have yet to be fleshed out, what Mr Power does know for sure is that it has been a huge advantage being able to share the excellent equipment and facilities at the Men’s Shed and Community Garden.
Mr Thomas said it made sense to put the empty beds to use.
“We’ve been here for 13 years now and it was a $13,000 Tas Community Fund grant that allowed us to turn what was nothing more than lawn into a community garden.
“We were able to fence the block, install a storage shed and water tank and build 10 beds, but we managed to make the money stretch and we ended up with 28 garden beds.
“So far HomeGro has some wonderful produce coming along and it will be very satisfying to see it go to those who aren’t able to grow their own food or to raise some money.”
Longford Men’s Shed is in an old Army drill hall in Pakenham St, a building with a long history having originally been built at Evandale and used by the 3rd Light Horse during WWI and then moved to the old showground behind the Blemhein Inn during WWII.
Army Reserves transport division have used it, hence the thick floors, and then later PCYC.
It’s home to an incredible group of kind and creative men who come together to work on projects that help each other as much as their community.