Seeds of inspiration from the Garden Club
March 30, 2026
Garden sign at the New Grocery Movement.
Signs of spring are starting to pop up, and gardeners are making plans for the seasons ahead.
Across the country, community food organizations offer garden programs to help people enjoy the outdoors, make friendly connections—and in the case of New Grocery Movement (NGM), rethink where our food comes from.
NGM is a member of our Good Food Organization network. Their mission? To build a grassroots movement for food sovereignty by reimagining groceries.
Their garden is located in central Edmonton, Alberta. It’s also the site of the NGM Garden Club.
The aim of the Garden Club is to make it easier for members of the community to grow their own nutritious food. NGM provides everything needed, including garden plots, seedlings, and tools.
Funding helps the NGM Garden Club to expand
In 2025, NGM was able to hire a garden coordinator to expand the Garden Club and reach more people. It all happened thanks to a grant from the New Growth Fund. Run by Right To Food and supported by our partner the Medavie Foundation, the New Growth Fund furthers the work of community food organizations around the country.
Together, over a dozen community gardeners and a couple of other local community groups transformed the plot of grass into a thriving space. Gardeners cared for the garden plots from May to September, and took home their produce as they harvested it. NGM also provided communal gardening spaces for people to further connect.
The relationships that bloomed between the gardeners and workshop facilitators were equally as beautiful as the land and harvest. Chats and laughs shared in the garden made a positive impact on everyone’s experience.
Freshly harvested produce from the NGM Garden Club.
What does a successful garden look like?
Garden success can sometimes be measured in yield (volume of food grown), and in 2025, NGM’s garden yield increased immensely. The Garden Club was able to move to in-ground garden beds, which provided more space and better soil for growing.
But as the Garden Club showed, a successful community garden also brings together people of all ages and backgrounds to enjoy time outside and learn together.
“
The Garden Club was a truly life-changing experience. Through our transformation of the land I was able to connect with my local community, growing both personally and spiritually.
The garden provided me with a real sense of hope for our future as I watched how people can come together to create real tangible change at the local level and share the fruits of our labour with the broader Edmonton community.
I am endlessly grateful for this opportunity and can’t wait for a second growing season.
”
Gardener, The NGM Garden Club
Garden Club members also attended workshops. NGM ran workshops on topics such as soil health, honey processing, and canning.
Between the gardens and workshops, 250 people enjoyed the Garden Club in 2025. Together, these opportunities to garden, learn, and connect with others in the community encouraged the Garden Club members to reimagine food systems and their connection to the land.
Moments of abundance
Who doesn’t love a double rainbow? One of the most memorable moments of the season happened when Michif Elder, Sky Blue Morin, came to help start the garden season in a good way with a blessing. As the gardeners huddled over cups of tea on a blustery day, the sky suddenly opened up into a double rainbow, directly over the garden. It was a beautiful symbol of the abundance to come.
