Planting veges to help families in need

Growing families need vegetables, and the Spirit Army is helping struggling families to grow their own.

The army is trialling a scheme where it pairs a gardening mentor with a family in need of vegetables, to help them establish and maintain a garden.

Invercargill Spirit Army leader Gerry Forde said the idea was to get gardens established for the families so they could be selfsufficient.

The army is looking for mentors who could work with the families, Forde said.

The mentors would spend a few hours helping to get the gardens established, then spend about an hour a week with the families to check in and help them maintain them.

It was not a huge time commitment but it was the knowledge that the mentors had that would be crucial, Forde said.

‘‘If you keep on top of it every week, then it’s not a big chore.’’

It was also about getting the families involved, Forde said.

‘‘It’s passing on the skills to two generations at once.’’

The Spirit Army has been help- ing Invercargill mum Alane Matheson for about a year with budgeting, meal preparation and meal planning.

She has three children at home aged 17, 14 and 9.

Matheson works two jobs and is possibly looking for a third to keep her off the benefit, she said.

‘‘I’m about 10 hours short a week, so having a vege garden will fill the gaps when we can’t afford to go get the groceries.’’

Matheson had a limited experi- ence of gardening from when she was younger, but she said she had always planted potatoes.

Mentor Dave Keene said the families could save a large amount of money by growing their own fruits and vegetables.

‘‘The point of a garden, besides the amount of money you save, the beauty of it is a child can come out here, can pick a carrot and eat a raw carrot.

‘‘Now that does a child a power of good.’’

Forde said the cost of putting in the plants had been subsidised by Diacks Nurseries, but the army would still need donations to keep the initiative going, Forde said.

They were looking to raise about $50 per family for the 23 families they were intending to support through the scheme.

ROBYN EDIE/STUFF 634829316 Greg Diack from Diacks Nurseries, mum Alane Matheson and gardening mentor Dave Keene plant little cutie cabbages in Matheson’s garden.