Taber Vegetable Garden hosting annual harvest event

By Heather Cameron
Taber Times
Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

Guns and Hoses IV will be held on Monday, August 25 at 6 p.m. at the Taber Food Bank Vegetable Garden location on Trout Pond Avenue just west of the Off-Leash Dog Park in Taber.

“This will mark the 10th anniversary of the Vegetable Garden that started in 2016 at a location on Huckleberry Road close to Barnwell on land owned by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints,” said Andy Puskas, service liaison for the community garden. “This land was sold in 2023, and the Garden was moved to its present location on Town of Taber land that has been leased to the Taber Food Bank. This will also be the fourth year for the Guns and Hoses event that brings all of our hardworking first responders to the Garden.”

Puskas says that the evening will start with a barbecue and corn bust with the food for the barbecue being donated and cooked by the Taber Knights of Columbus, while the corn will come from the Garden. Following the feast, Puskas says, there will be a harvest service night where various vegetables will be harvested. The goal of the event is to harvest close to 10,000 pounds of sweet Taber corn along with carrots, red beets, onions, peppers, zucchini, and cucumbers.

“The harvested crops will go to food banks in Taber, Coaldale, Vauxhall, and Lethbridge first,” said Puskas. “The excess will be shipped to the Alberta Food Banks Terminal in Leduc for further distribution. Last season, produce from the Guns and Hoses night went as far north as High Prairie, Cold Lake, St. Paul, and Athabasca. Each one of the Food Banks distributed their share to many other agencies in their own areas.”

Puskas says that four Taber first responder groups, local members of the community, church and service groups, and local businesses will be involved in the harvest, but all are welcome to come help simply by coming to the garden with some sturdy footwear, gloves, a light long sleeved shirt and an appetite to enjoy the barbecue. Once the produce is harvested, Puskas says, it will be taken to Johnson Fresh Farms in Barnwell to be put into their coolers to await transportation the next day.

“This season has been good at the Garden,” said Puskas. “Economic events locally and worldwide have put more pressure on Food Banks generally. This makes the Garden and the volunteers that help out even more valuable as time goes on. The greatest thing about the Garden and in particular Guns and Hoses night is that it is all volunteer. There is no money that changes hands in the operation of the Garden. Yes, there is a budget to work within for some day-to-day repairs and maintenance, but on the bigger items time, talent, and resources are donated. I am amazed to see local large-scale farmers that year after year have their own thousands of acres to tend to, but will drop everything when they can to come and tend to the two acres at the Garden. We just can’t do it without our volunteers. The management team and staff at the Taber Food Bank are also tremendous at distributing food throughout the area to ensure that no food goes to waste. The Taber Food Bank and other agencies will enjoy a short influx of abundant fresh vegetables during our growing season. In turn, this will benefit patrons with fresh available produce to add to their daily meals. Demand at food banks is increasing almost daily. Any help that can come to food banks is greatly appreciated.”