Bream Creek Community Garden Inc. thriving post COVID-19

A small community garden has faced challenges through the COVID-19 lockdown, but the pandemic has almost been the making of the small, volunteer-run organisation.

BREAM Creek Community Market Garden Inc. has certainly faced its challenges during COVID-19 but the pandemic has almost been the making of the little volunteer-run organisation, with the robust group being forced to dig deep and its fresh, seasonal vegetables being more popular than ever.

And it’s not just the locals who think their produce is top notch as the organisation was recently recognised with a state win in this year’s Delicious magazine awards.

The market garden group’s seasonal vegetables were nominated by Grain of the Silos executive chef Massimo Mele and took out one of the Earth categories in the Delicious Produce annual awards.

Prior to coronavirus, the market garden volunteers provided fresh vegetables to many top-end restaurants including Aloft, Franklin, Grain of the Silos, Oddfellows, Templo and Sonny.

Since the restrictions came into place, the group has continued to run its Bream Creek roadside stall, which has been more popular than ever, and also offered heavily discounted food boxes for sale.

Project co-ordinator of the Bream Creek Community Market Garden Rebecca Kelley with son, Frank Mausz, 4 with heaps of local produce from their community initiative. Picture: LUKE BOWDEN

Market garden manager Bec Kelley, who has been running the organisation for the past four years, said during COVID-19 the need for the service has been unprecedented.

“Our roadside stall, which is open 24 hours a day has never been busier than it is at the moment,” Bec said.

“I’ll pack it and post something about it online, and by the next day I’ll go down and check on it and it will be empty and I’ll have to go down to our big cool room and get more stuff pack it again and shove it in with my shoulder it’s great.”

She said they grow vegetables all year round and at the moment they’ve got an abundance of Romanesco broccoli and Brussels sprouts which were planted over Christmas, as well as carrots which were put in just before COVID, broad beans and lots of brassicas including purple and regular broccoletti and cauliflowers.

Bec also said the group offers far more to the community than simply an outlet to buy vegies.

“In the years before the garden was established when I lived here with my partner before we had our family we found living rurally could be quite lonely ... as everyone is very busy and working in town and so on, so it’s hard to find a community to fit into down here, especially if you’re not born and bred here,” she said.

(L-R) Rebecca Kelley, with children, August, 2 and Frank Mausz, 4 and partner Fred Mausz at the Bream Creek Community Garden., Picture: LUKE BOWDEN

“But when we had our children we started hanging out with people at the garden and through that space we were able to form a large community network.”

Bec said because they are a relatively small organisation and so close to the people in the area, this has meant they’ve been able to better meet the needs of their immediate community.

“Since COVID-19 happened I’ve become aware of how important these tiny organisations are – because especially in a situation like this – being able to give people access to not just food but incredibly high-quality, restaurant-quality food at a really affordable price has been one of the most wonderful things I’ve ever done in my life.”

She said the aim of the garden which is tendered by about 50 volunteers a year, was to provide the community with access to fresh produce and which was both affordable and assisted in scaling up food literacy in their district.

During the pandemic they have also been able to offer people in the area access to their food box program, which was funded through a State Government’s Healthy Tasmanian Communities grant, and made possible through their partnership with the Neighbourhood House, in Dunalley.

Rebecca Kelley and Frank Mausz at their roadside stall which proved massively popular during the COVID-19 downturn. Picture: LUKE BOWDEN

“The goal with the foodboxes, was to create community in a traditional foodbox sense where people would come collect their box, see their neighbours and have a chat and swap produce,” Bec said.

The boxes which range in price from $30 to $80, include a range of fresh, local vegetables and dry foods such as flours, cereals and are available for delivery from Copping through to Dunalley.

Bec said the group was very positive about its future post COVID-19.

“The thing about being a tiny organisation is that we’re very robust,” she said.

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“We are very accustomed to having crops wiped out by natural disasters, . we’ve had entire garlic crops knocked down by cows that have broken into the garden after they’ve been running away in storms, we’ve been in drought for a long time, it’s just a long list of things that have been very frustrating and disappointing and you soon realise in agriculture that that’s just how it rolls and you either love it or you leave. And we love it.”

For more information about the food box program go to www.barterandbuybox.org