Take your pick: Planters in downtown Brandon offer free fruit and veggies

People in Brandon will soon be able to pick free fresh fruit and vegetables grown right in the heart of the city's downtown.

Twelve planters full of seedlings were placed on wide sidewalks around the city's downtown on Friday as part of a new project called Incredible Edible Brandon. The city's Global Market and an apartment block nearby also received planters of their own.

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The idea started with a town in the United Kingdom that Hope Switzer, community development co-ordinator for the Brandon Neighbourhood Renewal Corporation, heard about in a TED talk. She felt Brandon's green thumbs and spirit of volunteerism could make it work in the Wheat City.

"I thought it was awesome," she told CBC News on Friday. "I thought it was such an interesting idea and I thought it was really great for Brandon."  

Brandon is believed to be the first community in Manitoba to adopt the concept. 

Come summer, fresh lettuce, tomatoes, and other fruits, vegetables and herbs will be available for the picking at various locations in the downtown. 

Volunteers will place small signs on the planters describing what is planted and when it is ready to be picked and eaten. 

Expansion of garden network 

Switzer views the project as an extension of the city's vast and popular community garden network, where those who don't have a garden plot of their own can have space to grow fresh foods. 

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"There seems to be a lot of gardening spirit around here," she said, adding that the planters also provide easy access to fresh, healthy food for everyone and serve as an educational tool to show people where their food comes from. 

Planters and seeds were secured thanks to sponsor businesses. Volunteers spent Thursday evening filling the planters, which were put into place on Friday.

The planters are self watering, but organizers hope volunteers will help maintain the small plots through the summer. 

"It's about bringing people downtown," said Carly Gasparini, general manager of the BNRC. "You can come and pick and you can come and volunteer."

Urban gardeners will be able to "go by and just pick a tomato and talk with their neighbours as they help weed the gardens," Switzer said. "For me, it's community building." 

Gasparini and Switzer hope to see the project flourish and return in years to come. Switzer hopes it encourages others to start gardens of their own. 

"I'd just like there to be more gardens," she said.  "I'd like people to get food whenever they want."