Using small plots of disused land, FareShare Kitchen Gardens are growing their own vegetables to supplement rescued produce.
You can help us grow healthy food for people in need by supporting our kitchen garden program. Our costs include rostering and supporting almost 200 garden volunteers, substantial water bills, tools, seeds, mulch and fertilizer.
FareShare Kitchen Gardens welcome donations of materials and services. We currently need fertilizer to keep plants healthy & maximise vegetable yield; mulch to keep weeds at bay, retain moisture and improve soil nutrition; trolleys for carting vegetables; and seeds. If you have a garden donation, please contact us today.
Our kitchen gardens are tended by an enthusiastic community of hard-working volunteers. It's tough but rewarding physical work which includes weeding, propagation, planting, harvesting and composting. You can also book a garden corporate volunteering shift.
To cook 1.2 million, nutritious meals a year, FareShare needs a constant supply of quality ingredients. Sourcing enough fresh vegetables in Melbourne to meet the growing demand for meals from charities is one of our biggest challenges.
FareShare Kitchen Gardens is tackling this problem head on by growing our own vegetables on three sites in and around Melbourne to supplement rescued produce. In 2017 we produced more than 38 tonnes of fresh vegetables to add nutrition to our meals. Download our Garden Manual to see how we did it and for tips on growing veggies in Melbourne.
The program uses small plots of disused land to create vibrant community assets run by volunteers under the supervision of a horticulturalist. Watch how we started on Gardening Australia and see our trial sweet potato planting on Landline.
FareShare has created a large kitchen garden in the heart of Melbourne on VicTrack land close to our Abbotsford kitchen.
With initial support fromf RACV and Gandel Philanthropy, FareShare has transformed a former dumping ground between Victoria Park railway station and Victoria Park oval, into a productive urban vegetable patch.
Established on VicTrack land with assistance from 3000acres, the kitchen garden now grows a range of vegetables on 70 beds tended by volunteers.
The crops grown including zucchini, turnips, carrots, parsnips and leeks have been put to good use in the FareShare kitchen. A trial planting of sweet potato varieties produced a bumper crop in 2017.
Volunteer shifts operate on Mondays and Wednesdays.
A disused plot of land on one of Australia’s busiest airports has been donated by Moorabbin Airport Corporation and the Goodman Foundation to grow vegetables.
The kitchen garden, located next to the Australian National Aviation Museum, comprises scores of raised beds which have been planted with root vegetables, greens and herbs. The garden has contributed valuable turnips, carrots, zucchini and silverbeet to the FareShare kitchen.
Volunteer shifts operate on Tuesdays and Thursdays.
Interested in growing food in Melbourne? The FareShare garden manual could be just the tool you need.
FareShare’s kitchen garden program has shared its experiences of urban food production at its three Melbourne garden locations – Abbotsford, Moorabbin Airport and Clayton South.
The 74-page manual covers everything from crops grown and yield, to soil, composting, integrated pest management, crop rotation and companion planting.
You can download the publication here.
Marg on harvesting duty at our Abbotsford kitchen garden After a career spent working indoors as a librarian and editor, Marg Wanklyn decided it was time to head outdoors. She now volunteers at our Abbotsford kitchen garden where she co-supervises the Wednesday morning shift. While Marg grows vegetables alongside Victoria
Zucchini flourishing in Melbourne Interested in growing food in Melbourne? The FareShare garden manual could be just the tool you need. FareShare’s kitchen garden program has shared its experiences of urban food production at its three Melbourne garden locations – Abbotsford, Moorabbin Airport and Clayton South. The 74-page manual covers
Urban veggie farming on the Baguley farm FareShare will conduct tours of the Baguley farm on 28 October where we have grown 21 tonnes of vegetables to feed Victorians in crisis. The large plot in Clayton South, generously provided by local flower and herb grower Les Baguley, has proved a
FareShare volunteers harvest carrots grown on a former waste ground at Victoria Park Big things are happening underground at FareShare Kitchen Garden, Abbotsford and we’ll be opening our gates to the community on Saturday, October 14 for an insight into urban food production. Come and explore the garden and learn
Our work to convert disused land into edible gardens has attracted a lot of attention.
Gardening Australia’s Jane Edmanson reported from our Abbotsford garden in our first growing season. Find out what she made of the experience which included an inspection of vegetable preparation in our kitchen.
The first harvest of Melbourne’s largest planting of sweet potato took place in our kitchen gardens in 2017.
The cultivation of a global staple, rarely seen in Melbourne gardens, is part of an innovative partnership between FareShare and the Burnley Campus of the University of Melbourne.
The low GI, versatile and easy-to- prepare sweet potato is a welcome ingredient for FareShare’s nutritious meals. It also enables FareShare to better support migrant groups and develop more culturally-appropriate recipes. The sweet potatoes are being used in a variety of FareShare dishes including curries and soups.
