Dale Richardson and Matthew Roy speak to the Queens Garden Club about an innovative greenhouse project in Shelburne. (Rick Conrad)

The conditions are ideal for Queens County to become a local food powerhouse just like the Annapolis Valley, advocates say.

The area’s temperate climate and natural biodiversity are two big factors in its favour, members of the Queens Garden Club heard on Thursday evening.

The club’s Mary White says it’s time to devote some resources to harnessing that potential.

“We want some green initiatives here in Queens County,” she said. “We have some very lovely spots that they could go in and that not only could it help with things like food security, it could help with our economics. There’s no reason why everybody should go to the Valley and not go here.

“We have the same resources, and we’re able to do the same sorts of things.”

About 30 people gathered at the Thomas H. Raddall Library in Liverpool on Thursday to hear how that might be done.

The garden club invited Dale Richardson, a municipal councillor in Shelburne, and farmer Matthew Roy to talk about an innovative solar-powered and geothermal greenhouse project in Shelburne. Both were involved in the project.

The Community Garden and Foodshare Association of Shelburne County got a $142,000 grant from the Nova Scotia government in April. 

The volunteer-run project is about 90 per cent complete. It will produce thousands of kilograms of fresh produce year-round for the community to help combat local food insecurity. 

Roy is co-owner of Coastal Grove Farm in Upper Port LaTour, Canada’s only certified organic tea grower and the country’s only certified saffron grower. The farm is also the largest commercial vegetable producer in Shelburne County.

He said communities in southwestern Nova Scotia need to start thinking seriously about becoming more food independent. 

“Nova Scotia in general only has three days of food in the province,” he said. “Just digest that for a moment. … The rest of it has to get imported from other places, which isn’t bad when there’s not geopolitical issues, when there’s not climate change issues that bring dryness or droughts or interrupts transportation. … I think it’s really relevant to be thinking about where is our food coming from? And do we have the local production?”

Roy said that with only 19 registered farms in all of Queens County, there isn’t enough capacity to put food on the shelves if disaster struck.

“What has happened in Shelburne, I think would be really beneficial to have that replicated up and down the southwestern shore.”

Milton resident Kathy Chute said she’s impressed with what they’re doing in Shelburne.

“I’m jealous. I think we could do it here, no problem. and maybe even up in Milton. You know, that unused area by the swimming pool, we could put a nice greenhouse in there.”

White says farming could be as big an industry in Queens County as forestry and fishing.

“This area in particular was more about forestry and fishing, that sort of thing, and really they just let other people provide the food for them. And now it’s time for us to take that resource back. … It’s time for us to look at another natural resource that we have, and that is our outdoor space.”

Email: rickconradqccr@gmail.com

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Shelly Panczyk is the chairwoman of the Queens County Food Bank in Liverpool. (Rick Conrad)

More people are using the Queens County Food Bank at the same time as donations are dropping.

Shelly Panczyk, chairwoman of the food bank on Main Street in Liverpool, says the charity saw 4,993 people last year. Of those, 1,494 were children. 

That’s up markedly from when she started at the charity four years ago. She said back then, they’d see 40 families a week. Now, it’s closer to 55 families a week.

“I just want people to realize that this is a very, very busy place. I call this the third grocery store in Queens County.”

“This situation (our clients are) in, they can’t help it. We’ve seen people in here, husband and wife, each of them working. This is going to get worse before it ever gets better.”

Clients can go to the food bank every 21 days to stock up on food and household items. The food bank also operates a thrift store on Main Street, about a block away.

Last year, revenue at the food bank alone was down by $107,000. But expenses climbed by $17,000. The thrift store, though, generated $82,000 in net income for the food bank. 

Panczyk and the board reported those figures at the charity’s recent annual general meeting. She clarified that part of the reason for the revenue drop in 2023 was that they didn’t receive any large grants like they did the year before.

Panczyk said the food bank does have savings in the bank. But she said in an interview that without the income from the thrift store, they would be in trouble.

“Without that store, this food bank would not be running,” she said.

Both the food bank and the thrift store are run entirely by volunteers. They have as many as 50 through the year. There are no paid staff.

“It costs $140,000 a year to run this food bank, just this building. And we don’t get that in donations. That store … is our little gold mine.”

Panczyk said that older people and churches used to be among their biggest donors. 

“The donors were the people that are in their 80s and 90s and now have died. Churches were always a good donation, because churches were the ones that started most food banks. Churches are closing, their parishioners are down.”

A study released in February by food rescue organization Second Harvest showed that demand for food charity in Canada is expected to rise by 18 per cent this year. The study found that on average, each charity needs an extra $76,000 to meet that increased demand.

Panczyk says monetary and food donations have dropped, though she says that the local Sobeys and Superstore are still major food donors. And they receive regular shipments from Feed Nova Scotia.

But she said she still has to buy a lot of food to serve their clients. 

“My grocery bill here for a month is anywhere from $4-6,000.”

She said four years ago, the food bank would buy 200 pounds of hamburger to distribute over three months.

“I’m buying 500 pounds. They used to pay $2.99 (a pound) and I have to wait until it goes on sale and I pay almost $5 a pound. And I give out 200 pounds of that a month now.”

The food bank is also required to stock 14 staple food items such as peanut butter, crackers, pasta sauce and spaghetti. They have to buy many of those items. 

And Panczyk says she has to make sure she can cater to more diverse food needs, as more families of various backgrounds move to Queens County.

She has applied for grants to begin to stock more food variety, such as halal meats or basmati rice.

“So this is a whole new scenario for food banks, especially in these smaller communities that we never had before.”

Panczyk said she’s grateful for the donors they do have and for the community support of the thrift store. 

But she said they need more cash donations so that they can continue to serve a growing and more diverse clientele.

“I don’t think I  want to be starting out again not what these people are going through. I think this is almost as bad as the Depression, trying to fight your way through.”

Email: rickconradqccr@gmail.com

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