- GARDEN PROGRAMS IMPACT SNAPSHOT
Garden sessions and educational workshops for both children and adults that create opportunities for people to reconnect with growing food, share skills, and build community.
WHAT WE KNOW
1 in 5
montrealers experience food
insecurity
Low-income communities face many structural barriers that make it difficult to access enough nutritious, culturally appropriate food.
We also know that food insecurity can be stressful, isolating, and unpredictable, affecting both physical and mental wellbeing.
WHAT WE DO
Increase access to fresh, locally grown food through the community and collective gardening, where participants grow and share a diverse harvest.
Build gardening and food literacy skills through hands-on garden sessions and educational workshops.
Create welcoming spaces for community members to connect, share knowledge, build a sense of belonging, and learn about other community supports.
Support the health and wellbeing of community members by increasing access to green space.
OUR PROGRAMS
- Collective Gardens
Five collective garden sites across the NDG, where people gather weekly between April and October to grow, care for, and harvest food together.
- Community Gardens
Individual City of Montreal garden plots in five gardens across CDN-NDG, managed by The Depot between April and October.
- Ça Pousse!
Hands-on, classroom-based garden workshops for youth.
2025
of food grown in the collective gardens
collective garden sessions
workshops and events
collective and community gardeners
youth participated in Ça Pousse! workshops
of youth who participated in Ça pousse! reported developing skills they could apply beyond the classroom
WHAT WE HEAR
2025
say participation has increased their levels of happiness or life satisfaction
of participants say they’ve made new friends
say they are eating more fruits and vegetables
say they get to enjoy foods from their culture in the gardens
“Before I participated in the collective gardens, I did not feel I was a part of the neighbourhood community, but after I participated for a few years, I know more people in the neighbourhood and feel more connected and happier living here.”
“[The garden] is a haven of peace that allows me to take care of my physical and mental health. It is essential to my balance, and it helps me discover the community I live in. It has changed my relationship to city life and reconnects me to my humanity through solidarity.”
“I cherish the intergenerational connections and friendships we’ve made, and the kind and welcoming advice I’ve received from other gardeners. It’s been a very positive experience for our family.”
“I cooked vegetables that I harvested — ones I wouldn’t have bought myself — thanks to the gardeners’ advice.”
ADVANCING OUR IMPACT
At The Depot, people have immediate access to fresh, nourishing, and culturally diverse food. They build skills, improve their health, make social connections, and contribute to their communities. They also have the opportunity to engage in advocacy work that raises awareness and addresses the systemic barriers to realizing of food as a basic human right.
OUR garden programs...
2
BUILD COMMUNITY AND LONG-TERM HEALTH
by helping participants develop gardening knowledge and food skills, connect with neighbours, and spend time outdoors in green spaces.
3
WORK ON DISMANTLING THE STRUCTURAL BARRIERS THAT CREATE FOOD INSECURITY
by strenthening partnerships necessary in developing a territorial commmunity food system.
