Little Family Garden is a program that teaches families how to grow plants, so they can grow their own fresh vegetables at home.

The program is run by Steinbach Family Resource and it allows families to tend to a bed of plants and learn about gardening. The program runs until the end of summer.

Executive Director of Steinbach Family Resource, Jo-Anne Dalton, loves seeing the families learn.

“We're really excited for families to come in and help teach themselves how to garden, and get their kids involved in gardening.”

The families learn various aspects of gardening, from things as simple as weeding to how to use raised beds effectively.

Those new to gardening or new to the community can learn a lot from the course. Dalton says the program teaches “all kinds of things that if you don’t have green space yourself, you might not know.”

Dalton explains, “we give priority to families who don’t have green space at home, or are new to the country or new to the climate, and have never done this before.”

Harvesting season is something Dalton always looks forward to. “It’s very fun and we really want to encourage the little kiddos to get in there and pull a carrot out of the ground and eat it right out of the dirt, and just get that experience of learning how to grow your own food. It’s just invaluable and it’ll last you a whole lifetime.”

Eating food straight from the dirt has helped Dalton’s children have healthier diets. “We always have a hard time with trying to get our kids to eat vegetables, but they can pick a cherry tomato right off the plant and pop it in their mouth, or a sugar-snap pea right off the plant.”

If you would like to participate in Little Family Garden visit www.steinbachfrc.ca or call 204-346-0413.