A volunteer-run garden east of Strathmore expects to provide more than 22,700 kilograms (50,000 pounds) of fresh produce to the Calgary Food Bank this fall, despite a damaging hailstorm. The garden has supplied vegetables to the food bank for 27 years, and organizers expect this year’s harvest to bring its lifetime total to about 385,600 kilograms (850,000 pounds).

The garden is operated by retired TransAlta employees and other volunteers on land provided by Eagle Lake Turf Farms. Its harvest includes potatoes, carrots, beets, zucchini and other vegetables. Volunteers have been delivering produce to the food bank throughout late summer, with about 3,175 kilograms (7,000 pounds) already delivered.

Calgary Food Bank chief executive officer Melissa From said fresh vegetables help provide clients with a balanced diet. “For so many people, when they think of a food bank, they think of that proverbial box of macaroni and maybe a can of marinara sauce - and that’s not where we are today,” she said. “At the Calgary Food Bank, we are making sure folks get a really well-rounded diet that’s going to help them get back on their feet and get going in life.”

The food bank is currently serving about 1,000 families a day. From said the garden’s fresh produce will likely be distributed by Thanksgiving. “This fresh produce will probably all be distributed by Thanksgiving,” she said.

Garden coordinator Fred Ritter said the growing season was disrupted when a storm brought hail, wind and rain to the property in mid-June. “We had a bit of a setback with a big storm, hail and wind and rain,” Ritter said. “Our production is down, but after that storm we came out and we did some reseeding of beets and carrots, and that has really helped, so we’ll get a good crop.”

The group also operates a second garden closer to Calgary, on AltaLink property. Ritter said that site yielded about 7,900 kilograms (17,500 pounds) of produce last week. The Strathmore-area garden’s host, Eagle Lake Turf Farms, supplies the land, works the soil and irrigates the plot, while volunteers handle most of the growing and harvesting.

Company owner and president Eric Heuver said the farm has recorded yields of about 31,800 kilograms (70,000 pounds) per acre in some years. “We believe giving back is important, and quite honestly, it’s just been fun to be a part of this,” he said. “The whole team here at Eagle Lake gets on board,” Heuver said. “We grow things and we sell things so people can grow things; it’s awesome.”

This year, Jenna Harriman of Gregory Harriman and Associates, an accounting firm in Strathmore, brought 12 employees to help with the harvest. Some of the employees had also helped plant the garden earlier in the year. “Our firm likes to contribute and give back to the community,” she said. “We thought that it was a great way to get out and to get the staff out of the office and to give back.”

“A group of them came and helped seed, so it’s great for them all to come back and be able to harvest the fruits of their labor,” Harriman said.

Based on reporting by CTV News Calgary.