General News
5 September, 2022
Maryborough Street Harvest eager to welcome new volunteers
Providing a way to share local produce in the community for almost 10 years, Maryborough Street Harvest is always welcoming of more helpers. The Street Harvest has become a local institution with its stall set up on the second Thursday of each month...
Providing a way to share local produce in the community for almost 10 years, Maryborough Street Harvest is always welcoming of more helpers.
The Street Harvest has become a local institution with its stall set up on the second Thursday of each month outside the Maryborough Resource Centre.
Maryborough Street Harvest spokesperson Margaret Parsons, said the group operates on a community driven ‘grow and share’ basis.
It grew out of a shire Healthy Together project in 2012 with the aim to encourage people to grow their own fruit and vegetables.
“Home gardeners often produce more fruit and vegetables than they can cope with so we provide a place where the excess can be shared with others,” Margaret said.
“Some of the food is available fresh and some of it is cooked up and preserved in labelled jars.”
While everyone is welcome to come and swap fresh produce, most prefer to make a donation to help cover costs.
As well as the monthly street stall there is a sharing trolley which is currently outside the Mill House.
This allows fresh fruit and vegetables to be shared on a regular basis.
According to Margaret, the Healthy Together initiative originally funded the purchase of its equipment and donations collected at the street stall are used for costs associated with cooking and preserving.
Volunteer opportunities are varied and socially rewarding. These include assisting with setting up and running the street stalls, collecting fruit and vegetables, washing jars in preparation for bottling and preserving, making the preserves and labelling jars.
“Basically we all have a lot of fun and enjoy the social interaction but could expand what we do with more volunteers,” Margaret said.
If you would like to become a volunteer and provide much valued produce to the community and reduce waste, drop in to the Maryborough Volunteer Resource Centre office located at the
Maryborough Railway Station on Thursdays from 10 am until 3 pm, or contact the resource centre on 0497 667 480 or via email at maryboroughvrc@gmail.com.