While some of the 22 partners with Neighbour to Neighbour Centre’s community garden program began digging and planting over the Victoria Day weekend, all of the sites should be in place by this Saturday.

“Our big planting day here (at Neighbour to Neighbour Centre) is May 30th,” said Clare Wagner manger of community food at the Athens Street centre which has about 30 garden plots around the building.

Now into its fifth season, the centre program will help stock the shelves of their busy food bank with fresh vegetables through the spring, summer and fall.

Wagner said the food bank serves about 1,200 Mountain households per month.

She noted their partners include a number of Mountain schools and churches and Hamilton Victory Gardens which has already dropped off fresh asparagus.

Last year the community garden program raised 48,657 pounds of fresh produce for the food bank and Wagner is hopeful for a similar amount this year.

“It was a great year weather-wise for gardens and if it is again this year, I think we’ll probably break (last year’s total),” she said.

Due to the abundance of produce last year, food bank users were encouraged to take home as many fresh vegetables as they could carry.

The gardens are tended mostly by volunteers and centre clients and three N2N summer interns will work the Athens Street plots and help out with the other sites as needed.

Neighbour to Neighbour Centre is also home of the Hamilton Community Garden Network that coordinates community garden activities across the city.