The Regina Food Bank has a new way to grow fresh vegetables year-round with their new Four Seasons Urban Agriculture Project.

After several months of planning, the greenhouse officially opened its doors on Wednesday.

“We’re able to grow fresh vegetables, get people involved in the growing of the food, choosing what they eat, and we can do that 12 months a year because we’re in a nice, warm space,” Regina Food Bank CEO Steve Compton said.

The space is warm – a balmy 18 C during the cold Saskatchewan winters. It holds 48 towers, which can each hold up to 70 individual plants.

“Right now, we’re testing out a lot of different things,” Compton said. “We’re testing out lettuces, tomatoes, cucumbers, beans, different herbs. We’re finding out what grows well at this time of year, what grows well in this environment.”

Food grown in the greenhouse will be used for the Food Bank’s charitable distribution and their community kitchen.

“The one thing we’ll always get back is, we’d like to see more fresh products, more proteins, all those kinds of things,” Compton said. “This is where we’re trying to make our contribution back to the people that we support.”

Harvests of the vegetables are done every five to seven weeks. Compton says the Food Bank hopes to encourage volunteers wanting to do some winter gardening to come help with the project.

“When the cold weather comes and you’re a green thumb and you’ve shut down your own private garden, please come here,” he said. “We’re going to be reaching out to community agencies and lots of different organizations and getting kids involved. All are welcome, and it’s just that language of food.”