The Bruce Botanical Food Gardens (BBFG), founded in 2012, is a non-profit organization displaying a diverse collection of sustainable, organic food plants of the rare, endangered and heirloom varieties. As a public learning centre and food-based tourist attraction, the BBFG offers a variety of educational programming and events for all ages. Our mission has always been to address the issues of food insecurity, sustainable agriculture, and the issues faced by the small family farm through tourism, education, hands on experience and cultural activity.
We offer our fresh produce to visitors through our living marketplace. Visitors are welcome to harvest in season produce for a donation that is comfortable for them. We also work with local charities and non-profit organizations to offer fresh produce for free to those facing food insecurity.
We want to end food insecurity in our community by reducing barriers and promoting a safe space for all. We do this by giving access to fresh produce by donation, providing knowledge to visitors interested in growing their own food, hosting our annual plant sale by donation, offering workshops and events that help people make connections with others in the community, and sharing sustainable agriculture techniques that work with nature.
Gardening is essential in life, not only for healthy food, but for a healthy mind and body. We depend on our volunteer gardeners to help with weeding, planting, harvesting and seed saving at BBFG. Their dedicated work ensures we have fresh produce to offer the visitor that drops by to harvest chemical free produce, leaving a donation for our organization. That donation helps to fund the workshops and events that we offer at the garden where many families come out. The children of those families run around the garden taste testing new and interesting fruits and vegetables, while the parents can learn about growing their own garden. All of which is made possible because of gardening!
We love to upcycle! The fence that surrounds our garden is made out of 360 mattress springs, diverted from 5 Bruce county landfills. This is just one of the examples of our upcycling adventures. Come out to see for yourself at 62 Park Street in the town of Ripley, Ontario. I hope to see you at the garden!
Check out our website or follow us on Facebook and Instagram @brucebotanicalfoodgardens