Judy is a volunteer with the Yard Garden Harvest Project (YGHP). Born and raised in the Little Mountain-Riley Park neighbourhood, Judy was the first homeowner to share her yard with LMNHS for the Yard Garden Harvest Project. 6 years later, Judy continues to support the YGHP and the Neighbourhood House, hosting potlucks and volunteer orientations on her patio, and opening up her home for food storage for the Food Distribution Program. Judy spoke with us about how her “City Farm” has become somewhat of a local landmark and a source of joy and community engagement for her.
Did you know anything about neighbourhood houses before you started volunteering?
My kids would have gone down there, they were involved in things. And we’ve done Christmas hampers over the years when they’ve been raising money. My family has always given back to the community.
What do you think is special about LMNHS or neighbourhood houses in general?
The different people that have come through! The year before last year there was a son lived who lived here, he and his mother came from Ukraine. She didn’t speak a word of English, but she came and she sat in for the orientation, and she loved working in the garden. She was actually learning her English from being in the garden.
Are there any special moments or stories that you want to share with the community?
There’s a sign out front [about the YGHP], and when we have the farmer’s market every Saturday a lot of people walk by my house. And they stop and they look, and it’s got the QR code, and my kitchen is at the front and if they see me I’ll go out. Then there’s actually been people where I say go around, and then they take a look and I explain to them.
My kids talk about it too, my grand kids,they’re amazed! And they’ll say my grandma has a farm in her backyard. Then they get to explain to everybody what’s happening in Grandma Judy’s backyard. And I get little things like that sign back there, it says “Grandma Judy’s City Farm”. My sister-in-law, who lives way up north, she heard about it, and she did that for me. [The Yard Garden] just gives a sense of community, peace. There’s been days when things have happened in the last six years, as we get older people get sick and people have passed, and that feeling of just looking over there,and knowing that I’m giving back. There’s nothing that compares to that. I really and truly feel it in my heart, and people see it when I talk about it.