Author: pqbfruit

Here it is, our new and improved Moilliet St. Community Pantry, located at 138 Moilliet St. in Parksville. Thanks to the home’s resident, Gaylene,, we were able to implement the idea last April 2020 as a way to share seedlings and garden produce with our Parksville neighbours. Our intention was to encourage more home-gardening and self-sufficiency, as well as just spreading a little kindness in a new, pandemic world. It grew over the summer and kept going through the winter months, with donations of canned goods and other food items.

We built the new stand with a grant from the PQB Foundation, and already it’s been embraced by members of the neighbourhood, who’ve been regularly donating food and pantry items.

Last year we shared over 1000 vegetable and greens seedlings, there, and many pounds of garden produce and local fruit, gleaned from neighbourhood trees. This year we hope to double that, or more.

Want to donate your produce, canned goods, seeds or seedlings? Generally you can just drop them off at the property at 138 Moilliet St. Otherwise, send an email to info@pqbfruit.org or Facebook messenger.

Last Tuesday we were notified that our Neighbourhood Small Grant for the Moilliet Street Pantry was approved. It will allow us to keep veggies out of the sun and canned goods out of the rain. We hope to have it out before Christmas to help share a little gratitude. Expect it to look a little something like this

Join Us! Become a volunteer or member of the PQB Fruit Tree Project

Sign up for new volunteer opportunities coming up in for this harvest season, including summer school garden maintenance and harvesting, and fruit tree harvests.

Our goal is to work with School District 69 to help increase learning spaces and opportunities on school campuses using greenhouses, hydroponics, and traditional gardens and food forests. We aim to build and facilitate garden programs in our schools, and plant fruit trees on school grounds with the produce to be used by the students and their families. Email pqbfruit@gmail.com if you think this project is right for your child’s school.

In May 2020 we received a Neighbourhood Emergency Response Grant to build and maintain a hydroponic organic greens system to grow kale, lettuce and Swiss chard for one of Parksville’s community organizations, Forward House. Thanks to Surly Dan’s Urban Farm and his expertise, we’ve been dropping off bins of organic food to the group ever since.

Forward House is a resource for young people with mental health challenges, located in Parksville. They offer support and safety to many local clients, including offering meals and fellowship to these somewhat vulnerable citizens.

We maintain a #foodisfree sharing table in downtown Parksville at 138 Moilliet St. at Hirst Ave. So far this year we’ve shared over 1000 seedlings for local gardens, plus many pounds of garden produce and canned staples. The aim is to build community and food security and sustainability, one small step at a time.

The PQB Fruit Tree Project uses volunteers to pick fruit trees using the standard model for this type of initiative. 1/3 goes to the homeowner, 1/3 to the volunteer, and 1/3 to the Food Bank.

PQB Fruit Tree Project is a Parksville / Qualicum non-profit organization committed to identifying and making use of our local food sources, including fruit trees and gardens, and distributing them to our local community. The Art Farm at the MAC, a 4000 square foot public garden, is our biggest current and ongoing project. Visit our Community Pantry at 138 Moillet St, and also our Facebook page for regular updates