LOCAL COMMUNITY GROUPS PLANT SEEDS OF GOOD, WITH HELP FROM RONA

Acoalition of garden organizations in Kingston, Ont., led by Loving Spoonful, an organization that supports local and community gardens, has launched “Garden for Good.”

The campaign is modelled after the Victory Garden campaigns of the two world wars. Thanks to a donation by the local RONA Home & Garden store, the program is able to provide seeds free of charge.

The campaign encourages people to take control of their food supply with their own vegetables and herbs. Every year, Loving Spoonful runs their Grow a Row project, where local producers, backyard gardeners and workplace gardens plant a row for themselves, and an extra row for Loving Spoonful. The produce is then distributed across the community with the help of many dedicated volunteers to more than 40 meal programs, pantries and shelters.

With the COVID-19 crisis exposing the vulnerabilities and inequities of the industrial food system, the campaign is encouraging locals to grow more food— on windowsills, balconies, backyards, front yards and in community gardens.

Canac Recognized For Youth Employment

A youth employment organization has honoured a local Canac store in Saint-Georges, Que., for its commitment to hiring young students. Carrefour jeunesse-emploi de Beauce-Sud awarded the store a prize for its commitment to educational success as part of the organization’s School Retention Days. It cited the store’s proactive involvement with youth in granting the award.

LONG-TIME HOME HARDWARE EXEC RETIRES

Duncan Wilson, senior director of business development for Home Hardware Stores Ltd., has retired. A veteran of the retail home improvement industry, he got his start at Morgans in Ottawa in 1969, before joining F.W. Woolworth in 1970. After working for Ace Hardware for a decade, he joined Groupe BMR in 2002, where he led the dealer development team. In 2008, he moved over to Home Hardware Stores Ltd. Wilson was put in charge of creating a dealer development team there, which resulted in solid growth within the company’s ranks. In 2019, he was given the Lifetime Achievement Award by the Atlantic Building Supply Dealers Association.

BY GEOFFREY McLARNEY