Seeds of Hope
From our local prisons, fresh veggies are grown for the community. Photo: Department of Corrections
Growing hope can happen in many ways. For Te Whare Awhero, one of these ways was starting with something as small as a veggie seed, out of which Seed Sunday grew.
Seed Sunday is an annual event set up by Te Whare Awhero (Hope House) where we work with churches across Canterbury to collect packets of seeds that will go towards the local Hornby community garden, local school veggie projects and the vegetable gardens within Christchurch Men’s and Christchurch Women’s Prisons.
Our September 2021 newsletter featured the launch of this project where, along with six churches including the Hope Presbyterian community, we gathered over 400 seed packets and many other donations of seeds!
Seeds are sown and from what takes root, hope can be grown. Some of the seeds collected through Seed Sunday were cared for and planted within the fences of our local prisons. The resulting fresh produce, grown by the men and women serving their sentences there, are then donated to the community through City Harvest (Food Rescue Canterbury) for people in need across Canterbury.
Through Seed Sunday, the prisoners get to give something back to the community, building their sense of self-esteem and personal belief in being able to do good. In turn, the community gets to enjoy fresh healthy veggies, all from packets of seeds donated through Seed Sunday.
One of the prisoners in charge of the gardens noted, “I spent lots of time outdoors and this is my happy place. I enjoy working in the garden by myself as it can be hard to find solitude in the prison and I get the odd perk in the form of a raspberry or strawberry.”
Graeme Hunter, Prison Unit Manager for Christchurch Men’s Prison says that the men working in the garden take a lot of pride in their produce and have a great sense of pride in knowing that their hard work is helping someone in need.
Seed Sunday will be held towards the end of winter each year as we prepare for spring planting.
“A farmer went out to sow his seed. As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path, and the birds came and ate it up. Some fell on rocky places, where it did not have much soil. It sprang up quickly, because the soil was shallow. But when the sun came up, the plants were scorched, and they withered because they had no root. Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the plants. Still other seed fell on good soil, where it produced a crop—a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown. Whoever has ears, let them hear.”