Swap to grow community connection

A NEW fortnightly food swap has cropped up at Linton with the second session set to take place tomorrow morning.

With a current focus on exchanging vegetables and produce, the swap’s first session was held at the start of the month.

The initiative’s founder Leanne Armour said she felt there would be a need for the initiative when she found herself with too much produce to handle.

“We had oodles and oodles of silver beet at our property,” she said. “We were drowning in it, what we grow.

“I thought if we’ve got a lot of excess vegetables, I presume others do as well so it’s the opportunity to swap what we’ve got and to move the produce around the community.”

Following a vegetable-filled first session, tomorrow’s swap is set to grow to feature other items like chutneys, jams, honeys, and fruits.

A lifelong gardener and a Linton resident for 27 years, Ms Armour said a key aim of the swap is to revive a sense of community for the town’s green thumbs.

“Linton, many years ago, used to have a garden club which it doesn’t anymore that I’m aware of,” she said.

“It’s for getting likeminded people in the community to come together, swap their veggies, and have a good chat.

“It’s also that sharing of experiences. A woman the other week brought in some sweet pea seeds and I’ve always been a bit scared of them because my grandmother always grew them so beautifully.

“The lady said ‘Just chuck them in the ground and they grow’ and I didn’t feel so scared anymore. I’m hoping this will bring different people to us to talk about gardening and pass on their knowledge.”

Ms Armour said there’s potential for the swap to expand to include no dig gardens and composting should interest continue.

“I’m hoping it’ll be bigger than just swapping vegetables,” she said.

The Linton Vegetable and Produce Swap is set to run fortnightly on Saturdays from 9.30am to 10.30am at the Linton Community Hub.

Sessions are expected to cease during winter before continuing in spring.