lf-grocery-0405 – Grocery list for Vidula Monga, a volunteer with the Black Creek Community FarmIllustration by Kat Frick Miller
Six years ago, Vidula Monga had been looking for a pastime outside of her career as a teacher. The 62-year-old, who enjoys the outdoors, soon found the perfect way to spend her free time: volunteering at Black Creek Community Farm (BCCF), an urban farm in Toronto located in the middle of one of the city’s densely populated neighbourhoods.
Based in the Humber River-Black Creek ward, where a majority of residents (54 per cent) live in apartments with little access to private green space, the eight-acre farm gives people a chance to grow their own produce and offers community garden plots and harvests for a yearly rental fee of $25. BCCF also shares surplus food with the community and food banks.
Monga has grown a variety of vegetables at the community farm, from cucumbers to collard greens. She now devotes 20 hours a week educating residents on how to plant, grow and harvest fresh produce through the BCCF’s Urban Harvest program, an initiative tied with the City of Toronto’s waste management strategy.
The initiative has been important to Monga, as someone whose family faced its own financial burdens when they immigrated to Canada from India in 2005.
“We learned a lot from the farm,” says Monga, who has implemented techniques she cultivated on the farm in her own backyard, where she grows tomatoes, hot peppers, collard greens, kale, spinach, mustard, and beans, in addition to the garlic and herbs that sprout perennially in her garden. She also learned how to preserve and jar tomatoes, which she uses for rich curries and other traditional vegetarian dishes that her family enjoys.
Monga has always found joy in the spirit of sharing: While raising their children in Toronto, she and her husband also opened their home to some newcomers, young people who, like them, had immigrated from India, and allowed them to pay what they can for room and board. She calls the people who have passed through her house her adopted children, and still has a WhatsApp group with them where she shares photos of the produce she’s grown and made, in addition to tips about deals at the grocery store.
“If they want some, I keep extra in my freezer and I share it with them,” she says.
How I save: We don’t eat out very often, and cook at home instead, which saves us money. We try to buy things on sale and preserve or freeze things so that they last longer.
How I splurge: Sometimes I buy groceries to give to my daughter who visits from St. Catharines, or for some of the people I stay in touch with. When I see something on sale that I know they like, I buy it in bulk so I can give them some. We also enjoy ice cream from Kawartha Dairy.
The hardest shopping habit: It can be time-consuming thinking of something different to cook every day.
How have I changed my habits or diet: I preserve food more often now, especially near the end of summer while I have my garden. I jar tomatoes and pickle other vegetables that I grow.
Five items always in my cart:
- Urad Dal (black gram) – Aman’s – $8.99: I save this type of lentil for formal occasions, usually when people are coming over. It’s very similar to other lentils, but it has a creamy interior, which gives it a nice taste. It’s high in protein, fibre, iron, magnesium and calcium.
- Whole wheat flour – Aashirvaad – $16.99: This flour is specifically for roti, which I make at home every other day. It has less gluten than bread flour, so it does not rise. We eat it with lunch and dinner daily.
- Butter – Gay Lea – $4.99: I make my own ghee out of butter, from a method that my grandmother taught me. I keep it on my countertop to cook with, where it lasts forever as long as there’s no moisture in it.
- Cumin – Suraj – $9: I buy cumin whole and roast it and grind it myself. I use it to make a chutney with apples, some sugar, salt, and roasted cumin.
- Asafoetida – L.G. Hing – $10: This is a very popular spice in Indian cooking. It’s a tree resin with a very strong, roasted flavour and it’s very good for digestion.
