7 July 2025
Yesterday, Mayor Jeremy Fasser visited a few of the thriving community food gardens and the newly established seedling nursery that have taken root across the Stellenbosch municipal area over the past two financial years (2023/24 and 2024/25).
These gardens are more than just plots of land – they are sites of empowerment, education and economic opportunity. Funded through the Municipality’s Grant-in-Aid programme and implemented by the South African Institute for Entrepreneurship, the initiative has seen remarkable results:
- 120 backyard food gardens
- 12 community food gardens
- 24 ECD centre gardens
From De Novo to Franschhoek, these gardens are tackling food insecurity head-on while equipping residents with valuable skills in agriculture and entrepreneurship.
Even more exciting is that many of these gardens are already supplying local restaurants, a food processor making dried beetroot powder and an NGO preparing meals for local ECD centres.
A special shoutout goes to Nicky’s Garden in De Novo, which has proudly obtained its organic certification – a key step in accessing premium organic markets!
We’re not just growing food, we’re growing futures and we couldn’t be more proud!
