It’s been one year since Garden House teamed up with Café Y to provide fresh produce for the social enterprise, and the partnership is proving a huge success.
Since March 2021, the Garden House’s herbs and vegetables have been adorning the delicious plates of food at the café. While the Café Y team works hard in the kitchen, the Garden House gang have been busy planting seeds, transplanting produce into bigger pots, watering, harvesting and planning their next bundle of crops.
Inspired by the collaboration, the Garden House team has been experimenting with new produce, recently branching out into fruit trees such as kaffir limes, pomegranates and mulberries. As Garden House is pesticide-free, the team has also been growing companion plants that repel bad bugs and creating organic sprays.
Just like the produce, the relationship is flourishing. This month, Jen, a Café Y chef, will be coming to the hub each week to teach cooking classes to the Garden House team.
The Garden House team has been getting a lot out of the partnership. “We are all really enjoying it,” says Sylvanvale Support Worker, Rebecca. “Everyone loves supporting Café Y and helping another organisation that serves the community.”
“The partnership makes the people we support feel helpful and important – giving them, and us all, a real sense of purpose.”
The Café Y team has been really enjoying it too. According to chef Jen, “Cafe Y loves our partnership with Sylvanvale Garden House and the produce that they are giving us. The lovely staff are always so helpful when we let them know what produce we are in need of and always try to help us out.
“So much love goes into growing for us and it makes our food taste fabulous. We thank you all so much for the hard work, love and dedication that Garden House put into supporting Cafe Y and our goal to #nourishpotential in young people.”
About Garden House
Sylvanvale’s Garden House at Sutherland is an eco-friendly community hub run by Sylvanvale, attended by people with disability. It provides a wide range of activities that promote choice and independence including gardening, cooking, arts and craft.
About Café Y
Café Y is a social enterprise run by Project Youth, an organisation that supports at-risk young people aged 12 to 25. It provides much needed employment and training for those keen to enter the hospitality and food industries.
