Barb Montesanto is the longtime coordinator of the Rotary Sunrise Garden at St Mark's. She gave a history of the garden from its inception in 2012 to the present, covering the original construction and then reconstruction of the garden, from its original wooden structure to the concrete block rebuilt. The club paid for materials, and the labour was provided by club members, their families, St. Mark's and Dundas In Transition members. The club also pays the liability insurance premium. There are 26 plots, each divided in half with each gardener paying $25 for seeds, plants, fresh soil, and garden tools. Half of each plot is the gardener's to plant what he or she wants. The other half grows for the food banks. Gardeners must maintain both plots, preparing the plot in the spring, planting and weeding, and then putting the garden to bed for the winter. Harvesting is done by several others every Monday and Wednesday morning. The garden fence requires regular maintenance and the grass and weeds around the plots are cut. The Salvation Army Food Bank and the Hamilton Jewish Family Services Food Bank are the regular recipients of the produce. As well as the community garden, the club does a fall gleaning at an area farm, picking a wide variety of crops which are then cleaned, packaged and distributed to a dozen agencies and groups for distribution to those in need.
