Growing Food and Community at St Andrew’s Epsom

What began as a small gardening initiative more than 30 years ago has grown into a lasting tradition of community care at St Andrew’s Epsom.

In 1991, a St Andrew’s parishioner and her Girl Guides group decided to establish a community garden on the church grounds, with the aim of growing fresh produce for the Auckland City Mission.

Since then, the garden has continued to flourish. Over the years, different organisers and groups of volunteers have taken up the gardening mahi, each contributing to the ongoing effort to grow food for those in need.

More recently, students from Auckland Grammar School and Epsom Girls Grammar School have joined in, bringing a new generation of young gardeners into the project.

Thanks to support from the Anglican Diocese of Auckland’s Flourishing Life on Church Land Tree Fund, St Andrew’s has also been able to plant two apple trees alongside its vegetable garden. In time, their fruit will join the garden’s regular harvests, providing even more fresh produce for the Auckland City Mission.

More than three decades on, the garden remains a wonderful example of how a simple initiative can grow into a lasting expression of care for both people and creation.