Fresh fruit and vegetables are on the menu at Emmaus Salford thanks to £1000 from the Pendleton Co-operative.
Pendleton Co-operative is a charitable organisation set up specifically to benefit people living in the area.
Approximately £75,000 will be available for the next five years and Pendleton Co-operative hopes to attract match funding to boost the money it has available for good causes.
And there are few better causes than Emmaus as they support people who have experienced homelessness by providing them with a home and meaningful work in a community setting.
The money has been used to help buy seeds for the produce which will be grown in purpose-built planters from old railway sleepers, and part-fund the purchase of a greenhouse.
The food will be used to help feed the companions to allow them to eat a healthy diet.
A range of vegetables are being grown, as well as apples from the trees donated from Happy Mondays star Bez’s own orchard.
The project also has its own egg supply thanks to the resident chickens, Hotpot and Kiev, and there are plans to grow herbs and plants once the garden is established.
Jed Swallow, a volunteer companion, said: “My dad always said ‘to plant a garden is to believe in the future’ and I believe that’s what we’re doing here.
“We’ve got lots of plants and seeds and we’re hoping to be in a position to sell what we can’t use. If not, we can compost them so nothing gets wasted.
“A lot of the materials we’ve used have been reclaimed so nothing goes to waste. We’ve come a long way in a short space of time, long may in continue.”
