🌱 Benefits of a Crop Swap

We love our Crop Swaps!

1. Access to Fresh, Local Food

• Participants receive seasonal, often organically grown produce.

• Reduces reliance on supermarkets and long food-supply chains (see poster below).

2. Cost-Effective for Both Growers and Participants

• Growers can reduce upfront costs through shared inputs or help (collaborative gardens).

• Participants often receive produce at below retail price or in exchange for excess seasonal goods.

3. Community Building and Knowledge Sharing

• Encourages collaboration between neighbours, whānau, or local growers.

• Builds social capital — sharing food, seeds, tools, and gardening tips.

  

  From Garden to Plate - least amount of travel miles!!

4. Food Resilience

• Distributes food production across multiple gardens or backyard properties.

• Reduces risk of total crop loss — if one grower has a bad season, others may not (when my tomato crop was dismal, many others had bumper crops and could share them with me).

5. Waste Reduction

• Helps use surplus produce that might otherwise go to waste (gardening is always a case of boom or bust, right?).

• Promotes creative uses of excess (preserving, trading, sharing cooking recipes).

6. Skill Development

• Participants learn about growing, harvesting, preserving, or how to prepare new food crops.

• Great way to involve tamariki in food growing and sustainability. Family inclusion is encouraged.

Grow On Katikati's monthly Crop Swap

7. Encourages Biodiversity

• A variety of people growing different crops increases local food biodiversity.

• Reduces monoculture and improves soil and ecosystem health.

8. Supports Small-Scale or Backyard Growers

• Even if you only grow one thing (like pumpkins or kale), you can contribute meaningfully.

• Empowers people with limited land to still be part of the food system.

9. Cultural and Traditional Exchange

• People can grow and share culturally significant crops (remember when Kevin brought puha and shared how to cook it?).

• Strengthens cross-cultural understanding and heritage food knowledge.

10. Low Barrier to Entry

• Doesn’t require money — trade can be done through produce, volunteering, or by koha/donation.

• Makes healthy food more accessible to lower-income households.

So what are you waiting for? Come on down to the Grow On Shed this Saturday (every first Saturday of the month) from 9.30-10.30am. Bring your excess and swap it for something you need! If you have anything food or garden related products you would like to sell, email membersgrowonkatikati@gmail.com to book your $5 stall. See you there!

Arohanui

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  First Saturday of the month.

  

  Kindly sponsored and promoted with help from our sponsor, Powerco