Kylie Martens and Edie Daniels from the Hope… It Grows! community garden at St Matthew’s Long Gully are running several weekly sessions in which participants will pick fruit and vegetables from the garden, prepare a couple of dishes, and enjoy them together.

“The idea is to give people the opportunity to get together, socialise, and make that connection between where food comes from and what we eat,” Ms Martens said.

She said that after the garden was established in 2010, it seemed a natural progression to use that produce in such a way.

“It’s a nice social time as well,” Ms Daniels added.

Participants vary in background and age, with some people attending with their children.

Ms Daniels said some people came with cooking experience, but others were newer to the kitchen.

The meals prepared vary from week to week, depending on what produce is available.

On Thursday, a tomato and basil bruschetta and a zucchini chocolate cake were on the menu.

Participant Larry Kern, a keen gardener and cook himself, went along for the first time this week.

He said he was interested in the concept of teaching people how to use fresh produce from the garden in their cooking, as well as how fresh ingredients could be cooked and prepared in different ways to what people might be familiar with.

“I think it’s interesting when you marry harvesting and cooking; it inspires people to use produce in different ways,” Mr Kern said.

He said he also had an interest in neighbourhood and community development.

The cooking sessions run from 11.30am to 1.30pm each Thursday until March 23.

The sessions, a partnership between St Matthew’s Long Gully and the Long Gully Neighbourhood Centre, are free for Long Gully residents and a gold coin donation for others.

The Hope… It Grows! garden was established to demonstrate sustainability and give people the skills to grow their own food.

It is also open on Tuesdays from 10am to 12pm, and the first Saturday of every month.