CAPEL Sound Community Hub has launched its new community garden, supported by Chobani’s Big Difference grant.
On 24 September, a celebratory lunch was held at the Community Hub in Capel Sound, bringing together partners, supporters, and the community to celebrate the new garden.
The garden has been named Coastal Roots, as suggested and voted for by the community.
The space includes garden beds where fresh food can be grown and then distributed in the food pantry or used in the on-site café.
Project Manager Bec Edwards said the garden is not only a place to grow food, but also a site for community connection and learning.
“It’s very much about a connection to the hub and bringing the outside in and the inside out,” said Edwards.
“But it’s also a space of learning and contemplation so that people have got a space that they can gravitate towards, especially in the nicer weather and be out with nature.”
She said it also provides a space to help increase the community programs the hub offers.
“It’s about bringing art classes outdoors so that they’re actually out in nature and painting what’s out there… and bringing the bees in so that we increase our produce and product in the garden,” said Edwards.
“And also, just bringing out the ageing community as well and bringing them outside.”
She said she worked with the budget to create an accessible space for the community.
“It’s not just limited to the veggie patches at the end, but the focus is absolutely around food production,” said Edwards.
“The increase in yield will be utilising that space to propagate and to plant and to have that seasonal opportunity, to bring the vegetables into our food pantry and indeed our cafe, so that the community’s got that access to the space as well as the food that comes from it.”
Edwards said she is so proud of the space they have built and incredibly grateful for the support from the board, volunteers, and the community.
Board Secretary Heather Barton said food security is a major issue on the peninsula.
“We open the [food pantry] doors at 8am and close at 5pm, and people are in and out all day,” said Barton.
“[The garden’s] about creating food for the pantry for people to take away.”
Barton said the garden wouldn’t have been possible without Chobani’s support.
The Big Difference is an initiative started by Chobani to help local organisations address food insecurity.
Adisa Hubanic, Social Impact Manager at Chobani, said Capel Sound Community Hub received the grant due to the tangible nature of the project.
“It had a really nice community feel about it,” said Hubanic.
“I think the fact that all of the fruit and vegetables grown here on-site are then distributed through the food pantry and supporting the community which they work with was a standout.”
She said Chobani’s grants are all about providing grassroots organisations with what they need to get ideas off the ground.
The garden is now open at Capel Sound Community Hub and will be used for upcoming community programs and planting.
You can find out more about Capel Sound Community Hub, the work they do, and how you can get involved at: capelsoundcommunityhub.com.au.
First published in the Southern Peninsula News – 30 September 2026
