We are very excited to launch a new sustainability initiative here at the PNE in partnership with Safeway. The PNE Chef’s Garden is a fresh and local garden where we are growing over 500lbs of food for use by our PNE Food and Beverage team.

Many people don’t realize that the PNE manages the over 105 acres of Hastings Park on a year round basis. We have staff on site seven days a week, year-round, maintaining the buildings, the grounds, the park space and now also our spray-free fruit, vegetable and herb gardens! Trained horticulturists in our gardening team tend to the over 20 plants including, cucumbers, strawberries, thyme, lettuce, basil, watermelon, kale and potatoes. You can see an exhibit of The PNE Chef’s Gardens during The Fair in Farm Country.

You may be asking at this point, ‘well what happens to all the ripe product?’ It gets eaten… by you! The product grown in the gardens gets incorporated by our Food and Beverage department into the food we serve at catered events onsite like the meals served to the artists who play at the Pacific Coliseum and in the dishes prepared for our private catered events. Hence the name, The PNE Chef’s Garden!

Don’t forget to visit Market Fresh at The Fair for healthy options straight from our gardens. As we grow this initiative, food will also be incorporated into many of our Food and Beverage initiatives onsite during Playland and The Fair. So just think, next time you order a Crazy Dog, Shrimp Boat platter or Unroutine Poutine, that sprinkle of chive, sliver of carrot or even slice of onion and lettuce came straight from our gardens that morning! This is just another small step in our journey on becoming a zero waste and fully sustainable site.

Check our blog frequently for updates from the PNE Chef’s Garden where we’ll be sharing what’s grown and how it’s all being used.