We, the undersigned, are writing as Toronto residents concerned about food insecurity in our community. Across Toronto, there has been a 340% increase in food bank visits since 2019, and 1 in 4 households faces food insecurity. This is disproportionately felt by racialized and newcomer families.
Mayor Chow declared food insecurity a state of emergency in the city in December of 2024. More than a year after this declaration, the emergency persists. We are requesting more support, promotion, and municipal investment in urban agriculture as one channel for solutions.
In 2021, the City of Toronto launched the Community Engagement and Entrepreneurial Development (CEED) Garden pilot project. This pilot aimed to increase the availability of fresh, culturally relevant produce in communities with high rates of food insecurity and to provide supplemental income generation opportunities for residents. These farms were established in hydro corridors, where there are hundreds of acres of flat, open land that can’t be used for other purposes like housing, but are prime for urban agriculture. There are currently two CEED farms-Malvern Urban Farm in the Malvern neighbourhood and Flemo Farm in Flemingdon Park.
Since opening in 2021, these farms have been a huge success, growing hundreds of thousands of pounds of food which has been distributed throughout the community, supporting neighbourhood food access and income generation for residents. In hundreds of acres of open hydro corridors across the city, opening new farms like these will:
- Multiply local food production capacity and expand access to culturally relevant foods, ensuring that newcomer and racialized families can access ingredients central to their diets, traditions, and health.
- Diversify food access points, including farmers’ markets, bringing fresh produce directly into neighbourhoods where it is most needed.
- Create local employment and entrepreneurship opportunities, particularly for youth, newcomers, and women.-Build climate resilience through green space expansion, soil health improvement, and reduced food transportation needs
- Create space for Indigenous farming opportunities, recognizing and integrating traditional ecological knowledges, land stewardship, and seed-saving practices into the program.
- Create spaces for all residents to connect with nature and participate in community eventsWe are asking for an accessible, straightforward system for creating new urban farms to meet the goals above. This includes creating an inventory of available hydro corridor land in the City’s master license, formalizing the application process, including necessary application documentation and timelines, and clarifying the responsibilities of each City division connected to these applications. We hope you will champion this initiative to build a more inclusive, food-secure Toronto.
