The Urban Agriculture Program (UA Program) is a critical component of the non profit organization, FoodShare, in Toronto. FoodShare programs aim towards the larger goal of engaging the whole of the food system - production, distribution and consumption - with a focus on issues of hunger, poverty and the environment. The UA Program finds its home in the "action" branch of FoodShare, the Field-to-Table warehouse, where a rooftop greenhouse and growing production site has been established in addition to the packing/coordination site of the Good Food Box (GFB).

The UA Program takes a flexible and diverse approach to increasing urban food production. Among their concrete endeavors (2000 - 01) are: 1) Urban Bee Project - a Heifer International pass-on project. Field-to-Table is hosting the first group of bees and is training 4 partner groups in hive maintenance and honey production. These 4 groups will receive bees in the summer of 2002 and will likewise pass on the "livestock" and skills to another community partner. 2) Seeds of Our City Project - funded by the Bronfman Foundation, this project partners with 7 community gardening sites to assess the relationship between cultural and plant biodiversity. 3) Annex Organics Sprouts - the warehouse houses a sprouting operation which sells to restaurants, natural food stores and the GFB. 4) Youth Training - funded by Human Resources Development Canada, this program assists youth in gaining employment experience and skills working with the Kitchen Incubator Project (catering), the GFB and the UA Program. 5) Rooftop Garden Project - a 600 square foot rooftop greenhouse grows seedlings for rooftop production, winter greens and plant sales. The 5000 square foot roof provides space for growing potted eggplants, peppers and tomatoes. Rooftop growing has considerable production limitations, constrained by space and weight as well as water use efficiency and access. This has prompted the UA Program to look for a piece of land for the purpose of food growing.

One of the partnership that the UA Program has cultivated is with the Canadian Association for Mental Health (CAMH). This partnership consists of providing employment for CAMH clients in the greenhouse, planting and harvesting seedling sprouts for the sprouting enterprise. Extending this mutually beneficial relationship, CAMH is providing the UA Program with a small piece of land (0.5 acres) for the purpose of intensive food production, client participation and community training. The plot has just been acquired and the objective now is to design this site along sustainable principles.

This project is only in its beginning stages. In thinking about this site there are several identifiable points that will provide fertile learning grounds in the months to come. 1) Soil. The process of transforming compacted, sod soil into a viable growing site will be a challenge. For best soil fertility and long term sustainability the initial effort for the first 2 years should be on building soil through a combination of manure, compost, and cover crops. One of the challenges will be educating CAMH, the funders and the public as to the long term benefits of soil building. 2) Transportation. Production currently is on the same site as the primary market. With this new production site, a stable transportation method will have be conceived of. This cost will actually be lower than out-of-city farmers but it will represent a new cost for the UA Program. 3) Training. To date, the youth program has been labour centered. This provides solid learning experience and is a valuable resource for the UA Program. It may be expanded to include a more empowerment-oriented model, which incorporates shared decision making, structured education and meaningful labour. 4) Site Design. It will be a challenge to balance the site design between production (3-5 crops) and demonstration (diversity). The site must also reflect the interests of CAMH and the youth who will be the primary groups working there. 5) Funding. A key limiting factor is constant dependence on public funding. This influences long term institutional knowledge, staff retention, ongoing program viability and creates a focus on short-term results based management strategies. Sustainable agricultural production is a long term process (such as soil building) and many outcomes difficult to demonstrate on a year-to-year basis.

Use Renewable Resources

The site will utilize compost made both on site as well as at the Field to Table warehouse (vermicompost as well as normal). Manure would be sourced from outside the city. Cover crops and rotations would be a high priority.

Minimize Toxics

The Urban Agriculture project is the only certified urban producer in Toronto and, thus, uses no pesticides, herbicides or chemical inputs.

Conserve Resources

The objective of soil building would include sustaining and increasing existing organic matter stock. The site plan will include native perennial species and heirloom varieties. In all likelihood, the site will be small enough to make good use of a mulching system as well as employing drip irrigation.

Manage Ecological Relationships

Pest management would be regulated by organic certification (with possibility of using biological substitutions) as well as by 1) building good soil 2) providing border habitats 3) growing a herb and medicinal garden. Cover cropping would be widely used to mine nutrients, fix nitrogen and provide residue. It is highly unlikely that we would be allowed to keep livestock of any kind at the site, although there have been murmurings of applying for a special license.

Diversify

The site will be designed with a diversity of species such as dwarf variety fruit trees, aromatic and medicinal herbs, different varieties of pepper, tomato, eggplant, bean and green crop and flowering perennials. In addition, the site will host bee hives for pollination and honey production. Harvest will be sold to the Good Food Box and possibly the local organic farmers market.

Empower People

This market garden is a cooperative effort between the Canadian Mental Health Association (CAMH) and Field-to-Table. The youth training program and CAMH employment program will be key partners in this garden effort, to provide meaningful work experiences. The project planning and decision-making will involve youth, FoodShare and Field to Table volunteers and staff, CAMH clients and staff as well as local community members interested in market gardening. While primarily a production site, this garden will also be used for community demonstrations and workshops.

Maximize Long-Term Benefits

One of the goals will be to demonstrate a viable urban growing site. This will require that considerable effort be expended on building a fertile soil, through adding organic matter, cover cropping and rotations over the long term.

Value Health

The production of food using organic methods, integrating the community and encouraging the development of personal skills are part of building a healthy garden and a healthy city.

FoodShare/ Field-To-Table www.foodshare.net

Toronto Food Policy Council http://www.toronto.ca/health/tfpc_index.htm

Resource Centre on Urban Agriculture and Forestry www.ruaf.org

International Development Research Centre, Cities Feeding People http://www.idrc.ca/index_en.html

LifeCycles, Victoria BC http://www.lifecyclesproject.ca/

: