food issues?

[Daniel Bida]

As Transition Toronto gets organized and begins to work with all concerned stakeholders, it would be helpful to have some input on what you think the Food subcommittee should focus on.

So please, what are your ideas to increase the resiliency of Toronto's food supply?

[Martina Rowley]

My first thoughts are they could:
- promote personal food gardening in front-/backyard, or containers (on the ground, or balconies)
- promote community food gardens
- hold information/education sessions on these

Several established food gardening and community food kitchen NGOs across the City could help provide the info sessions, e.g. Toronto Community Garden Network, FoodShare, The Stop.

[Jen Lalonde]

We could get more of our produce from CSAs (community-supported agriculture). There is one company called Organics Delivered that (I think) acts like a broker in getting food from local farms (as far north as Ptbo) and delivering them to people here. I have *NO CONNECTION* to this business other than that I've talked to a rep from there several times and they seem very good - they had a young person walking around the neighbourhood knocking on doors and I said I was interested, yes, someone could call me about it and my conversations with them have been really good.

It's not cheap but if memory serves you get two weeks worth of food for 4 people for $96 and most of it is organic as well as local.

Since we all can't be farmers (ideal though that would be) I really like the idea of supporting those that can do small-scale farming locally - to make sure we *do* have local production to fall back on if/when we need it. I'm only one person in my household so I'm working on getting friends nearby to join in with me on a box.

[Daniel Bida]

Thanks Jen, 100% agree on the CSA. Part of what the Support group is going to provide are links and information on all the different CSA's and 'farms to cities' delivery services. I'm not sure if Organics Delivered is a CSA or just a delivery service, but I would want to put emphasis on the former - further helping farmers to finance the season's crops and taking some of the production risk out of their hands.

Keep checking back as we get this site more beefed up - I will put up information on who to contact and how much it costs to sign up for the different options.

Jen Lalonde said:

We could get more of our produce from CSAs (community-supported agriculture). There is one company called Organics Delivered that (I think) acts like a broker in getting food from local farms (as far north as Ptbo) and delivering them to people here. I have *NO CONNECTION* to this business other than that I've talked to a rep from there several times and they seem very good - they had a young person walking around the neighbourhood knocking on doors and I said I was interested, yes, someone could call me about it and my conversations with them have been really good.

It's not cheap but if memory serves you get two weeks worth of food for 4 people for $96 and most of it is organic as well as local.

Since we all can't be farmers (ideal though that would be) I really like the idea of supporting those that can do small-scale farming locally - to make sure we *do* have local production to fall back on if/when we need it. I'm only one person in my household so I'm working on getting friends nearby to join in with me on a box.

[Jen Lalonde]

Ontario CSA Directory
http://csafarms.ca/index.html

The business I was mentioning just brings the food in - they said on the phone they source it locally, and try to get organics as much as possible. I think they said at least 60% will be organic.

[Heather Posgate]

We can all learn a lot about growing your own food from the variety of cultures in Toronto. Many of the recent immigrants to Toronto grow a lot of food in limited spaces, front and back yards. I live in a Portuguese and Italian neighbourhood and I am learning a lot about gardening and preserving from my neighbours. Toronto is already well known for the variety of restaurants that we have from different cultures ... how can we extend this to local food growth? I think a lot of the how-to knowledge already exists in Toronto but this amazing resource is being overlooked.

[Ann Marie]

Our Family are members of Kawartha Ecological Growers ( Named TO's best CSA in Toronto Life Magazine's Aug 2009 issue ). They are a co-operative of 20+ farms in the Kawartha Lakes area that have set up drop off's around the city on different days/times.They have a wide range of vegetables, fruits, meats, eggs, maple syrup, etc. all raised either naturally or organically. We have been very pleased and are signing up again for the upcoming season. You can learn about them at www.kawarthaecologicalgrowers.com. Per our discussion with Mark last Sat, they have already filled about 50% of their membership for this year, so you might want to hurry. We have also met and bought a 1/4 side of naturally raised, government inspected beef from a farmer in Newtonville. Anyone want to join us on a meat buying club?

[Martina Rowley]

As I mentioned in my Easter Blog on "What other Transition Towns are doing..." about my parents' UK town, I met with their food group and heard about the various projects they want to work on. Some of those would - for Toronto - crossover into our Re-skilling group, i.e. foraging workshops, and bread-making workshops.
I really liked their idea of a competition to find a good recipe for a local bread loaf. In T.O. something like that might be more difficult, or impossible?, as we have so many different ethnic types of breads; how could anyone decide which one, or combination of several, might be THE 'Toronto loaf'? LOL. Still, I love the idea.

Re. increasing our local food resilience, I'm thinking of the non-profit Not Far From The Tree. I think they're hoping to expand into more city wards for picking fruit for tree-owners not interested in/able to do the harvest themselves. Perhaps TTo can make a connection with that group, helping them identify fruit and nut trees in the Transition neighbourhoods as those develop, and also get local volunteers involved in the harvesting; perhaps also the processing of the picked fruits. This could be turned into day-long events with fruit picking in the morning, followed in the afternoon by cooking, canning, baking, or conserving some of the fruits. Turning it into a community event, which would also raise awareness of the fruit trees that DO exist in our city, and increase interest in planting new fruit and nut trees.

[Daniel Bida]

that is a great idea! I just heard about Not Far From the Tree last year. An ongoing focus on providing individuals around our city with the skills to make bread (something I don't know how to do, but would be interested in) and foraging (ditto) would be a really good way for any Transitioners interested in picking up new life skills to do so. Given that we (or at least I) don't have the expertise to teach either of those classes, do we know anyone who currently runs them? and what is the cost? If we could negotiate a subsidized rate for TTo members, that would be amazing...
Outside of promoting Not Far From the Tree, do you have any ideas of projects to co-run? I'm going to email them now...

Martina Rowley said:

As I mentioned in my Easter Blog on "What other Transition Towns are doing..." about my parents' UK town, I met with their food group and heard about the various projects they want to work on. Some of those would - for Toronto - crossover into our Re-skilling group, i.e. foraging workshops, and bread-making workshops.
I really liked their idea of a competition to find a good recipe for a local bread loaf. In T.O. something like that might be more difficult, or impossible?, as we have so many different ethnic types of breads; how could anyone decide which one, or combination of several, might be THE 'Toronto loaf'? LOL. Still, I love the idea.

Re. increasing our local food resilience, I'm thinking of the non-profit Not Far From The Tree. I think they're hoping to expand into more city wards for picking fruit for tree-owners not interested in/able to do the harvest themselves. Perhaps TTo can make a connection with that group, helping them identify fruit and nut trees in the Transition neighbourhoods as those develop, and also get local volunteers involved in the harvesting; perhaps also the processing of the picked fruits. This could be turned into day-long events with fruit picking in the morning, followed in the afternoon by cooking, canning, baking, or conserving some of the fruits. Turning it into a community event, which would also raise awareness of the fruit trees that DO exist in our city, and increase interest in planting new fruit and nut trees.

[Geoff Buddle]

An example on the personal food front:
I have two wicking-bed containers ($8 Rubbermaid tubs) going in a basement and can show how to make them. My location requires more light however growth is happening, and they double-duty as worm composters. Since there is a reservoir, soil mix requirements are much more forgiving. My indoor watering has averaged once in 3 weeks, an addtional week with no wilting once the water at the bottom of the pipe disappeared. Outside about once a week should do, though checking is a snap and no guess work involved. Excellent for sunny winter windows, very wind/dry balconies or portability. The "Closed" or "Above Ground" styles (2nd link) should handle the worst yard conditions, or even a newly vacant driveway. These three links will tell you all you need to know;
Text
http://wickingbed.com/
http://www.waterright.com.au/wicking%20bed%20technology.pdf
Video (3 min.)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gbz0qqjKhqI&feature=channel

(I always see large styro boxes out for garbage pick up on Spadina near Dundas, think they are used for fish. Though shorter, deep enough for a resevoir. "Alternative Grounds" cafe on Roncesvalles gives away coffee bean sacks which I think would be a good reservoir material. A low/no cost experiment, if someone can supply the sunny space I'll put one together for the trial.)

Bigger picture: Nutrient loss globally is a huge issue, and if we start growing a lot of food we'll need nutrients. Feeding wicking beds with worms (mine have no smell by the way) with all appropriate scraps captures those nutrients. Meat and fats I freeze til outdoor conditions allow outdoor composting. And yes, you can compost meats and fats, earthworms in particular love them, the blanket recommendation that you shouldn't is not because one can't but because the composter must be raccoon-proof and additions well mulched for smell control.

Geoff

[Martina Rowley]

At a recent public meeting by the Toronto Food Policy Council I made a contact with an expert on foraging. I inquired about his giving foraging workshops. Needs to be negotiated, as he lives near Collingwood and we'd have to determine his availability, fee, and whether he knows good areas (e.g. ravines, parks) in Toronto to learn some foraging.
Can't think of any other related NGO's or projects we could co-run ... but with some help in throwing around ideas, I'm sure I/we can come up with a few more!

Daniel Bida said:

that is a great idea! I just heard about Not Far From the Tree last year. An ongoing focus on providing individuals around our city with the skills to make bread (something I don't know how to do, but would be interested in) and foraging (ditto) would be a really good way for any Transitioners interested in picking up new life skills to do so. Given that we (or at least I) don't have the expertise to teach either of those classes, do we know anyone who currently runs them? and what is the cost? If we could negotiate a subsidized rate for TTo members, that would be amazing...
Outside of promoting Not Far From the Tree, do you have any ideas of projects to co-run? I'm going to email them now...

Martina Rowley said:

As I mentioned in my Easter Blog on "What other Transition Towns are doing..." about my parents' UK town, I met with their food group and heard about the various projects they want to work on. Some of those would - for Toronto - crossover into our Re-skilling group, i.e. foraging workshops, and bread-making workshops.
I really liked their idea of a competition to find a good recipe for a local bread loaf. In T.O. something like that might be more difficult, or impossible?, as we have so many different ethnic types of breads; how could anyone decide which one, or combination of several, might be THE 'Toronto loaf'? LOL. Still, I love the idea.

Re. increasing our local food resilience, I'm thinking of the non-profit Not Far From The Tree. I think they're hoping to expand into more city wards for picking fruit for tree-owners not interested in/able to do the harvest themselves. Perhaps TTo can make a connection with that group, helping them identify fruit and nut trees in the Transition neighbourhoods as those develop, and also get local volunteers involved in the harvesting; perhaps also the processing of the picked fruits. This could be turned into day-long events with fruit picking in the morning, followed in the afternoon by cooking, canning, baking, or conserving some of the fruits. Turning it into a community event, which would also raise awareness of the fruit trees that DO exist in our city, and increase interest in planting new fruit and nut trees.

[Martina Rowley]

I'd never heard of wicking beds before - interesting concept. Will have to have another read through the sites you listed; thanks!


Geoff Buddle said:

An example on the personal food front:
I have two wicking-bed containers ($8 Rubbermaid tubs) going in a basement and can show how to make them. My location requires more light however growth is happening, and they double-duty as worm composters. Since there is a reservoir, soil mix requirements are much more forgiving. My indoor watering has averaged once in 3 weeks, an addtional week with no wilting once the water at the bottom of the pipe disappeared. Outside about once a week should do, though checking is a snap and no guess work involved. Excellent for sunny winter windows, very wind/dry balconies or portability. The "Closed" or "Above Ground" styles (2nd link) should handle the worst yard conditions, or even a newly vacant driveway. These three links will tell you all you need to know;
Text
http://wickingbed.com/
http://www.waterright.com.au/wicking%20bed%20technology.pdf
Video (3 min.)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gbz0qqjKhqI&feature=channel

(I always see large styro boxes out for garbage pick up on Spadina near Dundas, think they are used for fish. Though shorter, deep enough for a resevoir. "Alternative Grounds" cafe on Roncesvalles gives away coffee bean sacks which I think would be a good reservoir material. A low/no cost experiment, if someone can supply the sunny space I'll put one together for the trial.)

Bigger picture: Nutrient loss globally is a huge issue, and if we start growing a lot of food we'll need nutrients. Feeding wicking beds with worms (mine have no smell by the way) with all appropriate scraps captures those nutrients. Meat and fats I freeze til outdoor conditions allow outdoor composting. And yes, you can compost meats and fats, earthworms in particular love them, the blanket recommendation that you shouldn't is not because one can't but because the composter must be raccoon-proof and additions well mulched for smell control.

Geoff

[Marisa Meléndez]

In response to Heather's March 22 comment I would like to say that I completely agree. I too have been thinking a lot about the topic of many immigrants having knowledge of growing food in small spaces. In my area there are many Chinese who grow many vegetables in small spaces, as Heather mentioned about her Portuguese and Italian neighbours. The areas absolutely flourish. It is very impressive. It would be nice to set up some kind of community workshops with people in the know. It would also be a nice way to connect different ethnic groups. I live near what I think is a retirement home. People in the building have a plot of land beside the building where they grow vegetables. I always see several elderly people caring for it. If someone could come up with an organized method of carrying out workshops, I could try to contact the individuals involved in this garden to see if they would be willing help out. I have a friend that speaks Mandarin and Cantonese, so perhaps she could help as well.

Heather Posgate said:

We can all learn a lot about growing your own food from the variety of cultures in Toronto. Many of the recent immigrants to Toronto grow a lot of food in limited spaces, front and back yards. I live in a Portuguese and Italian neighbourhood and I am learning a lot about gardening and preserving from my neighbours. Toronto is already well known for the variety of restaurants that we have from different cultures ... how can we extend this to local food growth? I think a lot of the how-to knowledge already exists in Toronto but this amazing resource is being overlooked.