Blog  November 1, 2011

Exploring food policy and urban agriculture at growTO

The U of T Scarborough Sustainability Centre is just one example of urban agriculture at work. (Photo: Evergreen)

By: Aimee Carson, Project Manager, Community Food Programs

As I entered St. Lawrence Hall for the 20th anniversary celebration of the Toronto Food Policy Council, the energy in the room was palpable. There was a buzz in the air that persisted all day, the kind that you feel when you’re on the cusp of something big, and you know change is imminent.

Looking around the sea of faces, I saw friends and colleagues from all sectors of the food community and realized that the event, called “Everyone Together at the Table,” had truly lived up to its name.

Wayne Roberts, former head of the Council, expressed his delight when he went up to the podium and described his first encounter that morning as walking into a “human hug jam”—foody friends giddy about what was surely going to be an energizing day with celebration at its core.

As the day unfolded we heard from community food champions such as Debbie Field from FoodShare and Nick Saul from The Stop Community Food Center, as well as farmers, chefs, public health officials, and experts in the field of food policy and planning. In a celebratory tone, we talked about the transformation of what many of us are now recognizing as a dysfunctional food system. We acknowledged where we are and what we need to do, but also (and more importantly), where we’re going, and how we’re already doing it.

The day featured a two-hour panel discussion—the second session of GrowTO, a four-part speaker series on Urban Agriculture—that explored the concept and practice of Community Food Hubs. (Be sure to check out the next two sessions, November 1 and 15.)

It was a day of inspiration that culminated in a keynote address by Carolyn Steel, a UK-based landscape architect and author of Hungry City. Students and professionals alike gathered at the U of T campus to hear Carolyn present riveting facts and stories about the co-evolution of cities and agriculture, and how a sustainable food system would advance healthier urban environments.