Tending Cultural Landscapes and Food Citizenship in Toronto's Community Gardens

Abstract

ABSTRACT. Scattered throughout the city of Toronto are more than no community gardens, sites of place‐based politics connected to the community food‐security movement. The gardens, spaces where passions for plants and food are shared, reflect the city's shifting cultural landscape and represent an everyday activity that is imbued with multiple meanings. Toronto's community food‐security movement uses gardens as one strategy to regenerate the local food system and provide access to healthy, affordable food. Three garden case studies expand on the complexities of “food citizenship,” illustrating the importance of that concept to notions of food security. The gardens reveal the role gardeners play in transforming urban spaces, the complex network of organizations working cooperatively and in partnership to implement these projects, and the way in which social and cultural pluralism are shaping the urban landscape.

Contributing to food security in urban areas: differences between urban agriculture and peri-urban agriculture in the Global North

“…Important stakeholder groups are umbrella or supporting organisations like trusts (Eizenberg 2011), food organisations (e.g. Baker 2004Broadway and Broadway 2011) and advocacy groups (Baker 2004;Gibson 2005;Mees 2007), but also public institutions such as schools and universities (Armstrong 2000; Rosol 2010). Other public bodies involved include: municipal councils that offer supporting programmes (Levy 2008;Broadway 2009;Corrigan 2011); companies in public-private partnerships (Hess and Winner 2007); neighbours (Hess and Winner 2007;Buttery et al 2008);visitors (Grün 2012) and volunteers (Armstrong 2000; Ackerman 2011).…”

Urbanisation, Nutrition and Food Security: A Climatological Perspective

“…In another example from Leon, Nicaragua, 293 plant species belonging to 88 families were recorded across 96 surveyed patios/home gardens, ranging in habit and taxonomic origin (González-García and Sal 2008 ). In Toronto, surveys in community gardens showed that besides the typical local vegetables (cabbage, tomatoes, peppers, and eggplant), farmers grew an additional 16 vegetable crops to supply the local community with foods that were diffi cult to fi nd in local grocery stores, including specialty, Asian, Indian, and Ethiopian vegetables (Baker 2004 ). Such studies point to the need to provide culturally appropriate food to communities in order to maintain health and nutrition.…”

Community Food Systems: Strengthening the Research-to-Practice Continuum

“…At least potentially, some of these efforts might also benefit small to medium-scale farmers looking for alternative marketing outlets. Marshall's paper on community food security concludes: "The literature reviewed shows the difficulty of both supporting food security and small scale local farmers" (2011, p. 22; see also Allen, 1999;Baker, 2003;Guthman, Morris, & Allen, 2006;Johnston & Baker, 2005). Even organizations whose leaders deeply believe in both these goals have a hard time achieving them simultaneously (Johnston & Baker, 2005).…”