Supporting the Development of Urban Agriculture: The Answer to Food and Well-Being in Toronto? Within the City of Toronto exists issues with access to healthy, affordable, culturally diverse food as well as issues of obesity linked to food and healthy living. The City of Toronto can begin to address these issues through GrowTO: An Urban Agricultural Action Plan for Toronto as the plan provides access to the knowledge, resources, space and opportunities for residents to actively participate in as well as access urban agriculture. The plan promotes the growth of existing agricultural systems within Toronto and builds a framework to continue expanding urban agriculture throughout the city. Through the implementation of GrowTO, Toronto will be able to address the Sustainable Development Goals of Zero Hunger as well as Good Health and Well-Being through urban agriculture.
What issues exist?
Why does Toronto need GrowTO?
Within the City of Toronto, there exists issues with the ability to afford healthy foods due to poverty. In 2017, food insecurity affected 18.5% of Toronto households, compared to the provincial average of 14.1%.1 A minimum of one in ten households within the city are unable to afford regular meals, as well as a healthy diet.2 This rate increases when looking at recent immigrants, single parents and indigenous households within the city.3
The vast majority of fresh food in Toronto has been imported from other countries.12 It is a common practice across the world for cities to grow a significant portion of their fresh food within their bounds. A recent study shows that Toronto has the growing space to produce 10% of its fresh food required through areas zoned for food production, small plots, hydro corridors, institutional lands and rooftop production.13 With the opportunity of land use at hand and the support from GrowTO to facilitate the use of land, knowledge of agriculture, organization of local initiatives, and implementation of policies within the city, the City of Toronto has the ability to work towards stabilizing accessible, equitable, culturally diverse, healthy foods across the city.
Access to healthy food within the city is a concern for lower income neighborhoods. Within the city’s lowincome areas, there are 31,000 households more than 1km away from a supermarket, and therefore not within an accessible walking distance.4 These areas are “food deserts”, sections of the city where it is hard to access affordable, healthy food and communities begin to rely on convenient, fast foods.5 Lacking the ability to access healthy food due to poverty has long term effects on health. Food insecurity is linked to a higher risk of chronic disease, depression, anxiety, and lower life expectancy.6 Residents not only need access to healthy food but access to healthy, culturally-diverse food. The population of Toronto is culturally diverse with over 250 ethnicities in the city.7 Many fruits and vegetables that are not grown in Ontario are the basis of traditional diets. Long-distance imports are currently the only way to access a variety of culturally diverse crops.8 Obesity in Toronto exists as a result of more easily accessible unhealthy food. Obesity affects approximately one in three children ages 2-11 in Toronto.9 The percentage of overweight or obese adults in Toronto increased from 43.2% in 2007 to 51.0% in 2014.10 Within a 1km walking distance from each ciy block, on average, there is access to four unhealthy food outlets for every healthier food outlet, making unhealthy food the more accessible choice.11
GrowTO’s priorities in the city There are existing initiatives that work towards providing space for urban agriculture within the city. GrowTO builds on these existing initiatives and was formed as an effort to support the existing network through establishing a framework that can align and expand the potential of urban agriculture in the context of Toronto.14 GrowTO identifies six priorities to expand urban agriculture15: 1. Link Growers to Land and Space 2. Strengthen Education and Training 3. Increase Visibility and Promotion 4. Add Value to Urban Gardens 5. Cultivate Relationships 6. Develop Supportive Policies Through these six priorities, the city will be able to work towards achieving the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals of Zero Hunger through promoting sustainable agriculture to achieve diverse food security in the city as well as Good Health and Well-Being through access to healthy food, knowledge about healthy diets and providing opportunities for a physically healthy lifestyle through urban agriculture.
Working to achieve Zero Hunger by promoting sustainable agriculture through culturally-diverse food security in the city. Studies show that residents who are involved in urban agriculture are more likely to consume vegetables than residents who do not urban farm but are of the same wealth class.16 Linking Growers to Land and Spaces involves developing an online inventory to connect growers to growing space such as city owned parks, greenhouses and rooftops.17 By developing accessible knowledge of local growing spaces, It is easier for residents to gain knowledge about the ways they can grow and obtain healthy food in their areas. Add Value to Urban Gardens works to gain financing for urban agriculture and develop a system of well-rounded food hubs across the city to increase the potential of urban-grown food.18 Local food production reduces the path of food from the producer to the consumer, which removes the cost of shipping the food, lowering the overall cost.19 Providing support to initiatives such as the West End Food Co-op and encourages accessibility of food by ensuring it is distributed and affordably accessible to residents throughout the city. Fresh vegetables and fruit are proven to be one of the most expensive items when grocery shopping.20 Increasing Visibility and Promotion will increase knowledge about community programs and promote their worth within the city.21 This involves support for initiatives such as Not Far From the Tree, an organization that harvests otherwise unharvested food within the city and distributes the food to social service agencies, which is important as many of these supported organizations provide food to lower income homes. Other initiatives such as the World Crops and Learning Gardens Project ensure that residents have access to the skills and knowledge needed to produce culturally accessible crops.22 Increased food production within the city brings the city a step closer to achieving internal food security. Developing Supportive Policies involves working with the City and provincial ministries to update policies, bylaws and resources such as the Toronto Food Strategy that will support the growth of urban agriculture.23 Support for urban agriculture provides greater land use opportunities throughout pockets in the city, such as community gardens and backyard sharing. Providing space encourages residents to grow their own food which increases access to fresh food at no cost for lower income communities. In 2012, the market for “world crops”, including Chinese long eggplant and fuzzy melon among others, was more than $60 million in Toronto and the Greater Toronto Area.24 Foods such as bitter melon and okra have been successfully grown in Ontario and can be grown within the city.25 By Linking Growers to Land and Space through linking diverse residence with local growing space and Cultivating Relationships through connecting with culturally diverse neighborhoods to ensure urban
agriculture reflects diversity, there are opportunities to produce crops of foods and vegetables that are not native to Ontario and must be accessed through importing, but are the staple of traditional diets.26 This allows previously unavailable foods to be produced locally, increasing their accessibility to culturally diverse communities. Working to achieve Good Health and WellBeing through access to healthy food, knowledge about healthy foods and providing opportunities for a physically healthy lifestyle through urban agriculture. Linking Growers to Land and Spaces and Developing Supportive Policies to encourage the expansion of urban growing spaces throughout the city allows healthy food to be more plentiful and common where it may not have previously existed, and therefore more accessibly available than unhealthy foods. Urban agriculture not only encourages incorporating fruits and vegetables into one’s diet, but supporting initiatives such as the Urban Food and Agriculture Learning Centre also promotes a healthy lifestyle through food literacy and physical activity. Strengthening Education and Training supports the implementation of food literacy and production programs in education as well as hands-on training opportunities with initiatives throughout the city. Knowledge and implementation of food literacy has been proven to encourage selection of healthy foods and improve overall diet which leads to improved health outcomes.27 Gardening as a recreation also shows results of increased physical activity and has been proven to decrease stress, heart rates, improve cardiac health and immune system health.28
Why is GrowTO important? GrowTO is a plan that should remain a priority as it is valuable in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals of Zero Hunger and Good Health and Well-Being through supporting urban food security by making food more accessible, affordable and diverse, as well as encouraging healthy eating and physical activity through urban agriculture. The six priorities that are proposed can be realistically achieved as the organizations and initiatives that the plan intends to support are already established throughout the city. GrowTO is a plan that can be applied across major cities in Canada. Developing city-specific comprehensive plans that encourages the development of urban agriculture throughout the city, while providing them with further support from the city as well as the provincial government will allow cities work towards sustainable development goals while addressing food concerns. The plan is well-rounded and touches on aspects of enhancing knowledge, connections, production, and distribution throughout the city, all which are vital in progressing the achievement of sustainability not only in Toronto but in cities across the country.
Endnotes 1 Bursey, G. (2019). Food in Toronto: Affordability, Accessibility, and Insecurity (Publication No. HL10.3). Toronto Public Health. https://www.toronto.ca/legdocs/mmis/2019/hl/bgrd/backgroundfile-138864.pdf. p.4 2 Toronto Public Health. (2010). Cultivating Food Connections; Toward A Healthy and Sustainable Food System for Toronto. https://www.toronto.ca/legdocs/mmis/2010/hl/bgrd/backgroundfile-30483.pdf. p.22 3 Toronto Public Health. (2010). Cultivating Food Connections; Toward A Healthy and Sustainable Food System for Toronto. https://www.toronto.ca/legdocs/mmis/2010/hl/bgrd/backgroundfile-30483.pdf. p.22 4 Cook, B., Emanuel, B., & Sommerfreund, J. (2015). Appendix 3: Toronto Food Strategy, 2015 Update. Toronto Public Health. https://www.toronto.ca/legdocs/mmis/2015/hl/bgrd/backgroundfile-80219.pdf. p.5 5 Toronto Youth Food Policy Council. (n.d.). Urban Food Security. https://tyfpc.ca/foodissues/urbanfoodsecurity/. 6 Toronto Public Health. (2008). The Unequal City: Income and Health Inequalities in Toronto. https://www.toronto. ca/legdocs/mmis/2008/hl/bgrd/backgroundfile-16293.pdf. p.17 7 Ryan, A. (2019, March 22). How Multicultural Is Toronto? Let Us Count the Ways... Toronto Global. https:// torontoglobal.ca/TG-Blog/March-2019/How-multicultural-is-Toronto-Let-us-count-the-way. 8 Toronto Youth Food Policy Council. (n.d.). Cultural Awareness. https://tyfpc.ca/foodissues/culturalawareness/. p.2 9 Toronto Public Health. (2010). Cultivating Food Connections; Toward A Healthy and Sustainable Food System for Toronto (Publication No. HL10.3). https://www.toronto.ca/legdocs/mmis/2010/hl/bgrd/backgroundfile-30483.pdf. p.2 10 Toronto Public Health. (2017). Health Surveillance Indicators: Overweight Obesity. https://www.toronto.ca/wpcontent/uploads/2017/12/8c72-tph-hsi-overweightobesity-final-jmr.pdf. p.2 11 Toronto Public Health. (2017). Health Surveillance Indicators: Overweight Obesity. https://www.toronto.ca/wpcontent/uploads/2017/12/8c72-tph-hsi-overweightobesity-final-jmr.pdf. p.2 12 Toronto Food Policy Council. (2012). GrowTO: An Urban Agriculture Action Plan for Toronto. https://www. toronto.ca/legdocs/mmis/2012/pe/bgrd/backgroundfile-51558.pdf. p.4 13 Danyluk, M., Kaill-Vinish, P., Kuhns, J., MacRae, R., Michalak, M., Nasr, J., & Snider, A. (2010). Scaling up Urban Agriculture in Toronto: Building the Infrastructure. Metcalf Food Solutions. https://metcalffoundation.com/site/ uploads/2011/05/scaling-urban-agriculture.pdf. pp.5,6 14 Toronto Public Health. (2018). Toronto Food Strategy 2018 Report. https://www.toronto.ca/legdocs/mmis/2018/ hl/bgrd/backgroundfile-118079.pdf. p.17 15 Toronto Food Policy Council. (2012). GrowTO: An Urban Agriculture Action Plan for Toronto. https://www. toronto.ca/legdocs/mmis/2012/pe/bgrd/backgroundfile-51558.pdf. p.11 16 Armar-Klemesu, M. (n.d.) Thematic Paper 4: Urban Agriculture and Food Security, Nutrition and Health. https:// www.futuredirections.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/1391511018Urban_agriculture_adn_food_security,_ nutrition_and_health.PDF. p.105 17 Toronto Food Policy Council. (2012). GrowTO: An Urban Agriculture Action Plan for Toronto. https://www. toronto.ca/legdocs/mmis/2012/pe/bgrd/backgroundfile-51558.pdf. p.13 18 Toronto Food Policy Council. (2012). GrowTO: An Urban Agriculture Action Plan for Toronto. https://www. toronto.ca/legdocs/mmis/2012/pe/bgrd/backgroundfile-51558.pdf. p.15 19 Armar-Klemesu, M. (n.d.) Thematic Paper 4: Urban Agriculture and Food Security, Nutrition and Health. https:// www.futuredirections.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/1391511018Urban_agriculture_adn_food_security,_ nutrition_and_health.PDF. p.105 20 Armar-Klemesu, M. (n.d.) Thematic Paper 4: Urban Agriculture and Food Security, Nutrition and Health. https:// www.futuredirections.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/1391511018Urban_agriculture_adn_food_security,_ nutrition_and_health.PDF. p.105 21 Toronto Food Policy Council. (2012). GrowTO: An Urban Agriculture Action Plan for Toronto. https://www. toronto.ca/legdocs/mmis/2012/pe/bgrd/backgroundfile-51558.pdf. p.15 22 Toronto Food Policy Council. (2012). GrowTO: An Urban Agriculture Action Plan for Toronto. https://www. toronto.ca/legdocs/mmis/2012/pe/bgrd/backgroundfile-51558.pdf. p.17 23 Toronto Food Policy Council. (2012). GrowTO: An Urban Agriculture Action Plan for Toronto. https://www. toronto.ca/legdocs/mmis/2012/pe/bgrd/backgroundfile-51558.pdf. p.20 24 Roberts, O. (2017, June 19). Local food is becoming more worldly and diverse: The New Farm. Toronto Star. https://www.thestar.com/news/gta/urban-farming/2017/06/19/local-food-is-becoming-more-worldly-and-diverse-thenew-farm.html. 25 Toronto Youth Food Policy Council. (n.d.). Cultural Awareness. https://tyfpc.ca/foodissues/culturalawareness/. p.2
26 Toronto Food Policy Council. (2012). GrowTO: An Urban Agriculture Action Plan for Toronto. https://www. toronto.ca/legdocs/mmis/2012/pe/bgrd/backgroundfile-51558.pdf. pp.13,17 27 Begley, A., Butcher, L.M., Dhaliwal, S.S., & Paynter, E. Effectiveness of an Adult Food Literacy Program. US National Library of Medicine, National Institute of Health, 11(4), 797. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/ PMC6520903/#:~:text=Of%20those%20classified%20as%20low,be%20targeted%20for%20future%20success. 28 Lussier, M. (2018, May 30). 5 Reasons To Grow Your Own Food. University of New Hampshire. https://www.unh. edu/healthyunh/blog/nutrition/2018/05/5-reasons-grow-your-own-food