Join the campaign to turn public places into growing spaces

_{February 10, 2026}

Join the campaign and show your support for urban agriculture!

Access Alliance is calling on our east end community to support a Scarborough Food Network campaign to create an accessible, straightforward system for creating future urban farms in Toronto.

Why it matters

Across Toronto, there has been a 340% increase in food bank visits since 2019. One in four households faces food insecurity. This is disproportionately felt by racialized and newcomer families. Mayor Chow declared food insecurity a state of emergency in the city in December of 2024. More than a year after this declaration, the emergency persists. Together with the Scarborough Food Network, we are requesting more support, promotion, and municipal investment in urban agriculture as one channel for solutions. 

In our work, we consider food as a vehicle for change. Food security is one of the tools we use to advance our vision where Toronto’s diverse communities achieve health with dignity. Food has the power to unite, educate, empower, transform, prevent and manage disease – and of course, the power to nourish.

Background

In 2021, the City of Toronto launched the Community Engagement and Entrepreneurial Development (CEED) Garden pilot project. This pilot aimed to increase the availability of fresh, culturally relevant produce in communities with high rates of food insecurity, and to provide residents with supplemental income opportunities. These farms were established in hydro corridors, where hundreds of acres of flat, open land can’t be used for other purposes, like housing, but are well-suited for urban agriculture.

There are currently hundreds of people on waiting lists for land to grow on across the City of Toronto; with two CEED farms available: Malvern Urban Farm in the Malvern neighbourhood and Flemo Farm in Flemingdon Park. Since opening in 2021, these farms have been a huge success, growing hundreds of thousands of pounds of food which have been distributed throughout the community, supporting neighbourhood food access and generating income for residents.

In hundreds of acres of open hydro corridors across the city, opening new farms like these will:

• Multiply local food production capacity and expand access to culturally relevant foods, ensuring that newcomer and racialized families can access ingredients central to their diets, traditions, and health.
• Diversify food access points, including farmers’ markets, bringing fresh produce directly into neighbourhoods where it is most needed.
• Create local employment and entrepreneurship opportunities, particularly for youth, newcomers, and women.
• Build climate resilience through green space expansion, soil health improvement, and reduced food transportation needs.
• Create space for Indigenous farming opportunities, recognizing and integrating traditional ecological knowledges, land stewardship, and seed-saving practices into the program.
• Create spaces for all residents to connect with nature and participate in community events.

The campaign

Access Alliance supports this campaign for an accessible, straightforward system for creating future urban farms in Toronto.

This includes creating an inventory of available hydro corridor land in the city’s master license, formalizing the application process, including necessary application documentation and timelines, and clarifying the responsibilities of each city division connected to these applications. We hope you will champion this initiative to build a more inclusive, food-secure Toronto.

Sign the Scarborough Food Network petition to show your support by March 20th: Expand Support for Urban Agriculture- Permit More Community Farms in Hydro Corridors.

Your signature will help in our work with the Scarborough Food Network as we contact local City Councillors and request to speak at the City’s Infrastructure and Environment committee April or May meeting. Thank you for supporting this important initiative.