Proposed law to promote local foods at schools, hospitals

Community groups and the Ontario government are trying to make it easier to find fresh food in Centretown.

The Ontario government introduced legislation in March called the Local Food Act that would see local foods brought to 25 per cent of its 1,500 buildings. If passed, the act will promote local foods at schools and hospitals, as well as grocery stores and restaurants.

A new report by Just Food and the Centretown Community Health Centre says Centretown residents have seen a need for fresh and affordable produce, especially since there is such a mixed demographic. Since the community is so ethnically diverse, some people aren’t able to afford local produce because of their low incomes.

The Where’s the Food Project was drafted by Just Food after members of the Centretown community recognized there was a shortage of places to find fresh foods, says Aleksandra Milosevic, community developer at the CCHC. She says the report was used as a “mapping exercise” to highlight and find out what was already in the neighbourhood.

It found that community gardens are a way for residents to “work together to create something that they will all benefit from.”

Nanny Goat Hill Community Garden is a popular garden located at the corner of Bronson and Laurier avenues.

Bethany Guenther-Peter, co-coordinator at the garden, says having locally grown produce that’s easily accessible and affordable is vital for Centretown because of the lack of fresh options.

She says many members of the community buy a membership for a plot at the garden and grown their own tomatoes, herbs and exotic vegetables. However, because of the high demand for plots, she estimates only five open per year and there is a waiting list of 80 people.

Centretown resident Josh Martin says he is going to try his hand at gardening on the balcony of his Bank Street apartment for the first time. The building management of his apartment has opted to give tenants free plants so they can grow their own vegetables and herbs.

Martin says gardening will help him eat healthier, but will also save him a lot of money. “If we’re making one meal, we don’t necessarily need a massive bundle of basil, we just need one or two sprigs. So this is going to allow us to use exactly what we need and waste a lot less,” he says.

For those not able to grow their own produce, Guenther-Peter says another option is purchasing fresh foods at the Good Food Market, which will be held three or four times during the summer at Nanny Goat Hill garden. The food will come from local farms.

The market, started by the Poverty and Hunger Working Group, aims to bring affordable produce to communities that wouldn’t normally be able to buy it. Anyone is welcome at the market, but ideally people coming would cycle, walk or take public transit, says Guenther-Peter.