Food Matters: External Resources & Links

  • Gardening

    • Evergreen: Evergreen is a not-for-profit organization that makes cities more livable by deepening the connection between people and nature, and empowering Canadians to take a hands-on approach to their urban environments.
    • Horticultural Societies of Parkdale and Toronto: From establishing historic Allan Gardens, to the encouragement of gardening in the schools to many community garden projects, “The Hort” has worked to bring soul to the city through the garden for over 175 years.
    • Ontario Horticultural Association: There are more than 250 Horticultural Societies in Ontario working on a wide variety of activities like beautifying local parks, planting boxes in downtown areas, and creating and maintaining public gardens around government buildings and hospitals.
    • Seeds of Diversity: Seeds of Diversity is a Canadian volunteer organization that conserves the biodiversity and traditional knowledge of food crops and garden plants.
    • Toronto Botanical Garden: The Toronto Botanical Garden offers an array of award-winning themed gardens spanning nearly four acres, designed to educate and inspire.
    • You Grow Girl: You Grow Girl is a thriving online community that speaks to a new kind of gardener, seeking to redefine the modern world relationship to plants with a contemporary, laid-back approach to gardening that places equal importance on environmentalism.

  • Hunger/Food Security

    • FoodShare: FoodShare Toronto is a non-profit community organization with a multifaceted, innovative, and long-term approach to hunger and food issues. As Canada’s largest community food security organization.
    • The Stop: From its origins as one of Canada’s first food banks, The Stop has blossomed into a thriving community hub where neighbours participate in a broad range of programs including community kitchens and gardens, cooking classes and drop-in meals.

  • Local Food

    • Foodland Ontario: Since 1977, Foodland Ontario has partnered with producers to promote Ontario-produced agricultural products.
    • Greenbelt Foundation: Ontario’s Greenbelt covers 1.8 million acres of permanently protected green space, farmland, vibrant communities, forests, wetlands, and watersheds in Southern Ontario.
    • Local Food Plus: LFP Certified Local Sustainable farmers and processors reduce or eliminate pesticide use, treat their animals well, conserve soil and water, protect wildlife habitat, provide safe and fair working conditions.
    • My Market: MyMarket® features certified farmers’ markets in the GTA featuring verified farmers, selling only what they produce.
    • Not Far From the Tree: NFFTT picks fruit from urban trees that would otherwise go to waste. One third goes to the fruit tree owners, another third goes to the volunteers for their labour, and the final third is distributed (by bicycle or cart) to community organizations.
    • Sustain Ontario: Sustain Ontario is a province-wide alliance that promotes healthy food and farming.
    • Toronto Farmers Market Network: The Toronto Farmers’ Market Network organizes seasonal & year-round markets that focus on supporting sustainable agriculture and building strong communities.

  • Organic

    • Canadian Organic Growers – Toronto Chapter: Canadian Organic Growers (COG) is a national charitable organization whose members include farmers, gardeners, processors, retailers, educators, policy-makers, and consumers.
    • Organic Council of Ontario: The Organic Council is a membership-based non-profit association representing the organic sector in Ontario, including producers, processors, marketers, retailers, restaurants, suppliers, distributors, certifiers and others.
    • The New Farm: The New Farm is a family run organic farm producing 150 varieties of premium-quality seasonal vegetables from a 100-acre farm on the crest of the Niagara Escarpment just west of the village of Creemore.

  • Sustainability

    • David Suzuki Foundation: The David Suzuki Foundation works with government, business and individuals to protect the diversity of nature and our quality of life, now and for the future.
    • Treehugger: TreeHugger is a one-stop shop for green news, solutions, and product information.

  • Toronto Food Publications + Blogs

    • BlogTO: blogTO is a web site about Toronto written by a group of obsessed artists, musicians, photographers, politicos, advertising and media types, dancers, tech geeks, food lovers and aspiring film directors.
    • CityBites: City Bites is the magazine to turn to for inside information on the best restaurants, top chefs, latest food and eating trends, and everything that makes Toronto such a gourmet delight.
    • Edible Toronto: Edible Toronto is dedicated to showcasing and promoting our local foodshed and its healthy, safe and sustainable future. We focus on local growers and producers, food artisans and chefs, farmers’ markets and food retailers, inns and B&Bs.
    • Good Food Revolution: A website focussed on the people who make, serve, write about, broadcast about or otherwise are involved in making good food, good wine and all the other good things that come from sitting down at the table for a good meal.
    • Gremolata: A space for farmers, food artisans, chefs, and “foodies” to connect and share, Gremolata.com is about bringing food back into the center of our daily life through a community of like-minded and passionate people.