A community member is approaching food insecurity in Toronto with a new initiative that helps residents grow their own food.
Christina Hoang is a community organizer in the Mount Dennis neighbourhood of Toronto, an area that surrounds Weston Road and Eglinton Avenue West, and currently works part time at the local Community Association and North York Community House.
She says that both organizations focus on "very specific work within the Mount Dennis community, whether it's advocacy for certain issues within the area, or connecting local residents to engage more civically with problems in their neighbourhood."
One such challenge faced by numerous members of the Mount Dennis population, whose demographics are made up primarily of immigrants and BIPOC residents, is food insecurity. Hoang has taken on a pivotal role in providing a local solution by setting up a 'seed library' at the Community Place Hub on Weston Road.
The concept is simple. People donate their left over seeds to the seed library for members of the community to pick up and plant for themselves. There are lots of other seed libraries in Toronto, but the one in Mount Dennis sprung into action after Hoang read in a gardening Facebook group for West Dennis residents that people were looking for a way to up-cycle their left over seeds.
"When you're buying seeds, you get 200 seeds in a packet, but realistically you only plant four or five of them, so I was pretty sure between all of us [in the facebook group] had enough to start a seed library, and sustain it too," said Hoang.
Hoang holds a degree in International Development and became interested in food Insecurity, food justice and food sovereignty when she began working at the farmers market at her university. She also pointed out that until she saw a seed library for herself, she'd never really stopped to think about the concept of growing food.
"It was so strange how disconnected from food I felt," Hoang admitted, adding that she hopes the Weston seed library will "spark curiosity" in others too.
According to Hoang, there are countless other food-related programs that are being run by and for the community, and hopes that her seed library will find its place in and amongst an array of vital services.
"It's about access for people, so they don't need to buy seeds, as well as continuing a legacy of all the grassroots work that's being done around food within in the neighbourhood," said Hoang.
For example, there is a gardening initiative run specifically for Somali youth, which is just one of the programs Hoang thought the seed library would help to "compliment and reinforce."
Hoang will soon be returning to school to study urban planning, with a particular focus on urban agriculture and how it could be better implemented in government policy so that food can be more easily accessible.
"[Mount Dennis] has a higher-than-city average of BIPOC folks, a higher renter population and a greater low-income population as well, so to tie that in with food insecurity, growing food is such a powerful and direct way for folks who are food insecure to be at the forefront and sustain themselves," said Hoang.
Looking forward, Hoang would love to see an urban farm, where residents have the access to grow their own food. Having something like that, according to Hoang, would bring endless vitality to the area.
"There is such a diverse community, and they'd be growing so much culturally-appropriate food that is reflective of who they are, which is super cool and important and often missing in food banks," she added.
Hoang wanted to highlight the existing community farms in Toronto who are addressing food insecurity at a local level within underserved neighbourhoods: Black Creek Community Farm in the Jane and Finch neighbourhood––where Hoang previously worked––along with Flemingdon Community Farm, Milky Way Garden in Parkdale and lastly FoodShare, who does amazing food insecurity and food justice work, and previously offered balcony garden kits to high rise communities last year.
The seed library was designed and painted by Hoang's friend Josephine, and built by another friend, Daniel Hackborn.
