FoodShare receives Ontario Trillium Foundation Award
December 6, 2007 12:29 PM
LISA RAINFORD
insidetoronto.com

FoodShare's Community Garden Network was awarded a 'Great Grant Award' by the Ontario Trillium Foundation during its 25th anniversary celebration Monday evening.

The awards recognize "the vision, commitment and energy of Ontario's volunteers and community organizations," said Alex Waugh, grant review team chair for Toronto.

The foundation receives hundreds of grant applications, according to Waugh."For every dollar we give out we have requests for four or five. There is never enough money. That's the hard part," said Waugh.

The Community Garden Network was one of the organizations to receive funding. Its grant went towards training community garden volunteers, according to Executive Director Debbie Field.

"There is such interest for community gardening in the city," she said and explained the training takes place over a four-week period in January.

In the backyard of her south Parkdale home there is a 150-year-old apple tree. She says the property used to be farm land. Many people grow their own garden in their backyards, especially in the Bloor West area, she said, noting that Toronto is situated on Grade A agricultural land. The garden plots in High Park are so popular that they are snatched up as soon as they become available in early spring.

The Trillium Foundation presents the Great Grants Awards every two years. The award winners were selected by volunteers who serve on the local Grant Review Team. In Toronto, six organizations were chosen for their outstanding achievements in the arts and culture, sports and recreation, environment and human and social services sectors.

In 2003, the foundation granted $225,000 over three years to the Community Garden Network care of FoodShare Toronto (located in the Dufferin Street and Bloor Street West area) to increase the number of community gardens in Toronto. Horticultural workshops and leadership training assisted existing and new community garden groups, particularly in high rise, low-income areas. Community management and leadership are encouraged, to better sustain the program.

Field cited organic gardening, composting and group dynamics as three components of the training program.

"You've got to learn how to negotiate with the city or a landlord," she said.

Marian Smith, who can take credit for establishing The Peanut Garden, a community garden in North York, calls the course "phenomenal."

"I'm a gardener, but I had never studied in any way about the organization of a garden," she said. "We started that garden on a wing and a prayer. It never would have happened were it not for FoodShare and the course they offered. I'm really happy they won the award."

The Ontario Trillium Foundation award ceremony took place at St. Lawrence Hall.