Just Food Farm and National Capital Commission Sign 25 Year Lease
Posted: July 15, 2015
Categories: GoodFoodBites / News from Sustain Members
In late June, Just Food officially announced a 25-year lease with the National Capital Commission (NCC) for the organization’s community farm and sustainable agriculture hub. With this agreement, the Just Food Farm will have a home in 150 acres of the NCC’s greenbelt land around Ottawa to continue to model and inspire small-scale, viable agriculture businesses and initiatives in the region. See photos from the announcement event.
The farm is located on the old NCC tree nursery site between a residential area and the ecologically protected Green’s Creek so that they can demonstrate how agriculture can flourish in both of these contexts. They plan to maintain the windbreaks and introduce edible tree as part of the farm’s production. Currently, they are working on upgrading the soil through investments in tile drainage and soil amendments. The Just Food Farm was established in 2012.
One of the farm’s featured programs is the Start-Up Farm program that connects new and aspiring farmers to land, training, and shared infrastructure and equipment.
According to Metro News, “the new land will also support initiatives like Karen’s farm, which connects refugees with farming opportunities and Operation Come Home, an organization working with youth-at-risk.”