Petition to Identify Community Gardens as Essential Service
Posted: April 9, 2020
Categories: Community Gardens / GoodFoodBites / News from Sustain Ontario / Working Group News
We would like to thank everyone who has signed our open letter, which now has over 6,000 signatures, calling on the province to identify community gardens as an essential service.
For those who missed it, Sustain Ontario is facilitating an open letter calling on the Province of Ontario to identify community gardens as essential community food services, rather than lumping them in with the recreational spaces that have been closed.
Rest assured, members of our Ontario Community Growing Network (OCGN) are looking to achieve safety protocols informed by public safety requirements. We understand the importance of physical distancing during these times, and have been busy meeting virtually with members of the OCGN, including public health leaders, to collaborate on mindful, safe practices.
We encourage you to read this CBC article, where Moe Garahan of Just Food discusses the important role community gardens play in feeding communities; the article also shares, “Garahan says it is possible to tend the garden plots while still observing physical distancing measures called for by public health officials, in the same way protocols have been developed that allow people to continue shopping in grocery stores.”