Ontario Allows Community Gardens to Open
Posted: April 26, 2020
Categories: Community Gardens / Food in the News / GoodFoodBites
On April 25, 2020, the Province of Ontario announced new and amended emergency orders, including that they will now “Permit the use of allotment gardens and community gardens across the province.”
Read the full news release here.
“We’d like to send a huge thanks and congratulations to everyone who advocated for this, signed and shared the petition, sent letters in to MPPs, interviewed for articles through your local papers and shared information about this important issue”, say Co-Chairs of the Ontario Community Growing Network, a working group of Sustain Ontario. “This work highlighted the importance of community gardening as an essential food service in Ontario.”
The news release goes on to explain: “These gardens are an essential source of fresh food for some individuals and families, including those who face food insecurity. Local medical officers of health will provide advice, recommendation and instructions that the gardens must meet in order to operate, such as physical distancing, and cleaning and disinfecting commonly used equipment and surfaces.”
In order to re-open, each community garden will need approval locally from their Public Health Department. Municipal health boards will determine safety protocols with each garden – but no date is required. Please see the regulations crafted through collaborative efforts across Canada here as a basis for these discussions.
Let’s continue to focus on building community resilience, with community gardening now being understood as a clear part of that picture in Ontario.
Bravo & cheers!