Placing Food: Toronto's Edible Landscape | Nina-Marie Lister. Toronto is a abulous city or eating. In this city-region of 5 millionpeople there is no shortage of food choice, from foie gras to Frenchfries. Comfort foods, exotic ingredients, and traditional fare of all of the city’s myriad ethno-cultural groups abound in local shops andmarkets year-round.
We are what we eat? The cornucopia that tempts Torontonians and other globalurbanites is distracting us from the serious and growing problem of placeless food. If we look to the most common place of purchase asevidence, we nd that for most supermarket shoppers the origin,growing, and production of food are invisible and irrelevant. Prime agricultural land 5 oodnina-marie lister 5 The history of Toronto in photos. The history of Toronto in photos is a post I've been toying with putting together for a while. Having spent considerable time digging through the digital holdings of the Toronto Archives, it just seemed to make sense to pull all of these various posts together into one place — hence the ambitious title. This is not, of course, an authoritative history of this city (far from from it), but the 90 some odd posts linked to below provide a thematically organized visual overview of Toronto that I hope will be worth a return visit or two for those interested in the city of yesteryear.
I also have every intention of adding to this little archive as additional historical posts are published on the site. The vast majority of the photographs featured below derive from the Toronto Archives, which means that should you see something that you really like, it's probably available for purchase from the source. Lost Toronto The TTC Cityscape Streets and intersections Structures and buildings Vintage Toronto. Ghost City: 146 Dupont. This address was once home to a massive restaurant helmed by Canada’s first star chef in the 1950s. But its downfall led to decades of failed eatery concepts at the site. Food and furnishings. These have been the staples for the revolving door of occupants at the northeast corner of Davenport Road and Dupont Street for over half-a-century. Back at the turn of the 1960s, this high-turnover site brought such ruin to original owner Hans Fread, Canada’s first star chef, that 146 Dupont was known for years as “Hans Fread’s Folly.” However, for this notoriously outspoken restaurateur, most of his follies were self-inflicted; as he once admitted, “I am sometimes like a little boy with a big mouth—when I am angry, I talk too much and it comes back to hurt me.”
Fread soon dreamt of a larger restaurant. However, the restaurant’s size and awkward car access, not to mention smarter competitors, eventually did Fread in. From the June 29, 1960, edition of the Toronto Star. KEN GREENBERG: The debilitating myth of a divided Toronto. Yonge Street in Downtown North York This is a crucial passage for Toronto, one that will call upon all of our collective ingenuity and reserves of good will to get beyond the debilitating and unhelpful myth that we are somehow stymied as a divided and ungovernable city.
Much of this is expressed in terms of a presumed urban/suburban fault line as if these were fixed categories with defined borders. The mistake that we make is a failure to grasp the fourth dimension, the play of time; as if what we see now is an immutable end state. All urban places (city and suburb) are perpetually unfinished and go through waves of change and as layers accumulate. In the coming decades, we will get denser, more diverse and less car dependent in all our parts. In the end, however, it is destructive and unhelpful when describing our city. It gives rise to false dichotomies and distorts our collective understanding of the real challenges that need thoughtful responses. The Toronto Dreams Project Historical Ephemera Blog. The first new Heritage Minute is out and — surprise! — like just about everything else these days, it's about the War of 1812.
The commercial tells the story of Richard Pierpoint (who had the awesome nickname of Captain Dick), a former slave who had "earned" his freedom by fighting for the British during the American Revolution. He was given a bunch of free land near St. Catherines after that — although when the authorities denied his request to have former slaves given land next to each other (since many of them didn't have families and would need help clearing away the forest), he was forced to give it up and work as a labourer instead. When the Americans invaded in 1812, Pierpoint petitioned Isaac Brock, the British commander: he wanted to be allowed to form a "Corps of Men of Colour" to fight on the Niagara border.
Some other Black Canadians, however, were still living in slavery at this point — including, it seems, in Toronto. Toronto Tempo. Toronto’s Urban Agriculture Action Plan « Dig In! The Toronto Food Policy Council has just released an Action Plan for urban agriculture in the City of Toronto, with the help of a number of other organizations. It identifies six priorities for the movement. What are your thoughts? Does this address the food challenges Toronto faces? : 1) Link growers to land and space Research estimates that 10% of Toronto’s current commercial demand for fresh veg could be supplied by urban agriculture. 2) Strengthen Education and Training Non-profits, municipal departments and various agencies and institutions are holding workshops, tours and educational events all the time to help replace the informal, generation to generation sharing of food and growing knowledge that is often missing in urban spaces. 3) Increase Visibility and Promotion As the Plan states, “often people are unaware of the urban agriculture possibilities – and even of existing projects – in Toronto. 4) Add Value to Urban Gardens 5) Cultivate Partnerships 6) Develop Supportive Policies.
Urban Agriculture « Canadian Organic Growers Toronto. FoodCycles is offering a 9 month, full time Greenhouse Operations and Sales Coordinator position. Are you interested in fresh, local and organic, chemical free food? Do you want to build a movement for real food and real change in Toronto? Are you ready to build a stronger community and environment through food and farming — in small and large ways? Then get a FoodCycles membership, do volunteering or get a CSA harvest share. The UK’s Soil Association just put out a report 5 days before Copenhagen that farming’s biggest thing is in fighting climate change — putting carbon back into the soil and earth. Dr. Join FoodCycles, Toronto’s first city farm ( for their official launch party at Parc Downsview Park on Friday, October 2, 2009. Eating meat spews out more air pollution and greenhouse gas emissions than driving cars. FoodCycles, a Toronto urban farm, would like to conduct interviews of home gardeners and community gardeners in Toronto.
GrowTO Urban Agriculture Action Plan Launched! | Toronto Food Policy Council. GrowTO Urban Agriculture Action Plan Launched! Toronto has long been known as a North American leader in the global movement for sustainable food. A wealth of innovative projects—both small and large —attests to Toronto’s diverse agriculture and food cultures. The City’s government, institutions and community organizations have generally supported the food-growing efforts of Torontonians.
In some ways, though, the infrastructure around these movements—from policies to practical support—has not kept pace with the enthusiasm and energy that exist to move urban agriculture forward. There are many examples of simple changes, as well as some that are more complex, that would make an enormous difference to urban agriculture efforts in this city. Many people and organizations have been involved in developing the recommendations in this report. Why GrowTO? GrowTO was created to: GrowTO and this Action Plan are a “work-in-progress” and involve many people and organizations sho play different roles. Young Urban Farmers | Toronto | Grow Your Own Vegetables and Fruits. Canada Green Building Council - Greater Toronto Chapter. S Sustainable Energy Plan. Sustainable Toronto - Who We Are. Our Mission Sustainable Toronto will promote community sustainability and facilitate the transition to a sustainable society by challenging and working with all sectors including governments, researchers, educators, businesses, non-profits and other community members.
Sustainable Toronto is a consortium between two academic units: the Environmental Studies Program of Innis College, University of Toronto; and the York Centre for Applied Sustainability, York University. We are also linked with the following key agencies: City of Toronto; the Canadian Institute for Environmental Law and Policy (CIELAP); and the Toronto Environmental Alliance (TEA) - as well as several other non-profit groups - in a unique and innovative partnership to promote community sustainability. Our primary goal is to foster the application of sustainability practices by joint efforts on the part of community and university partners. "In the year 2025, Toronto is a world leader in sustainable urban living. Sponsored by: Environment Portal. Fresh City Farms » Local, organic produce delivered from Torontos’ farms.
Cultivate Toronto - Providing fresh, backyard-grown food to Toronto residents. Locally Grown Cultural Food Guides | Toronto Environmental Alliance. Interested in buying cultural food that is locally grown? Now, you have a way to find it! In Fall 2009, TEA made it easier for Torontonians who are looking for fresh cultural foods ‘from back home’ to find retailers selling locally grown cultural food.
How? By developing the first-ever locally-grown cultural food guides that identify the location of farmers, farmers’ markets and food retailers selling cultural food grown in the Greenbelt and surrounding area. To find the markets and the stores for specific locally grown cultural food, click on the following links: When you have a choice, cooking with cultural foods grown locally helps the environment, helps local farmers and is more nutritious than buying imported food.
TEA worked closely with many community partners who helped make these guides a reality. We also want to especially thank the Friends of the Greenbelt Foundation who provided the financial resources to make these guides a reality. Why eat Greenbelt-grown "Cultural Food"? Live Green Toronto. Gardening can be therapeutic, fun and save you money.
Consider planting a backyard vegetable garden, or adding some edible plants into your flower garden. You’ll reap the benefits of growing your own food all season long. Community Gardening You don’t have to garden on your own property to enjoy the benefits of home-grown produce. Here are some other ways to enjoy growing your own food: Find helpful growing tips in these videos: Need help harvesting your fruit trees? When Toronto’s fruit-tree owners can’t harvest their bounty, Not Far From The Tree dispatches teams of volunteers to pick fruit that would otherwise go to waste. In 2009 alone, from 124 trees, they harvested over 8,000 pounds of delicious, virtually chemical-free fruit and split the bounty equally among fruit-tree owners, social service agencies and volunteers. Grow your own food resources: City of Toronto local food resources: Local Food certification programs: Local Food Plus.
Live Green Toronto. Green Standard – Checklist and Standards Tier 1. The Toronto Green Standard (TGS) is a two-tier set of performance measures with supporting guidelines related to sustainable site and building design for new private and public development. The standards are designed to work with the regular development approvals and inspections process. New planning applications are required to document compliance with Tier 1 environmental performance measures. The TGS has been in place since January 31, 2010. Applicants who also choose to meet Tier 2, a voluntary higher level of environmental performance, may be eligible for a Development Charge Refund. Achieving the TGS contributes towards LEED certification. CivicAction. Public Works: Walkable Waterfront a La Parisienne | cityscape. By Patrick Metzger Public Works looks at public space, urban design, and city-building innovations from around the world, and considers what Toronto might learn from them.
Paris is a stroller’s paradise, home to gracious tree-lined boulevards long cherished by artists, lovers, and the Wehrmacht. However, areas along the iconic banks of the Seine river have been less than flaneur-friendly since 1967, when then-Prime Minister Georges Pompidou flanked them with expressways under the Rob Ford-ish slogan, “Paris must adapt to the car.” But times have changed, and Paris mayor Bertrand Delanoë has announced the beginning of the “reconquest” of the banks of the Seine for pedestrians. The plan will reintroduce walking to parts of the Paris riverfront currently reserved for automotive traffic. Toronto lacks the moving water of Seine-ish majesty, but we do have Lake Ontario. Regardless, people have been trying to figure out how to get rid of the Gardiner practically since the day it was built.