Reflecting on Our Visit to TMU’s Good Food Centre!

March 20, 2026 TYFPC Council

Reflecting on Our Visit to TMU’s Good Food Centre!

Blog Post

By Andrea Ventura Mar 20, 2026

Image: Toronto Youth Food Policy Logo

Visit to the Good Food Centre

On February 12th, members of the TYFPC’s Advocacy and Education Committee, Tate and Andrea, visited the Good Food Centre (GFC) at TMU (Toronto Metropolitan University) and met with Rob Howard, the coordinator of the Centre. This was an incredible opportunity to exchange knowledge and ideas in the realm of food insecurity of students in need.

The Good Food Centre operates in service of any and all TMU students who face any level of food insecurity, meaning the inability to obtain food meeting one’s dietary needs.

The GFC works closely and under the Daily Bread Food Bank as a member of their Member Agency Program. The Good Food Centre also funds “The Common Pot”, which has a free soup program once a week on Wednesdays. Common Pot is entirely run by students of Toronto Metropolitan University. It’s an external partnership, so Common Pot is not under the TMU umbrella.

How Does the GFC Work?

To be able to use the Good Food Centre, students first must register as a member, which can be done here: https://yourtmsu.ca/services/food/intake/. Of note is that Tuesdays are the busiest time for food. The Centre operates using a “shopping cart” model – students arrive and are provided limits per section. In other words, they have the ability to choose their own food through the aisles of shelf-stable, refrigerated, and even frozen foods to best find what suits their needs, while also allowing enough for other students in need. The Centre also shares accessible recipes and blog posts for students!

Incredibly, the Good Food Centre works closely with TMU’s own rooftop garden! And the best part is, the Centre is open all year round and remains accessible throughout the Summer, too.

The Centre’s hours of operation can be found here: https://yourtmsu.ca/services/food/ – currently, the GFC remains open:

Mondays 1:30PM – 5:30PM

Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays 2:30PM – 5:30PM

The Centre is located at: Student Centre SCC B-03A, basement, former CopyRITE office (55 Gould St.)

Image: Google Maps

A Reflection

We bounced off many ideas and reflections with Rob Howard, the Centre’s coordinator. The Good Food Centre’s entire mission to provide free food to students remains self-informed in that it maintains active by conducting surveys to their student demographics to find out what groups of folks are most in need, and by asking what food resources are most needed. The GFC thereby evolves to meet the needs of all of the students they engage with, both in-person, and anonymously through conducted surveys.

The Toronto Youth Food Policy Council endorses the mission of TMU’s Good Food Centre, especially in that centres such as this drive the goal to provide free food for all, especially to groups in need (in this case, youth who continuously face financial barriers to food access given the cost of living crisis), and especially culturally-relevant and nutritious foods. We at the Council believe that creating and expanding across networks close to home is a key driver in promoting more sustainable food systems and strengthening communities. As a voice for youth 30 and under in Toronto, we aim to inspire every person to be concerned with food-secure futures.

Please reach out to us at our contact information below if you’d like to be featured in one of our posts and to continue the dialogue of food-secure futures for youth and all!

Share & check our website for updates!

For any inquiries, please contact: info@tyfpc.ca

Sources

Food, Agriculture, and Water Day

December 4, 2025 TYFPC Council

Food, Agriculture, and Water Day

By: Ruth Girma

On November 19, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations celebrated Food, Agriculture, and Water Day at the 29th United Nations Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP29). While it may sound like just another themed event on the COP agenda, this issue is extremely important, as it highlights something we don’t appreciate enough: the ways in which all sectors in our society, including food, water, climate and health, are interconnected. Ignoring these connections has historically led to insufficient solutions that fail to address the root of emerging problems.

For a long time, issues within these areas were treated separately, as water management focused on hygiene and access, food systems research focused on food production and distribution, and climate scientists focused on climate graphs and emissions trends. Each group worked in its own silo, with its own priorities, even though the systems they were looking at were deeply connected to others. In separating these issues, we lost sight of the bigger picture and created solutions that lacked efficiency and created unintended consequences, as you can’t anticipate what you don’t know.

Thus, days like Food, Agriculture and Water Day matter, as they push politicians, scientists, and governments to step back and recognize how these systems intersect. Understanding these connections is the first step to something that is urgently needed, the holistic One Health approach. One Health is a framework which tries to highlight the interconnections between human, animal and environmental health. It asserts that you can’t protect one without thinking of the others due to feedback loops within our system. When we apply this way of thinking to global challenges such as food insecurity, climate change, or water scarcity, the solutions become more practical and sustainable.

This is evident in the management of water. Water is important for drinking and sanitation, as well as agriculture, ecosystem health, and general health across all sectors. However, climate change is having a great impact, as it’s directly reducing access to clean and reliable freshwater through rising temperatures, changes in rainfall patterns, shrinking snowpacks, and the depletion of rivers and groundwater (US EPA, 2022). These changes mean that many regions now face both reduced water quantity and poorer water quality at the same time, creating a cascade of effects across human, animal, and environmental systems (US EPA, 2022).

The first industry affected by this reduced supply is agriculture. Crops need a consistent supply of freshwater to grow, as without it, yields decline, resulting in frequent crop failures and thus economic instability for farmers. Moreover, climate change impacts quality as well as quantity. An increase in heavy rains, extended heat waves, and other extreme weather events increases pollution and runoff. When farms depend on such polluted water, it takes a toll on food safety, soil and water health, and even the health of the workers and animals in those areas, thus creating a feedback loop where pressure in one system amplifies pressure in another

In addition to these issues, climate change is affecting nutritional quality. The increase in carbon dioxide levels lowers the protein content and essential minerals like zinc, iron, and magnesium in staple crops. Research has shown that “high-yielding fruits such as apples, oranges, mango, guava, banana, and vegetables such as tomato and potato have lost their nutritional density by up to 25-50% or more during the last 50 to 70 years” (Bhardwaj et al., 2024). Thus, even if crop yields stay the same, the nutritional value per serving will drop, thus requiring a greater abundance of food to meet the same nutritional value.

This has serious One Health implications, as lower nutrient density increases malnutrition and micronutrient deficiencies in humans, decreases the feed quality for livestock and wildlife, and pushes farmers toward more intensive practices that require more land and water. Through these examples, it’s quite evident just how interconnected the various systems are. Thus, Food, Agriculture, and Water Day is a reminder that global challenges aren’t isolated problems, they are interconnected systems. If we want real progress, our solutions need to reflect that. One Health gives us the framework to do exactly that as it forces us to think about integrated solutions and long-term impacts and resilience that protect human health, animal health, and ecosystem health.

References

Bhardwaj, R. L., Parashar, A., Parewa, H. P., & Vyas, L. (2024). An Alarming Decline in the Nutritional Quality of Foods: The Biggest Challenge for Future Generations’ Health. Foods, 13(6), 877. https://doi.org/10.3390/foods13060877

US EPA. (2022, October 18). Climate Change Impacts on Freshwater Resources. Www.epa.gov. https://www.epa.gov/climateimpacts/climate-change-impacts-freshwater-resources

World Food Day 2025

November 11, 2025 TYFPC Council

World Food Day 2025

Blog Post

By Andrea Ventura Nov 11, 2025

Image: Toronto Youth Food Policy Logo

A very belated ode to World Food Day, 2025!

We’ve rung in an updated crew of council members, and as our first blog post of the 2025-2026 council year, we thought we’d start it out by a very belated Happy World Food Day 2025, which is yearly on October 16th.

What is World Food Day?

World Food Day is a global acknowledgement and celebration of a food-secure future, embracing sustainable transitions that are peaceful and prosperous (FAO, 2025). This day takes on a collaborative approach, stringing together calls from governments, communities, and organizations all across the world. It’s a call to transform our current food system for food futures full of harmony and health.

Two major institutions that have supported World Food Day are both the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and the United Nations, and the theme for 2025 is “Hand in hand for better food and a better future” (United Nations, 2025). Amazingly, 2025 marks the 80th anniversary of both of these groups. The groups remind the world of the importance of shifting global focus to ensuring a much more equitable food system for the entire world.

Image: FAO, 2025 (https://www.fao.org/world-food-day/about/en)

Call to Action

World Food Day is also widely commemorated by the World Food Programme, the World Health Organization (WHO), and the International Fund for Agricultural Development (Wikipedia, 2025). Insights from these organizations include many regarding numbers on hunger and food security: for example, according to the WHO, around 733 million experienced hunger in 2023 (2024), setting potential setbacks for achieving the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), a major goal to be Zero Hunger by 2030 (WHO, 2024). The report that outlined this major statistic of global hunger highlights that this sets the world back about 15 years (WHO, 2024), a statistic that should be extremely alarming among these times of severe food insecurity and high levels of undernourishment.

There is clearly a need for strong networks and collaboration across these global alliances to continue and grow in order to tackle the ongoing crisis of food insecurity. At the Toronto Youth Food Policy Council, we try to think globally by primarily acting locally.

Close to Home

The TYFPC has many partnerships in the Toronto area that we support. These include but are not limited to:

Daily Bread Food Bank (https://www.dailybread.ca/)
FoodShare Toronto (https://foodshare.net/)
marketcityTO (Instagram: @marketcityTO)
York University’s Faculty of Environmental Studies and Urban Change (https://euc.yorku.ca/)
Black Environmental Initiative (https://beinitiative.com/)
George Brown College, Hospitality & Culinary Arts and the Honours Bachelor of Food Studies (https://www.georgebrown.ca/programs/honours-bachelor-of-food-studies-program-h317)
World Food Forum, Ontario Chapter (Instagram: @wff_ontario_chapter)
The Coalition for Healthy School Food (https://www.healthyschoolfood.ca/ )

We at the council believe that creating and expanding across networks close to home is a key driver in promoting more sustainable food systems and strengthening communities. We believe that even small actions like mutual aid and learning from experts in food policy are key in achieving better food futures. As a voice for youth 30 and under in Toronto, we aim to inspire every person to be concerned with food secure futures.

Image: United Nations, 2025 (https://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/fast-facts-what-are-sustainable-food-systems/)

Share & check our website for updates!

For any inquiries, please contact: info@tyfpc.ca

Sources

Container Gardening 101

June 19, 2025 TYFPC Council

Container Gardens 101

by: Charlotte Gill

Growing your own garden is a great way for all to enjoy nutritious, delicious foods. While garden space is not accessible to all, especially those living in the city, a container garden is the perfect alternative for urban dwellers (with some green space) to enjoy fresh, home-grown produce. Containers can come in all shapes and sizes and are suitable for almost any variety of fruits and veggies that you please. Whether your space is a roof, balcony, alleyway, or patio, a container garden is a perfect way to make use of your small (or not-so-small) spaces, while contributing to the urban biodiversity and reducing your ecological footprint. Growing and eating your own organic produce is not only great for your mind, body, and soul but when done using strategies that are adapted to local agronomics, resources, and cultural traditions, this type of home gardening is a sustainable way to improve good security with low risk and at an affordable cost .

Space
The first step to starting your garden is to consider is the space that you have! Is it sunny? Is it mostly shady? Is it big? Is it small? Is it an alleyway, backyard, roof, balcony, or patio? These will all be determining factors for which containers you use and what veggies you decide to grow! . Many fruiting vegetables require full sun, so it is preferable to have a space that will get at least 6-8 hours of full sun.

Plants
Next, you will need to determine the goals of your garden. If working to feed yourself or your family, you may want to prioritize vegetables that make sense with both your space and your dietary needs and preferences. Another consideration is the climate you live in, and the seasons you hope to grow in. Living in Toronto, it makes the most sense to grow summer/autumn maturing veggies. This could mean a garden of hot season fruiting crops such as tomato, squash, and cucumber. While plants such as lettuce and herbs can thrive in less sunlight and could be more easily grown indoors, if you want to grow certain fruiting veggies, such as tomatoes, you’ll need to ensure they have access to at least 8 hours of sunlight.

For container gardens, in particular, finding the right variety of plants to optimize your yields is a must. It’s best to plant dwarf versions of crops, fast-maturing cultivars, or veggies that offer decent yields from single plants, such as tomatoes and peppers to make the most of your limited space. Many other veggie varieties have also been developed specifically for containers, such as squashes, melons, beans, peas, and tomatoes. Most root veggies, on the other hand, require many plants to yield enough for a meal, so it’s suggested to only plant one type of root vegetable per growing season to not take up too much space. If you are looking to plant beans, tomatoes, or another type of climbing plant, you should set up a trellis or support system to let the plants climb vertically, to take up as little space as possible.

Containers
Once you’ve decided on the plants you wish to have, now it’s time to pick your planters! The choice of containers is seemingly endless, but can be determined based on your space, veggie varieties, and most importantly, budget and resources! The great thing about container gardens is that the plants will grow in almost anything. Large clay pots, tubs, buckets, tubs, big, small, plastic, wood, anything goes as long as you have good drainage, airflow, and the right volume for your plant’s needs.

Planters should always have decent drainage, as standing water can lead to disease and fungus in the roots. If your container doesn’t already have drainage holes, you can drill holes in the bottoms of your containers yourself. About ½ an inch in size spaced 2 inches apart, and you’re set! When picking containers, it is good to think about the needs of your plants and their root systems. A shallow container can work for crops with shallow root systems, such as onion, celery, and lettuce . For moderate to deep-rooted plants, a good rule of thumb is to use containers that are 5-gallons or more. At the same time, be conscious of size as we should avoid a container that is too big for the plant because the roots will dry out fast. Containers that are porous allow for further moisture loss, whereas non-porous materials such as plastic or metal, will reduce moisture loss. Lighter-colored containers may be a better choice for hot and sunny areas because dark containers will heat up fast and overheat the soil and roots.

Soil
It is recommended to use a soil-less potting mix as your growing medium, as it has better composition and nutrients for growing in containers. If you have access to topsoil, this can be a great, nutrient-rich alternative, although it tends to get compact too easily, which may interfere with drainage. Additionally, as a sustainable and affordable option for offering your plants a nutrient-rich growing medium, try using your own compost and mixing that into any soil you use! This can be a great way to replenish your plant’s nutrients throughout the growing season.

Planting & Care
Now you’ve chosen your containers and choice of plants, so it’s time to get gardening. You can either buy seedlings at your nearest garden center (or grow them indoors until the garden is ready) or plant directly from seed. Once you have your seedlings, you should give them a day or two outdoors to acclimatize before plating. Once you plant your seeds/seedlings, water them right away.

Growing veggies in containers require more care than in the ground cause roots cant forage for water and nutrients in shallow containers. Because the soil tends to dry out quickly in containers, most plants will need watering at least once a day in the summer months to stay hydrated. Throughout the summer it is best to do your watering early in the morning, to minimize water loss during the peak of the day. If it is quite hot, you may want to water again in the late afternoon. Further, because of the frequent watering and low volume, the nutrients get depleted fast, so it is recommended to apply additional fertilizers and nutrients regularly throughout the growing season. Nutrients needs and frequency will vary depending on the crop, so make sure to know the needs of the plants you are growing so you can keep them well-fed and healthy!

There are a number of tricks to make sure your container garden is as successful and productive as possible! Ensure you do your research to find the best ways to prevent plant disease, pests, and attracting pollinators, and be the most sustainable and ecological gardener you can be. A small container garden on your front patio can truly go a long way!

Citations

Hentges, C., Dunn, B., Layman, K. (2019) Container Gardening. Oklahoma Cooperative Extension Service.

Bookman, P. A. (1987). Container Gardens Are Intrusive and Edible. The American Biology Teacher (1987) 49 (4): 240–242. DOI: https://doi.org/10.2307/4448500

Carpenter, N., & Rosenthal, W. (2012). Chapter 7: Container Gardens. In The Essential Urban Farmer. Penguin Books.

Deveza, K.S. & Holmer, R. (2002). Container Gardening: A Way of Growing Vegetables in the City. DOI:10.13140/2.1.4083.5368

Garmain, A., Gregoire, B., Hautecoeur, I., Ayalon, R., Bergeron, A. (2008). Guide to Setting up You Own Edible Rooftop Garden. Alternatives and the Rooftop Garden Project.

Marsh, R. (201*) Building of Traditional Gardening to Improve Household Food Security)

Novak, A. (2016). The Rooftop Growing Guide: How to Transform Your Roof into a Vegetable GArden or Farm. Ten Speed Press.

Michaels, K. (2020). Vegetable Container Gardening for Beginners. The spruce.

TYFPC is Hiring! Apply by June 25th!

May 23, 2025 TYFPC Council

The Toronto Youth Food Policy Council (TYFPC) is seeking up to 6 individuals to join the team to fill various positions for the 2025/26 year! the TYFPC seeks to engage, build and mobilize youth to accelerate municipal food policy change and co-create a local, sustainable, and just food system in Toronto. We exist to provide a youth perspective on Toronto’s food community and to provide a unique space for youth to network, support and learn from one another, in order to better participate and innovate the food system around them. In summary, the TYFPC exists to Network, Educate and Advocate on behalf of the youth community. If you are an enthusiastic and motivated youth (age 16-30) who is interested in activating positive change within our food system, consider applying your strengths and skills and submit an application to join the TYFPC! The deadline to apply is Wednesday, June 25, 2025 at 11:59 pm! Submit an application Send any questions to info@tyfpc.ca