Chris is an entrepreneur with a passion for urban agriculture and local food issues.  His passion inspired him to co-found Cultivate Toronto, manage Young Urban Farmers, and become involved as a member of the Toronto Food Policy Council. Despite his busy schedule, Chris was kind enough to share his experiences.  

How would you describe Cultivate Toronto (CTO) to people who never heard of it?

I would say Cultivate Toronto is growing food for the community by the community and what that means is that we set up gardens, front yards, backyards, and rooftops. We have a great team of volunteers that manage the garden from seeding, watering, weeding to harvesting and getting the food to many of our great participants so if I had to describe Cultivate Toronto very briefly that’s what I would say.

A CSA is a niche market – what inspired you to co-found Cultivate Toronto?

I would say that as much as CSAs have been very niche and specialized they are becoming more mainstream and for me, I’ve got a really big passion for both locally grown food. When Cultivate Toronto was started we saw that there was an opportunity for people that wanted to learn how to garden, but didn’t know where to go. We saw people that had a backyard or a front yard garden space, but they didn’t have the time and sometimes even knowledge on how to take advantage of that space to grow food. We had people that wanted access to organically grown food without pesticides and chemicals and we used Cultivate Toronto as that organization, that vehicle, to bring everyone together around the idea of fresh locally grown food right in the neighbourhood.

Just to follow up on that, when did you passion for growing food start?

I would say that my passion for local food has really developed the more that I have learned about the issues and that has really been since about the year I stated Cultivate Toronto. Local food and gardening has always been a part of my life. I vividly remember having a backyard garden at my parents house when I was a kid growing up, going out picking up berries, tomatoes, and incorporating that in meals as well as seeing my grandmother’s garden. She grew all sorts of Chinese vegetables and whenever we went to visit for a standard period of time, the food that she grew in her backyard was the same food that we ate for dinner. So being connected to food since a very young age has really been one of the things that has really driven me to have that passion to be inspired around food issues.

How did you come up with the name Cultivate Toronto?

The name of Cultivate Toronto is a fun and interesting story that I don’t think I will get into much into right now, but we were previously called Young Urban Farmers CSA and that was a bit of a mouthful. It wasn’t quite the urban name that we had really envisioned, as the name embodying the organization, and it came down to sort of the level where we knew we wanted to change the name to something. We didn’t know what it was and almost at the very last minute, within the last hour of setting ourselves an ultimatum, I forget exactly who it was but the name Cultivate Toronto came out and we just knew right away that was it.

What has been the key to Cultivate Toronto’s success and growth?

Well, I would say that the biggest key to our success so far has been just the passionate team of volunteers that have stepped up to fill the myriad of needs that we have. When we started off we were very much figuring things out as we went along. We thought okay we should probably have a volunteer coordinator posted at one of the volunteer job boards. We had just an overwhelming number of people, much more than we had expected, apply and throughout our history we’ve had really dedicated and committed people who have stepped in and committed to serving the organization, sometimes in multiple roles and capacities. Some people for many years, almost since the beginning, and we have people that come and go. Some people just come for the internship program for example, but having that really dedicated volunteer base has been really fantastic and I would say one of the keys to our success.

Can you share your best CTO moment?

Actually going back to the name of Cultivate Toronto, I think that it really resonates to who we are as an organization. As we cultivate Toronto, we can do that both literally and figuratively. Literally cultivating gardens – front yards, backyards – we talked about food, but also cultivating skills, relationships, knowledge and people. Giving people the opportunity, to go back to the example of the internship program, people are able to see and work hands on gardens so that by the end of the season they have that confidence to be able to say okay I learned all of this, I can go on to do my own project or expand my own personal garden and we really cultivated those people, the skills and the knowledge from the organization. I really think it resonates in multiple ways.

I thought the word Cultivate stood out cause it’s such a good word to use. If you could share your favourite CTO moment that has stood out?

There are a couple of moments that come to mind. The first one was the first day that we broke ground, our first garden, and I believe it was up on the Lawrence neighbourhood, which is no longer in operation now, but literally putting shovels to the dirt, removing grass, preparing the land to be cultivated was something really exciting where I could say, “yep, this project is for real now, we’re getting the work done” so that was something that really stood out for me. One other really quick story that was really great and that will forever be remembered in the memories of Cultivate Toronto was the first time that Elaine (co-founder of CTO) was on a radio program CBC Radio Here and Now with Sarah Elton and she had this great quote that seeds are these tiny little miracles and she had this great sense of wonder and amazement at the process that a garden goes through from the initial planting of the seed all the way of course to the harvesting.

What’s next for Cultivate Toronto? Where do you see it in the next five-years?

To me there is a lot of potential for Cultivate Toronto and a lot of that I think should get much more clarified as we finish up a strategic planning session towards the end of the year. One of the things I would like to see Cultivate Toronto do and the direction we are moving towards is to have hubs and gardens in every neighbourhood in Toronto. I think that we’ve done pretty well so far, but it’s limited, the number of neighbourhoods and people we’ve been able to reach. I see that with more and more people wanting to know where their food comes from, who is growing it, being able to set up similar programs at every neighbourhood in the city would be just a dream come true for me.

What has been or is your biggest hurdle working with a CSA?

One of the biggest hurdles and I think many people in the farming, agriculture, and urban agriculture industry will mention is just finding enough time to get to all of the different projects. There are so many different hats and roles that need to get done, everything from the gardening work literally planting, the weeding, the harvesting, to other projects like focusing on composting or building garden structures or incorporating other beneficial plants. Then there is of course all the administrative side of things, filing taxes, and making sure our website is up and running, the bills are paid, the mailbox gets checked, and picking up the phone. There are lots of different things and finding the time to get everything done is definitely one of my biggest challenge.

Where do you think urban community shared agriculture (CSA) is going now? Have you seen a change in the last few years?

I would definitely say that I’ve seen a few changes in the last few years. I would say that moving forward we are going to see a lot more CSA programs and community shared other kinds of programs – meat delivery or egg delivery. There’s community shared sea food as well. There are people that, I don’t know if it’s still on going, cut flowers so if you want to have a weekly bouquet of flowers you can have something similar. There’s someone that maybe is growing all these flowers in the neighbourhood and you can sign up for a subscription service around things like that or around artisan food like baked foods and breads. So I see the community shared aspect expanding much more and becoming much more mainstream rather than just predominately around just agriculture and vegetables.

You are a member of the Toronto Youth Food Council. How did you get involved? What do you like best about engaging with young urban farmers?

Yes, actually I forgot to clarify that. I was a past member of the Toronto Youth Food Council and I haven’t been on there for the last two-years, but I am still a current member of the Toronto Food Policy Council or sometimes we call it the adult council as opposed to the youth council. And my involvement in the Toronto Food Policy Council has really been initiated with my involvement with the Toronto Youth Food Council. Of course there is the work that I do with Cultivate Toronto and Young Urban Farmers, but I got involved with it because as much as doing a lot of the work on the ground – getting your hands dirty, growing food, connecting with individuals on the flip side I believe that a lot of great change and momentum can be generated through food policy. Whether it’s institutional procurement, cafeterias, governments, hospitals- say we are going to buy x percentage of locally grown food that can make a huge impact – one simple policy change and so there is both approaches to looking an dealing with the issues. I believe that food policy can really make a difference in peoples lives in a different way that many of the underground work can do as well.

What do you like best about engaging with other young urban farmers around the city?

For me its been fantastic working with other people as well doing the work. There is such an enthusiasm, such a commitment to the work that is happening right now and the thing that I find really refreshing is that there’s a very collaborative spirit unlike other industries which are much more competitive and cut through and there’s more secrecy. I feel like for us in the urban agriculture industry, we’re very happy and willing to share our experiences, what’s worked and  what hasn’t worked, with other fellow practitioners.

 Any advice you have for young entrepreneurs wanting to start an agriculture-based business?

I would say just do it. There are many untapped opportunities within urban agriculture. There isn’t so much in Toronto right now, but there is potential in urban chicken. There are people that are working with honey and keeping bees. I would say that there is definitely opportunities to grow mushrooms. There is of course vegetables, herbs, fruits that different people are already working on so I would say use that enthusiasm. Obviously put together your business plan, strategies, dot your i’s, do your research, but at the same time there is nothing like that can do spirit and attitude that I think has worked well for me in the past and I would say for other people as well.

Any last thing you want to share with Urban Farmers?

I would say that if there is one thing,  just be really grateful for the opportunity that we have to grow and enjoy fresh, delicious produce here in Toronto. There’s nothing like the taste of something you grew yourself or you know where it’s grown and how it’s grown.

Our Amazing CTO Interns

Photo Credit: Chris Wong

Thanks to our wonderful interns, our 2013 harvest season was a great success! Everyone came together as a team to plant seeds and maintain vegetable gardens. There were times nature wasn’t too kind to our gardens. But, our team solved every problem and created a flourishing garden filled with heirloom and uncommon vegetables. New friendships were made and new skills were learned during their internship with Cultivate Toronto. Because of their passion for local food, Toronto’s community became even stronger.

Photo Credit: Chris Wong

Our summer harvest has come to an end and we wanted to show our interns how much we appreciate them. So, CTO’s team coordinated and held an intern appreciation dinner at Wvrst (King street west). Everyone came out to say goodbye and enjoy the company of  their new urban farmer friends. We’d like thank everyone who interned with Cultivate Toronto for their hard work and for all the great memories. We hope you enjoyed your experiences with Cultivate Toronto as much we enjoyed having you intern with us!

Photo Credit: Iris Chan

 From CTO’s East York Hub – Meet Melissa

Why CTO?

Melissa became a CTO intern because she was interested in growing local food. “I wanted to grow food where I lived”, she said. Her interest in CSA brought her to gain new gardening skills which she has been putting to practice in our East York gardens.

Favourite Vegetable: Basil

Favourite Vegetable to grow: While interning with Cultivate Toronto, she become a fan of tomatoes.

Garden Tip: Use Mulch

From CTO’s Dovercourt Garden – Meet Jude

Why CTO?

Jude wanted to make urban farming a social activity and joined CTO to get gardening experience.

Favourite Vegetable: Broccoli

Favourite Vegetable to grow: Tomatoes to make delicious pasta sauce.

Gardening Tip: Always try and maintain tomato plants by taking off the suckers. Remove any extras from the bottom so they grow vertical.

From  CTO’s Dovercourt Garden – Meet Chelsea

Why CTO?

Chelsea wanted to get more involved with the local food movement. When she discovered CTO it seemed; “a good match”. At the time of joining CTO, Chelsea was interested in getting crafty with her food and frequented her local farmers market

Favourite Vegetable: She was most excited for beans because they were “great to snack on” and tomatoes since there are different types and can be used in different ways.

Favourite Vegetable to grow: Tomatoes, zucchini, and beans.

Garden Tip: Remove the sucker so that the energy goes back into growing tomatoes

The Beginning of Fall, End of Summer Harvest

Looking for something green and fun to do this fall season?

Come and visit us at the 5th annual EcoFair at the Barns on November 10! Our team will be there to reconnect the community with local food and share tips with anyone interested in learning more about growing food.

Where: Eco Fair at Wychwood Barns (601 Christie Street)
When: November 10, 2:00 p.m-4:00 p.m.
Cost: Free

We hope to see you all there!

Tune in to Global TV this Monday, 5:30 p.m. You’ll get to see CultivateTO in action as our team shows you around our Regent Park garden!

Special thanks to our partner TAS and CultivateTO’s hub coordinator Micki, operations manager Katie, and interns Melissa, Ilham, and Meredith for making the garden even more beautiful!

Courtesy of our very own Videographer Iris Chan, we’ve got a stunning update for you from Cultivate Toronto’s Dovercourt hub featuring hub coordinator Tamara and Leroy with inters Jude, Joslyn, Chelsea and Blessy.

Your hard work has payed off team!  

Inspired by our first harvest, we asked our Urban Farmers what vegetable they were most excited for. The winner was Kale! For a great seasonal treat, we put together a simple and mouth-watering salad recipe for you! While this salad is delicious on its own, you can add other ingredients to change it up. Instead of oil, add half an avocado!

Kale Salad

Ingredients

• Bunch of Kale (chopped, about 4 cups)
• 2 tbs of oil, preferably flavoured like Sesame or Garlic Infused
• Pinch of salt and pepper

Instructions

1. Clean and dry the kale
2. De-stem the kale and chop/tear the leaves into bite size pieces
3. Put kale into a bowl and pour the oil over the Kale
4. This is the messy part, with clean hands, massage oil into the kale
5. Salt and pepper to taste

Please give a warm welcome to Cultivate Toronto’s Gardening Dream Team and take a minute to read all about these wonderful volunteers who will be growing your food this summer!  Find out who you’ll be seeing in your garden and meet Operations Manager Katie!

Has this recent taste of summer weather got you excited about gardening?

Every year we grow more vegetables in our greenhouse than we can plant, so now we’re looking to find good homes for our leftover little seedlings.

Join us at Withrow Farmers’ Market Saturday May 18th and 25th from 9am to 1pm. You’ll find us at the north end of Withrow Park, one block south of the Danforth, between Carlaw and Logan.

See you there!

We’re gearing up for another exciting season at Cultivate Toronto and though it would be a good time to share with the community things I’m really looking forward to…

Our Returning Land Shares

Almost all land shares are returning! That’s’ a great show of support for our produce and volunteers that land sharers want to keep growing with us.  As well, it allows us to get to work right away on land we’ve already converted, so we can get ready for early season planting.

We’re on schedule for our first pick up by the end of May or early June!

New & Improved Crop List

We did a survey of our members and are bringing back their favourites like kale, Swiss chard, different salad greens while keep things interesting with some new tomato varieties.

Don’t worry, we’ll continue to offer heirloom tomatoes as well as new verities like blue tomatoes! These beauties were cultivated by cross-pollination by Oregon State University. I’m pretty excited about getting this growing and seeing them in the yard!

Check out the full 2013 Crop List here

Our Amazing Team

During offseason, we expanded our board of directors so we can continue to focus on our strategic direction while we plan for the medium and long term. So, you can look forward to brining you fresh vegetables in the future!

Our Dovercourt hub is participating in an interesting pilot program for the David Suzuki Foundation. The concept is to establish a Homegrown National Park in an urban area. It’s exciting to see them taking a step to recognizing urban areas as a source for nature and natural habitat, not only people but plants and animals as well.

Finally, we have a great new team of hub coordinators and interns that will be responsible for managing and maintaining the gardens.

Looking forward to another great year of urban farming!