Tonight, the city’s Planning Committee will take a look at a unique project for a neighbourhood in the Flour Mill.
It’s not a community hall or sports field. It’s not a new store. It’s a farm, right in the heart of the city.
The Social Planning Council of Sudbury, with assistance from the Ontario Trillium Foundation’s seed grant program, makes its pitch to the committee tonight and, if successful, could be putting their first crop in the ground come spring.
In its presentation on the Flour Mill Community Farm, the council said the project would both give a purpose to under-used greenspace, but also engage young people in the area by providing a venue for them to get their hands dirty (as it were), learning marketable skills, work ethic and teamwork “which will serve as a gateway to future employment.”
The food produced will be sold and donated during the growing season.
The planning council picked Ryan Heights Playground, the group wrote in its presentation to council, because it is fairly centrally located in the neighbourhood. Having fresh, locally grown produce within a five-minute walk “may impact residents’ food choices, especially if they don’t have access to a vehicle,” the council said.
With an urban farm in the Flour Mill, Greater Sudbury becomes part of the growing urban agriculture movement, the council added, that includes Roots to Harvest farm in Thunder Bay and Black Creek Community Farm in Toronto.
If the project gets city approval, a group of young people will be hired to produce and process food under the guidance of a farm mentor. Members of the wider community will also be invited to participate in farm operations, making it a true community effort.