As a Good Food Organization, Ecosource is part of a national network of community food organizations dedicated to ending food insecurity. To achieve this goal for all Canadians, Ecosource’s food programming aims to:

• Enhance local food literacy and local food procurement in schools
• Increase access to fresh, organic fruits and vegetables
• Develop culinary skills among children, youth and families
• Provide training and employment opportunities for youth through food-based social enterprises; and
• Encourage outdoor activity through gardening

In 2024, Ecosource engaged over 1,900 community members in food growing and grew over 11,560 lbs of fresh produce for the local community.

Growing Green Community Leaders

The project increases opportunities for Mississauga residents to act as community leaders and enhance ecological and community wellbeing through hands-on training, community events, and garden stewardship activities, including growing fresh, healthy, and cultural appropriate food. Key activities include:

• Animating the community gardens and nearby park spaces with a series of events, including garden tours, workshops and a harvest celebration
• Collaboration and training of local community leaders in the design and leadership of events and workshops, highlighting and sharing of local knowledge
• Support the co-benefits of gardening including through engaging more residents to grow and share fresh, healthy, and culturally appropriate food

In support of this project, Ecosource gratefully acknowledges the financial support of the Pendle Fund at the Mississauga Foundation, a registered charitable public foundation serving the people of Mississauga.

Resilient Communities Fund (2023 – 2025)

This project scales access to community gardens & urban agriculture for priority populations in Mississauga to meet the increased demand for our program due to COVID-19 by:

• Eliminating barriers to access to gardening through initiatives co-designed with our community partners that serve equity-deserving groups
• Developing new/expanded partnerships across our network of 12 gardens to grow & distribute locally-grown, culturally appropriate food to residents
• Increasing the available space for food production on public parkland in Mississauga in response to rising waitlists for community gardens due to COVID-19

Funding provided by the Ontario Trillium Foundation