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Canada: Young urban farmer in Toronto gives back and fights for a future generation

Urban farmer Cheyenne Sundance teaches students about the importance of urban agriculture. – Alice Chen / Metroland

Cheyenne Sundance provides living wages, teaches kids and helps incubate those interested in the field

By Alice Chen
North York Mirror
Nov 11, 2022

Excerpt:

“As someone who’s Black, I found it very hard (to start). There was no one to mentor me,” Sundance said.

She started her farm in 2019 with only 800 square feet of space. Having never done too well in school, she caught on to the idea of farming while backpacking around the world.

“I stumbled upon a bunch of blueberry farms in Quebec and also B.C. and I said, ‘wow, this seems really cool,’” she said.

So, she decided to start her own farm in the GTA, seeing a demand and a “desperate” need for a farm that supported local workers.

Though she made mistakes starting out, like planting salad greens too close and getting aphids that ate the entire crop, she now has 60,000 square feet of space and employees.

For her, farming is a “fluid” and “practical” activity, and one that gives her the agency to represent the voices of the marginalized.

Later on, she joined the National Farmers Union, creating a BIPOC caucus and giving her community more pull in policy on the national level.

Read the complete article here.