Canada: Mississauga City Launches its First-Ever Urban Agriculture Strategy
The City’s Urban Agriculture strategy is made up of 18 actions – 11 City-led and seven community-led.
Mississauga City
June 1, 2022
Excerpt:
Today, General Committee welcomed the City’s first Urban Agriculture Strategy (UAS) designed for, and with, the community’s needs in mind. The goal is to grow more food locally to ensure everyone has access to healthy foods in their neighbourhoods.
Over the next 10 years, the strategy will help:
Enhance and grow urban agriculture efforts
Promote and support inclusive, culturally relevant local food options expand
Improve food security
Support climate mitigation and adaptation efforts
“Over the course of a year, almost 26,000 people visited a food bank in Mississauga. That’s nearly 1 in 28 people in our city who are experiencing challenges putting food on their table.
This is a serious concern that will only grow as the cost of food continues to rise. All residents, especially our most vulnerable, have a right to access fresh and healthy food,” said Mayor Bonnie Crombie. “Mississauga’s Urban Agricultural Strategy will allow us to diversify our local food sources, increase the resiliency of our food supply, and address food insecurity in our community – all steps that will break down barriers to equitable access to healthy and nutritious food.”
The City’s Urban Agriculture strategy is made up of 18 actions – 11 City-led and seven community-led. These actions are designed to help remove barriers and enable urban agriculture in Mississauga. It will encourage healthier lifestyles, empower the community to learn new skills about growing and harvesting produce and will strengthen relationships between the City and the community. The strategy was developed through conversations with stakeholders, including equity deserving and marginalized groups and communities, with deliberate recommended actions and roles that both the City and the community can take.
