TUG Tours
Food Tours Across Toronto
Presented by the 12th Annual Assembly of the Canadian Association of Food Studies (CAFS) and Toronto Urban Growers (TUG)
For registration info, click here
Tour 1 – FULL DAY: Community Food Centres
Date: Friday May 26, 2017
Cost: $60/person, includes TTC day pass and lunch
Mode: Public transit and walking
Walking difficulty: Moderate, mostly along streets
Duration: approx. 9 am – 5 pm
Stops include: Greenest City/Parkdale, The Stop, FoodShare, Scadding Court Community Centre
Different models of multifaceted community-focused food centres can be found in Toronto. This is a public transport and walking tour of food centres in the city that seek to transform and bridge their diverse communities while addressing neighbourhood pockets of food deserts and food insecurity. Through various programs, projects and activities, see how each unique site addresses different food needs, some of them focusing at the neighbourhood level, others operating citywide – all of them working to bring good food in the city. Tour organized by Toronto Urban Growers.
Tour 2 – FULL DAY: Food, Well-Being, and Indigeneity
Date: Friday May 26, 2017
Cost: $80/person, includes TTC day pass **LUNCH NOT PROVIDED**
Mode: Public transit and walking
Walking difficulty: Moderate, mostly along streets
Duration: approx. 9 am – 5 pm
Stops include: Native Child and Family Services, Four Winds Indigenous Health and Well-Being Program, University of Toronto via First Story – lunch stop at Nish Dish
Led by a Rivers Rising Ambassador on Toronto’s Lost Rivers, learn about the place of food in Indigenous culture and history and its current presence and representation in Toronto. With emphasis on taking care of the future by acknowledging the past and growing with the present, this tour showcases the rich Indigenous traditions in promoting connections to food, well-being, and building communities, while capturing stories of where treaties, rights, and colonialism intersect. You will visit a beautiful sweatlodge on a rooftop in the heart of downtown; learn about community, healing and connecting in an Indigenous Program housed in a non-Indigenous organization. At University of Toronto, you will be joined by First Story, who will take you through burial grounds, and medicine gardens. You will be given the opportunity to purchase lunch at a First Nations marketeria while learning about Indigenous traditions, with food and business in Toronto. Tour organized by Toronto Urban Growers, with honorable mentions to First Story and Rivers Rising.
Tour 3 – FULL DAY: Toronto’s Changing Markets
Date: Saturday May 27, 2017
Cost: $45/person, includes TTC day pass **LUNCH NOT PROVIDED**
Mode: Public transit and walking
Walking difficulty: Moderate, mostly along streets
Duration: approx. 9 am – 5 pm
Stops include: Evergreen Brickworks, St. Lawrence Market, Kensington Market
Toronto houses many various market places, from small seasonal ones to permanent market buildings and a market district. These markets are undergoing significant changes. By visiting markets – new and old – we will learn the role, benefits, challenges and responses of food markets. Our local expert, currently spearheading efforts to establish Toronto as a Market City, will detail the socio-political climate in this endeavour. This tour includes the Kensington Market district as well as the year-round market of Evergreen Brick Works; you will also be given opportunity to purchase your lunch at the historic St. Lawrence Market while hearing about how it is being transformed. Tour organized by Toronto Urban Growers.
Tour 4– Half Day OR Full Day Tour Options
FULL DAY OPTION (includes Part 1 & 2): Urban Agriculture in Downtown East –
Date: Saturday May 27, 2017
Cost: $55/person, lunch included
Mode: Walking tour
Walking difficulty: Moderate, mostly along streets
Duration: FULL DAY – approx. 9 am – 5 pm
Stops: see tours 4a and 4b below
Gardening cuts across all ages and cultures. Toronto’s densely mixed population in downtown east is occupied by two city wards (27 and 28), home to North America’s largest social housing districts in the middle of multi-million-dollar homes. This area is also adjacent to the central and busiest hub of downtown – Yonge and Dundas. This walking tour is divided into 2 parts revealing the diversity in urban agricultural methods, stakeholders involved, organizations partnering, as a means to bring respect for nature, and for community connections. Part 1 explores public and school engagement showcasing a historic conservatory, hands-on school programming, and creative uses of vacant spaces with milk crates. Part 2 delves into the radical transformation and revitalization of Regent Park, and the projects and programs that have sprouted as a response to address the vulnerable population, animate the space, and build community engagement. A final stop in Moss Park, a nearby high-rise social housing area, is also planned. Sign up for either half day series, or join us for the full day to see the neighbourhood in action. Tour organized by Toronto Urban Growers.
Tour 4a: Part 1 HALF DAY OPTION – Urban Agriculture: Parks and Schools
Date: Saturday May 27, 2017
Cost: $30/person, **lunch NOT included**
Mode: Walking tour
Walking difficulty: Moderate, mostly along streets
Duration: approx. 9 am – 12: 45 pm
Stops include: Allan Gardens, The Bowery Project, Winchester School Garden
Tour 4b: Part 2 HALF DAY OPTION – Urban Agriculture: Community and Housing
Date: Saturday May 27, 2017
Cost: $30/person, **lunch NOT included**
Mode: Walking tour
Walking difficulty: Moderate, mostly along streets
Duration: approx. 1:30 pm – 5 pm
Stops include: Regent Park area and community, Moss Park
For info on the CAFS conference see http://cafs.landfood.ubc.ca/en/
Posted on