I didn't grow up farming. I became a farmer because I was a single mother living in poverty, determined to find another way to raise my children and support my family. What began with an agreement to exchange work for affordable rent eventually grew into Small Scale Farms, a food distribution network, farm education programs and a vision for a different kind of economy. This is the story of how I got here, what I've learned and why I'm only just getting started.
Every dollar we spend on groceries supports a food system. But where does that money actually go, and how much reaches the farmers producing our food? What if our everyday purchases could help small farms grow, strengthen our communities and build a more resilient food economy? It's time to think about whose economy we're supporting and the kind of food system we want to see survive.
For years, expensive hydroponic growing systems have been promoted as a solution to food insecurity, including right here in Niagara. But when food banks are being encouraged to invest hundreds of thousands of dollars in artificial growing environments, shouldn’t we be asking some bigger questions? What are we really growing our food in, what does it cost, and who actually benefits? Maybe it’s time we invested in farmers and food infrastructure instead of trying to replace nature.
We’re constantly being told we’re running out of farmland. But what if the real problem isn’t how much land we have left, but what we’re doing with it? Niagara has the land, knowledge and potential to grow more food. So why aren’t we creating more farmers and building a food economy that actually feeds our communities?
We’re constantly being told we’re running out of farmland. But what if the real problem isn’t how much land we have left, but what we’re doing with it? Niagara has the land, knowledge and potential to grow more food. So why aren’t we creating more farmers and building a food economy that actually feeds our communities?
We’ve been taught to believe there isn’t enough. Not enough food, not enough land, not enough resources. But what if the real problem isn’t what we’re running out of, but how we’ve organized the food system and who we’ve become dependent on to feed us?
Ontario has invested billions in agriculture, yet Niagara lost hundreds of farms over a decade. We’re producing more agricultural revenue with fewer farmers. So who’s actually benefiting from all this investment, and why is it still so difficult to make a living growing food?
For more than a decade, Ontario governments have promised millions of dollars to strengthen our food system. But where did all that money go? Who received it, what was actually built, and how much of it is still benefiting farmers and communities today?
Everyone talks about building a stronger, more self-reliant food system. But what does food sovereignty actually look like? And is our government investing in the people and infrastructure that could make it possible or not?
What does it really cost to grow a cucumber? When expensive technology is presented as the solution to food insecurity, perhaps we should be questioning whether we’ve lost sight of common sense.
