As Toronto faces a food insecurity emergency, Black communities are overwhelmingly impacted by the crisis, despite playing a significant and undervalued role in Canada’s agriculture industry.
On January 27, 2025 The City of Toronto declared a food emergency as more than one out of every ten Torontonians now rely on food banks. Canada’s biggest city follows two other Ontario municipalities in declaring an emergency. Earlier in January, the Kingston City Council also declared a food emergency in the city, after Mississauga first did so late in 2024. However, food insecurity in the city, especially in the Black community, has predated this announcement. In 2022 the Black Food Sovereignty Alliance reported over a quarter of Black households in the city were food insecure.
As one of the most diverse and productive agricultural areas in the country, southern Ontario holds one million acres of farmland responsible for over $1.5 billion in farm receipts of over 200 different agricultural products. In terms of scale and diversity, not many places on Earth can match the food production in southern Ontario. But not many can match the cruelty. A UN special envoy reported Canada’s agriculture industry for ‘modern-day slavery’ practices. Staffed by migrants, these businesses have a history of contracting labour from the Caribbean and growingly Africa. Rather than explain how a developed nation can have such practices, immigration is then scapegoated as the reason for high prices.
Imagine being responsible for growing food in inhumane conditions, then being forced to also buy that food at a markup. And after all that you are blamed for the price of food. This is the reality for thousands of Black migrants. Facts like these put a somber tone on Black History Month as many question how the city can treat people unequally.
Toronto has a history of this too. Irish migrants in the 19th century fled famine at home to suffer high prices and racism in the city. To cope, Irish migrants localized their food by growing veggies in front of their houses. The cabbages they grew now give the area Cabaagetown its name. We need creative ways to grow food locally but on a bigger scale, and one Black Torontonian has the solution.
Jessey Njau made headlines by calling on the city to include urban farmers in the city’s food agenda. Njau immigrated from Kenya to follow his IT dream job, but chose to leave that life behind to become an urban farmer. His social enterprise, Zawadi Farms, is a testament to his heritage Zawadi, a Swahili word that means gift. For five hundred families who have access to the farm produce, it is a gift. From growing food in his backyard, today Zawadi Farms partners with the Canada Lands Company (CLC) to use five acres inside Downsview Park.
“It was great to have that space, but we needed financial capacity just to work with CLC,” Njau told Now Toronto.
While his letter called out the city to provide extra grants, freer policy around food selling, and access to land, Njau also knows how important it is for the Black community to stand as an example of a more resilient food ecosystem.
Njau may not have the long-time connections to the agriculture scene many generational Canadians have, but new friends came to help. Zawadi Farms was able to gain its lots at the CLC thanks to Fresh City, another farm in the area and his friends in the Many Hands Collective. Together with members from Ubuntu Farms and a host of other agencies they are making a community oasis. However, the established work in urban farming by the Black community is a source of inspiration for his holistic approach to running his social business.
“San Farms growing Afro-centric crops, Ubuntu, Black Creek, Toronto Black Growers. They have all been doing the same thing. We see the need in our community and asking us for access. The challenge we are facing is being priced out,” he said.
Straddling the line between a community group, commercial business and passion project, Zawadi Farms works in schools to help students rehabilitate old areas with new plants and offers venue space and veggie subscriptions. Unlike other businesses though, Njau says that all profits from the activities go back into the farm. Produce grown at Zawadi Farms is sold at St. Lawrence Market and Leslieville farmers’ markets, as well as food banks. This is in addition to their growing rental space business.
“We are looking to be financially resilient through our commercial activities,” Njau said.
By internally providing financing to grow food the farm will not need to access external funding, a major objective for Njau. Instead of trying to endlessly expand his business, Njau is hoping to help others as he has been helped.
Across the park is the Toronto Black Farmers and Growers Collective, and northwest is one of Toronto’s largest urban farms, the Black Creek Community Farm. Many more Black urban farms surround Toronto, giving us so much more to celebrate this Black History Month.
