On Monday, May 30 the Saskatoon Food Council coordinated a presentation to the Standing Policy Committee on Planning, Development and Community Service – PDCS. Speakers included representatives from the Food Council, Chain Reaction Urban Farm , the University of Saskatchewan, CHEP Good Food, Roof Top Gardeners and the Saskatoon Food Bank and Learning Centre.
A rooftop garden project promoting sustainable agricultural practices and urban farming is sprouting on campus this summer.
“This is the other face of agriculture—urban agriculture,” said Grant Wood, a professor in the College of Agriculture and Bioresources.
Tomatoes, hot peppers and leafy greens (including lettuce, kale and spinach) will soon be popping up on the roof of the phytotron, a sunny, triangle-shaped area visible from the above-ground walkway between the biology and agriculture buildings.
A group of Saskatoon organizations has just released its recipe for improving Saskatoon’s food economy. “Saskatoon is named after a berry”, they point out, “and is central to Canada’s richest food producing area. We should be celebrating our bounty and no one should go hungry in our city.”
The organizations include CHEP Good Food Inc., the City of Saskatoon, the Saskatoon Health Region, and the University of Saskatchewan. The group also includes individuals from the farm and food retail/wholesale sectors.