Recent tour highlights community efforts transforming local areas into vibrant hubs for fresh food
September 16, 2025, Toronto, ON – On September 15, Toronto and Region Conservation Authority (TRCA) welcomed Ruba Al-Nazer, Toronto Pearson‘s Director of Community Engagement and Impact, and community partners for a guided tour of the Rexdale neighbourhood.
The event highlighted how the Rexdale Sustainable Neighbourhood Action Program (SNAP), with funding from Toronto Pearson, is supporting community-driven initiatives that expand access to fresh, locally grown food and enhance the quality of life for residents.
View a Global News report on the event:
The tour included visits to local gardens and urban agriculture sites, where guests heard directly from residents involved in growing and distributing food within their neighbourhood.
Rexdale faces a complex mix of economic pressures, environmental concerns, and barriers to accessing fresh food. Rexdale SNAP works with residents and community organizations to provide practical solutions that ease these pressures through funding, tools, and training.
Launched in 2020, the Rexdale SNAP team began by engaging with residents to hear about their everyday challenges. This informed the development of an action plan tailored to meet the neighbourhood’s unique needs.
This community-centred approach continues to guide project choices, from food accessibility to park revitalization, ensuring each project responds to the needs identified by the community itself.
Over the past year, the results of this partnership-driven work have become part of daily life in Rexdale. Residents now tend community gardens that not only supply fresh food but also bring neighbours together around a shared purpose.
A weekly grocery market has made affordable, culturally familiar produce more accessible, offering families a reliable source of healthy food close to home. Urban agriculture projects have helped distribute hundreds of pounds of fresh produce within the community.
These efforts are supported by workshops that teach participants about composting, seed saving, and food sovereignty, equipping them with the knowledge and confidence to sustain these activities.
The impact of Rexdale SNAP reaches beyond food access. It helps grow leadership within the community and lays a foundation for resilience in the face of social and environmental pressures. By linking food security with environmental stewardship and community empowerment, this holistic approach is creating sustainable change.
In a time when neighbourhoods across Canada are grappling with food insecurity, climate challenges, and economic strain, Rexdale offers a clear example of how lasting change can happen when communities are supported in leading their own solutions.
Partnerships with organizations such as Zawadi Farm, Mama’s Healing Garden, the PACT Urban Peace Program, Urban Farm Initiative, Sundance Commons, Braeburn Neighbourhood Place & Boys and Girls Club, and the Rexdale Community Hub have been essential to this progress.
With TRCA’s ongoing involvement, these groups continue to strengthen local networks and create new opportunities for collaboration on community priorities.
Urban agriculture efforts in Rexdale will continue through 2025, with new projects already underway. TRCA is working closely with residents and community partners to strengthen existing SNAP initiatives and support practical, long-term solutions to local challenges.
The work in Rexdale also serves as a guide for future SNAP programs in other neighbourhoods, demonstrating how targeted efforts can address urgent needs and bring communities together for a shared purpose.
Quotes:
“We’re proud to support initiatives like Rexdale SNAP that put the community at the heart of the solution. When residents lead the way, lasting change happens, and we’re honoured to be part of this effort to make fresh, healthy food more accessible for families in vibrant Rexdale.”
– Ruba Al-Nazer, Director, Community Engagement and Impact, Toronto Pearson
“The launch of the TCI (Thistletown Collegiate Institute) Food Pantry has been a game-changer for our community, ensuring students and families have regular access to locally grown, healthy, and nourishing food. This would not have been possible without the generous $5,000 contribution from the Rexdale SNAP, whose support has turned an urgent need into a sustainable, community-driven resource.”
– Madison Rochwerg, Director of Operations and Fundraising, PACT Urban Peace Program
“At Mama’s Healing Garden, every seed planted tells a story of resilience and renewal. This tour is a chance to share those stories and inspire others to see how food, healing, and community are deeply connected.”
– Annisha Stewart, Executive Director, Mama’s Healing Garden
“The Rexdale New Grower program has created a unique opportunity for community members to explore gardening through hands-on workshops. Thanks to the generous support of Toronto Pearson through the Rexdale SNAP, we’re able to offer this free drop-in program that helps remove barriers to growing food and encourages more people to engage with urban agriculture.”
– Cheyenne Sundance, Co-Founder, Sundance Commons
“The success in Rexdale reflects the strength of collaboration among residents, community groups, funders, and TRCA. It shows how conservation efforts can lead the way when local voices are prioritized and nurtured. This approach not only enhances food access but also inspires a stronger sense of community within the neighbourhood. We are grateful to Toronto Pearson for their generous support, and we thank our community partners for sharing their vision for Rexdale and providing the resources needed to create a genuine, lasting impact. The lessons we’re learning here will help guide future SNAP projects across the region.”
– John MacKenzie, Chief Executive Officer, Toronto and Region Conservation Authority (TRCA)
About Toronto and Region Conservation Authority (TRCA)
Since 1957, Toronto and Region Conservation Authority (TRCA), as enabled through the provincial Conservation Authorities Act, has taken action to enhance our region’s natural environment and protect our land, water, and communities from the impacts of flooding and increasingly extreme weather events – Ontario’s leading cause of public emergencies.
As the region’s first line of defence against natural hazards, TRCA maintains vital infrastructure and provides programs and services that promote public health and safety, protecting people and property. TRCA mobilizes a science-based approach to provide sound policy advice, leveraging its position as a not-for-profit operating in the broader public sector to achieve collective impacts within our communities and across all levels of government.
TRCA’s dedication to its employees and sustainability has earned it recognition as both one of Greater Toronto’s Top Employers and one of Canada’s Greenest Employers. These distinctions highlight TRCA’s commitment to fostering a supportive, innovative, and environmentally responsible workplace – dedicated to driving meaningful change and create lasting positive impacts in the communities it serves.
TRCA’s jurisdiction includes nine watersheds and their Lake Ontario shorelines, spanning six upper-tier and fifteen lower-tier municipalities and representing almost five million people, approximately 10% of Canada’s population.
To learn more about TRCA, visit trca.ca.
Media Contacts
Toronto and Region Conservation Authority (TRCA)
Afiya Jilani
Specialist, Communication and Media Relations
Communications, Marketing and Events
afiya.jilani@trca.ca
media@trca.ca