Fred Victor’s Edible Community Gardens program manages several vibrant gardens across the downtown east, offering residents and local social service agencies the opportunity to grow fresh, nutritious food right in their community. With 243 allotment gardens and three communal gardens, this program promotes urban agriculture, cultural diversity, and community engagement in Regent Park and surrounding areas.

Allotment Gardens: Located in Regent Park, our gardens provide residents with 10’ x 10’ plots to plant, maintain, and harvest their own food. We supply compost, good soil, seeds, and seedlings, encouraging plant sharing and community participation. Currently, the demand is high, with over 100 people on our waitlist for a plot.

 

Communal Gardens: Our communal gardens are located at 40 Oak Street, the Big Park (Regent Park), Nelson Mandela Park School, and in pop-up raised gardens at Dundas Street East Mews. Managed in collaboration with 15 community-based social service agencies, these gardens serve as a shared resource for organizations like the Regent Park Birth Centre, Regent Park Community Health Centre, Green Thumbs Growing Kids, and Street Health.

 

Community and Sustainability: Our edible gardens foster good nutrition, physical health, and community engagement. Twice-weekly gardening work-bees, seed exchanges, and compost programs run year-round, with the active involvement of community volunteers. Sustainability is a core focus, with events like Seed Exchange, Harvest Festival, and worm-share and composting demonstrations throughout the year.

The Edible Gardens program not only improves food access for hundreds of people in Regent Park, it also celebrates cultural diversity. Our gardens grow a wide variety of produce, reflecting the rich cultural heritage of the community—from kiwi and amaranth to Indigenous plants like tobacco and sage. These gardens keep the tradition of urban agriculture alive in Regent Park, providing a valuable connection to nature and food security for all involved.

Fred Victor also manages the City of Toronto’s property, including the Wood-Fired Bake Oven and Greenhouse facilities, for community use at 40 Oak. Additionally, our partnerships with Toronto Urban Growers, Not Far From the Tree, Food Share, Evergreen Brickworks, and Green Thumbs Growing Kids enhance our efforts in sustainability and community engagement.

 

Through the Edible Community Gardens, Fred Victor provides a space for residents to cultivate their own food, connect with their cultural roots, and engage in healthy, sustainable practices that benefit the entire community.