In conversation with Dr. Jaclyn Rohel and Dr. Jo Sharma of the Feeding City Lab, Rhonda Teitel-Payne shares her experience working to advance urban agriculture in Toronto to support people in growing food, regenerating the soil, and building community. A Co-Coordinator of Toronto Urban Growers (TUG), Rhonda discusses how the network brings together Toronto’s diverse community of gardeners who grow food in backyards, on balconies, in shared plots, on urban farms, and in school gardens to share knowledge and resources, how to work across sectors and draw in the wider community to give people a stake in urban agriculture, and what can be gained from building relationships with other cities around the world, such as Paris and Tokyo. Looking back on over 15 years with TUG, Rhonda points out that her favourite TUG projects have all been collaborations. She recalls working with a local utility provider, departments in the City of Toronto, and community organizations to conduct environmental assessments and establish lease agreements to open up urban hydro corridors for the creation of market gardens, “We now have two beautiful, thriving farms.” Looking ahead, Rhonda sees more potential for community composting, market gardens, and productive green rooftops to flourish in Toronto and is eager for greater integration of urban agriculture in local policies and practices: “I think we’re starting to see the importance of circular economies and shrinking the loop of food production, consumption, and dealing with food waste.” To support system-wide change and guide efforts, Rhonda says more training and research is needed. She describes how she brings urban agriculture education to her classes at local colleges and universities, where she’s worked with students in business administration, culinary arts, nutrition, public health, nursing, urban planning, and even engineering, and how her teaching of urban agriculture evolves to help people in different fields achieve their goals. As the episode winds up, Rhonda shares stories about what vegetables she’s growing, some of her top choices for container gardening, and how cultivating hot peppers and squash has sparked new connections with her neighbours. This episode was recorded on April 2, 2025 and has been edited for clarity and length.

This year, Toronto Urban Agriculture Week runs from September 20-28, 2025. To learn more about TUG’s other initiatives - including a map of urban agriculture in the greater Toronto area as well as Grower2Grower stories and tips from community growers Shah, Shilpi, Kamal, and Isaac - visit https://torontourbangrowers.org/. 

For more on urban farming, market gardens, and building Toronto into a market city, refer back to episodes Episode 1, Episode 3, and Episode 24 from the Voices from the Food Frontlines series. To learn more about this podcast and access all of the past episodes, visit the Feeding City Lab at https://www.utsc.utoronto.ca/projects/feedingcity/food-frontline-voices/ and https://www.utsc.utoronto.ca/projects/feedingcity/sustainable-foodways/. 

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