Current Projects and Programs

Working in high-priority communities throughout Halton Region, Halton Food has developed thriving community gardens full of fruits, vegetables, herbs, and flowers. Each week a staff member is present in the gardens where residents and community members of all ages know they can visit to help care for the garden, and ask any questions they have about the plants. We currently support a number of gardens at Halton Community Housing residences, the Acton Community Garden, and the Oakville Food Forest.

This program, at St Christopher's Anglican Church in Burlington, is open to anyone who wants to learn to garden or offer a helping hand in the food garden. There are multiple weekday volunteer opportunities available.

Halton Food provides curriculum-linked workshops at elementary and high schools, on topics related to sustainable food gardens, food systems, and other sustainability and environmental topics. We are also happy to discuss how we can support your school food gardens.

Halton Food also works with various community partners to provide programmes and workshops for children and youth throughout Halton Region. We offer gardening, cooking and nature workshops at day camps and at community organisations. We also run a Little Hands in the Garden family drop-in program at the Acton Community Garden on Wednesdays during the summer.

Halton Food partners with community organisations to offer programs for adults at public libraries, seniors centres, supportive housing groups, etc. Our garden and food themed topics include container gardening, composting and vermicomposting, seed savings, sprouting and growing microgreens, and so much more! 

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We participate in many local community outreach events, to engage community members of all ages with a focus on local food systems, food security and community gardening initiatives and information on how you can get involved.

Halton Food has partnered with the Town of Oakville to start an initiative that will serve as a pilot project for sustainable gardening in the community. Two unique garden spaces – the Oakville Food Forest, managed by Halton Food, and Oakville Pollinator Pathway, led by Oakvillegreen – have started to take root side by side in an underused former fruit orchard and field within Kingsford Gardens Park. Together they will act to increase the town’s climate resiliency, food security and biodiversity. 

What Is A Food Forest?

Modelled after tree forests, food forests are edible food systems that will ultimately require no weeding, spraying or digging. They grow and sustain themselves without human interference. Since they are permanent, food forests encourage greater biodiversity than simple backyard gardens.

How Do Food Forests Work?

In essence, a Food Forest is comprised of multiple edible plant layers, all of which exist in a self-sustaining living ecosystem. It includes:

• a canopy or tall tree layer (large fruit and nut trees) 

• a low tree layer (smaller fruit and nut trees) 

• a shrub layer (berries and currants) 

• a herbaceous layer (herbs) 

• a rhizosphere or root crop layer (shade tolerant root vegetables) 

• ground cover crops (clover, mushrooms, strawberries) 

• and a vertical layer, such as vines (grapes)