The Common Table farm and market project began with a passion to put healthy produce onto the tables and into the bellies of those who struggle to make this happen. This is the reality for many people in neighbourhoods of Flemingdon Park and Thorncliffe Park, where three out of five families are unable to consistently put healthy food on the table. There are even more families struggling this year, as a result of the economic impact of the COVID-19 crisis.
The staff and volunteers of FPM have been diligently working to meet the growing need.
In 2020, only our second year farming the full tract of the land at The Common Table, we have grown enough produce to make a tremendous impact on the lives of hundreds of families. In spite of the immense challenges of running a community outreach in this scale, in the middle of a global pandemic, we are on solid ground.
This season, those of us working in the field have marveled at weekly produce totals weighing as much as 990 pounds! Every week we are blown away. Every week we give thanks. Through the produce distribution at the Angela James Arena, our produce gets safely to the families who need it most.
We also look to our many partners and supporters and give thanks to you for your generosity. Thanks to various grants and private donations, at the end of our growing season in 2020 and into 2021 we are extending our greenhouse, adding a learning hub and establishing a partnership with the elementary school located next door to the farm so that kids can learn about growing their own vegetables and all good things that come from our earth. . We are also extending our growing season with hoops and row covers that will keep the soil warm so we can continue supplying our residents with fresh kale and chard.
Things are going and growing well at The Common Table.
In light of COVID-19, social programs of FPM are now being offered online via Zoom. Each week we provide a safe space for women to share their fears and concerns as well as their joys in our Connecting Women program, and English is practised in our Conversing in English program. In fact, we are doing everything we have done before the pandemic, just a little differently. Meals are offered through partnerships with agencies like Feed it Forward and Cali Love, and delivered to shut-ins; hampers are delivered to seniors, and we are looking to expand our hampers in 2021 as the pandemic rages on.
The one major change that is underway is our use of space.
Leisurely hanging out in our drop-in for hours on end will not be permitted for a long time to come. Our daily meals, where we all crammed into that small space, will not be permitted for a long time to come. The board of directors, along with the staff, have decided that our space at 10 Gateway will continue to be the hub of all we do, but the office space for The Common Table will be moved to the Church of Our Saviour where the farm is located. The executive director’s office will be relocated there as well. Details like phone numbers and mailing addresses are still being worked out.
The office at 10 Gateway, when fully reopened, will still house our clothing bank; will still offer coffee and snacks in a safe environment; will be the centre of our zoom classes and will also be the hub of our hamper program as well as volunteer management. FPM continues to operate as the lead on the community gardens, and this space will continue to be the presence of FPM in Flemingdon Park. Our community meals will recommence when TDSB permits safe use of their space. Daily meals will be the takeout offerings that we can safely deliver when in supply.
Consistent updates on our programs and COVID-19 changes will be through social media and on our new websites when they are launched. Meanwhile, keep safe. Keep well. Share hope, and support one another. Some times, in times like this, it seems like that’s all we have – each other and that spark of humanity within. That light will never go out.
