Zawadi Farm

Zawadi Farm Reclaiming urban growing spaces in our city, helping us bridge the conversation about food security i

We take great pride in our methods of regenerative agriculture practice. Each produce is grown with meticulous care of the soil and its nutrients, to make sure they taste fantastic.

The project Before and currently This required a significant collective effort; incredible partners helped this project ...
04/17/2026

The project Before and currently

This required a significant collective effort; incredible partners helped this project grow to what it is today.

We are now stewarding what could possibly be Canada's largest urban commercial agricultural farm project, on federal land.

The Many Hands Collective
- Arnest Sebbumba
- Sean Smith
YMCA - Jon Gagnon
- Derek Barbercc Connunity Farm -Judith Prince
Zawadi Farm - Jessey Njau

Would you want to come visit? its rea!

No AI renders were used in the making of this, just pure love and care for the soil

We welcomed our City Councilor at the farm this week. Looking forward to the work ahead
04/15/2026

We welcomed our City Councilor at the farm this week. Looking forward to the work ahead

Zawadi means gift.And every season, we get to give it — a box of what's growing, what's thriving, what the soil gave us ...
03/25/2026

Zawadi means gift.

And every season, we get to give it — a box of what's growing, what's thriving, what the soil gave us this week. It lands on your table and asks you to slow down. To taste the difference. To know where your food came from.

Our 2026 farm shares are now open. Three options. Limited spots.

This is your invitation.
→ zawadi.farm/farm-shares

Link in bio.

Canadian agriculture grows more crops than food. Food security is fundamentally about ensuring consistent access to suff...
01/17/2026

Canadian agriculture grows more crops than food.

Food security is fundamentally about ensuring consistent access to sufficient, safe, and nutritious food for all people at all times.

It encompasses four pillars:
1. availability (enough food produced or supplied),
2. access (affordability and physical reach),
3. utilization (nutritional value and safe preparation),
4. stability (resilience against disruptions like economic shocks or climate events)

Food and Culture as Healing: Community Garden in Action at Victory ParkLast summer, Zawadi Farm, alongside an extraordin...
01/15/2026

Food and Culture as Healing: Community Garden in Action at Victory Park

Last summer, Zawadi Farm, alongside an extraordinary group of partners, launched the Victory Park Intergenerational Community Garden in Malton, Mississauga.

This project, Food and Culture as Healing, was grounded in a simple but powerful premise: land-based, culturally relevant food work as a mental health intervention.

Over the course of the growing season, this garden brought together elders, youth, and families to cultivate Afro-diasporic crops while participating in structured, hands-on learning rooted in care, routine, and connection. The raised beds built represented much more than food production infrastructure. They were spaces for grounding, relationship-building, and emotional resilience.

Key takeaways so far:

Gardening creates predictable rhythms that support nervous system regulation and reduce stress

Cultural food growing restores identity and belonging, which are foundational to mental well-being

Intergenerational learning strengthens trust, mentorship, and community cohesion

Public health outcomes improve when food, culture, and mental health are addressed together

Project Partners and Collaborators:

- Black Health & Social Services Hub
– Institute for Better Health

- Novo Nordisk Network for Healthy Populations (Catalyst Grant)
- Zawadi Education Team
Ascension of Our Lord Catholic Secondary School
Community advisors, elders, and youth participants

This project demonstrated what is possible when municipalities, health systems, community organizations, and land-based practitioners work together with intention. It is a living example of how food justice, mental health, and cultural knowledge can intersect in practical, measurable ways.

The soil is prepared. The beds are built. The work of healing through land continues.

11/14/2025

Today I spent the day cooking with the chefs and students at George Brown’s School of Culinary Arts, where students utilize produce grown at Zawadi Farm and other local producers.

Being in that kitchen reminded me why local food matters. Not as a concept, but as something real that shapes flavour, community, and the strength of our local economy.

For a few seasons now, Chef Wendy Mah and her students have been visiting the farm to learn about how food is grown in the city. They ask good questions. They listen. They walk the rows and see the work that goes into each harvest. Today I had the chance to stand in their space and watch them turn those same ingredients into meals that honour the work that happens in the soil.

There is a clear link between how we grow food and how it gets transformed in the kitchen. When chefs choose local ingredients, they choose to keep value in the community. They choose to support growers who are caring for the land. They choose food that reflects the season and the people who harvested it.

When students experience this connection early in their training, something shifts. They begin to see food as a relationship rather than a product. They understand that chefs stand beside farmers in building a resilient local economy. Every choice they make in the kitchen becomes a vote for the kind of food system they want to see.

Today confirmed what I have believed for a long time. A strong food system grows from partnership. Farmers and chefs learning from one another. Sharing knowledge. Respecting the work that happens on both sides. And making sure the benefits stay rooted in the community.

I am grateful for our ongoing relationship with and School of Culinary Arts.

This is how a resilient city is built. One harvest. One kitchen. One shared meal at a time.

11/03/2025

Nine years ago, I was asked a simple question:
“How do I feed the city?”

Back then, I didn’t yet understand that food was political. That access to food isn’t equal and not by geography, race, or class.

I thought farming was just about growing food.

But I learned it’s about growing connection — between the seed and the city, between those who harvest and those who eat.

This season, Zawadi Farm had the privilege of working with the City of Toronto’s Shelter and Support Services, feeding hundreds across the city with food grown right here in Toronto soil.

From our fields to Scarborough Village kitchens and other shelters across the city, our produce became meals that nourished not just bodies, but dignity and belonging.

This project reminded us of why we exist, to make food a shared right, not a privilege. To reconnect urban life with the land beneath it.

And to build systems that feed people and heal communities.

The work isn’t done.
But every carrot, every box, every meal shared brings us one step closer to a Toronto where food truly belongs to everyone.

11/03/2025

How the NeighbourLink North YorkFood Hub Works with Zawadi Farm

At Zawadi Farm, we believe food has the power to connect, beyond simply to nourish. Through our partnership with , we’ve built a bridge between local growers and local families right here in Toronto.

Here’s how it works:
Produce grown at Zawadi Farm — fresh, seasonal, and nutrient-rich — is harvested and delivered directly to the Food Hub, where it’s distributed to families experiencing food insecurity. This connection ensures that healthy, locally grown food doesn’t just end up in high-end markets — it reaches the tables of those who need it most.

But this partnership is more than logistics — it’s a living model of community care.
It demonstrates what’s possible when local farms, social organizations, and neighbours come together to design food systems that are both resilient and just. It’s about closing the loop: the same soil that feeds our community sustains the people it nourishes.

Every bunch of kale, every tomato, every container of microgreens from Zawadi Farm that reaches NeighbourLink’s Food Hub represents a step toward food sovereignty — where communities define how food is grown, shared, and valued.

This partnership is proof that when farms and food banks align, we don’t just fight hunger

— we grow hope.

11/03/2025

Zawadi Farm 2025 Season Recap

This season has been a lesson in gratitude, perseverance, and community.

As we close the 2025 growing season, I want to take a moment to thank every one of our Farmshare members, supporters, and funders who believed in Zawadi Farm’s mission to grow food — and hope — right here in the city.

This year wasn’t without its challenges. We faced shifting weather patterns, tighter resources, and the ongoing work of building a new home for our operations at Downsview Park. Yet through it all, your belief in us kept the soil rich and our spirits strong.

We launched new partnerships, hosted workshops that reconnected youth and soil, expanded our community markets, and took another step toward transforming the barn into a thriving hub for food, art, and gathering. Each milestone was rooted in the trust and encouragement you offered.

2026 is shaping up to be a powerful year of growth — the barn doors opening fully, the café coming to life, and a deepening of our programs that center on land stewardship, community learning, and regenerative abundance.

Thank you for walking this journey with us. The seeds we’ve planted together are only beginning to show what’s possible.

Special mention



.. To our private supporters, WE THANK YOU

—
Founder, Zawadi Farm

Grateful for the Salesforce Volunteer Team 2 at Zawadi Farm.In one powerful afternoon, they laid 800+ ft of wood-chipped...
11/03/2025

Grateful for the Salesforce Volunteer Team 2 at Zawadi Farm.

In one powerful afternoon, they laid 800+ ft of wood-chipped pathways and packed 300+ bags of salad greens—keeping our beds accessible and getting fresh food to our community.

Special thanks to Climate Week volunteers and the crew for joining us during and amplifying community-led climate action.

Want to bring your team out? Reach out DM us to schedule a corporate volunteer day.

Address

160 Downsview Park Boulevard
Toronto, ON
M3K0C8

Telephone

+14168035377

Website

https://zawadi-farm.localline.ca/zawadi-farm

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