At this time, there are 6 community gardens on municipal property, several of which used to rely on United Way funding for staff resources, as well as to cover the cost of the liability insurance required by the Policy. In 2020, the United Way decided to take a different direction with their strategy and several community groups in Windsor were no longer eligible for funding.

The loss of United Way funding on March 31, 2020 has already affected 4 of the 6 community gardens on municipal property. The Downtown Windsor Community Collaborative had to eliminate their staff member dedicated to their community gardens due to lost funding, but continues to run the gardens at Wigle Park, Mitchell Park, and Caron Ave Park. Drouillard Place could no longer afford the liability insurance required in the Policy and the Ford City BIA applied to take over the Ford City Community Garden. This required Administration to undertake the process of obtaining a new license agreement under Ford City BIA.

Community gardens provide healthy, fresh food for the community, enhance habitat for bees, birds and other animals, create a thriving neighbourhood gathering space and increase the absorption of stormwater.

Discussion:

The Policy was up for review in August 2019. Meetings were held internally to go over the Policy and proposed changes were discussed. Informal discussion was also held with the community groups operating the community gardens on municipal property to offer an opportunity for them to provide feedback on the Policy. These changes to the Policy were approved by Council on May 4th, 2020 (CR188/2020). At the same meeting, Council directed administration to prepare a report for Council’s consideration outlining potential opportunities for gap-filling where United Way funding had dropped off in certain neighbourhoods, where the gardens were relying on that funding and those groups to keep them going.

To identify potential opportunities for gap-filling, administration began with research into the practices and policies of different municipalities in Ontario to identify service delivery models that can support the sustainability of community gardens in Windsor. This review included consideration of the following: the annual cost to the gardener, the type of garden (whether communal or individual), the number of garden plots, the individual or organization responsible for the garden, the insurance requirements, the waiver requirements, plot assignments, the duration of the agreements, etc.

Also taken into consideration was the number of parties within the City who have expressed an interest in starting a community garden in their area. These individuals are not tied to an organization but have an informal neighbour group of interested individuals. The current policy creates limitations for such neighbourhood groups. With a different model of service delivery, including some small changes to Policy requirements, the City can increase the accessibility to community gardens.

Administration is presenting two options for Council consideration.