The Common Table

The Common Table is both urban farm and farmer’s market.  It came out of a desire to see healthy produce on the tables of the food insecure residents of Flemingdon Park and the surrounding neighbourhood. The Church of Our Saviour in Don Mills gifted FPM the unused land on their property in 2017 and now, after a few seasons of growing, you will find a farm that produces multiple tonnes of fresh, organic vegetables to be given to the families we serve.

Our produce list includes kale, tomatoes all of kinds, peppers of all kinds, lettuce of all kinds, onions, eggplant, cucumber, zucchini, swiss chard, bok choy, carrots, spinach, peas, radish, garlic, and the list goes on.

The harvested produce is taken to the FPM market where families get to shop with their awarded shopping points, given to them according to family size. Market day in the park is a weekly community event with other agencies and organizations joining FPM to build a fun day of gathering, learning and simply being in community. Due to COVID-19, the 2020 harvest was safely distributed to registered families at the Angela James Arena through a partnership with FoodShare and the Flemingdon Health Centre.  Over 750 families were served through this partnership.  We hope to reopen our market in the park in 2021, once again building a community atmosphere and bring people together.

“The Common Table Farm thrived this season thanks to agency partnerships.  More people received fresh and healthy produce this summer than ever before, and it is ongoing.  Snow may be in the air, but the kale is still being grown under row covers.  It is joyfully shared with the community each week.”

The FPM Advocate – December 2020

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Olalekan Amos Owolabi

Amos has been an integral part of the FPM team since early 2018.  He came to us through an Investing in Neighbourhoods opportunity provided by the City of Toronto where the city pays the first year salary and contract.  We are happy to say that Amos is now a permanent employee and plays a key role at The Common Table farm.

Nigerian born, Amos came to Canada via the United States. As a widower and single father, he believes that Canada has better opportunities for his young daughter and himself.  They have been here since 2017.  Amos is in process to be a permanent resident in Canada.

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Wisam’s story

Wisam was warned before she arrived in Canada that although people here are welcoming, the country is VERY cold. Her sister had arrived in Canada a couple years earlier and told Wisam what to expect. When Wisam arrived in August 2019 she was completely surprised by the weather: “I never thought I would feel such heat in Canada.” She had assumed she would never again feel the hotness of the Middle East she was accustomed to experiencing.

Wisam’s understanding of Canada is typical of that of many refugees fleeing war and persecution.  They know Canada is safe compared to where they were, but everything else is a mystery. With the support of FaithWorks, AURA is able to complete our mission of providing support and expertise to refugee sponsors as they guide refugee newcomers like Wisam through the first steps to their new lives in Canada.

Wisam was in for many surprises in Canada: traveling around her new city using a “perfect” transportation system, being able to use the internet to do almost everything, and finding out people can communicate easily with email and text instead of only over a phone.  Throughout her new experiences she had the help of members of her refugee sponsoring group: arranging housing, getting her kids into the school, helping apply for health cards, and finding a dentist and family doctor. Wisam says that the support of people who understand Canadian life decreased the hardship she faced as a newcomer by at least half.

That first year living in Canada is critical for refugee newcomers. As Wisam says: “It’s shaping a whole new life for newcomers who feel fragile and terrified as they leave their lives and their stories behind to pursue new ones.” She is working towards becoming a Canadian citizen and would love to be part of a future sponsoring group to help someone else begin a next chapter of their lives, safely, in Canada.

AURA is a Canadian charitable organization assisting in the sponsorship and resettlement of refugees. It is only though the generous support of FaithWorks that stories like Wisam are possible.

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– Ally’s story, August 2020 (Rev. Alison Falby)

The background to the story is that St George’s, Pickering Village has partnered with All Saints’ during the pandemic. Early on, the Daily Bread Food Bank cancelled our weekly deliveries and we were running out of snacks for our drop-in. To make matters worse, several community food banks had closed and people were coming to our door for food. Parishioners from St George’s helped get us through those first uncertain weeks by supplying us with canned goods, granola bars, and juice boxes. And they didn’t stop there. When news got out that homeless people were fleeing the downtown shelters to camp outside, St George’s folks donated sleeping bags and tents. In fact, it was one of their tents that helped one of our drop-in participants get housing after about 10 years of being homeless. She had been sleeping in stairwells, boiler rooms, and on the roofs of buildings. Once she started camping outside, Streets to Homes was able to connect with her and get her an apartment.

Being part of this partnership has inspired a St George’s parishioner to become a regular FaithWorks donor—see her message below.

I just read the note about one of the donated tents being used and it resulted in someone finding affordable housing. What good news! One step at a time, one person at a time. That is God working among us. 

I believe strongly in the work for the homeless, however, I think I’ve led a somewhat sheltered life as I’ve never lived in an area where it is obvious. But hearing about your work at All Saints, through Susan and requests for tangible donations, I feel like homelessness is not such a remote concept to me now. I’ve thought a lot recently about how easy it is to go from having so much to having nothing. A job loss, an illness that drains savings; these things can put one on the streets very easily. And I thank God in my daily prayers for all I have been blessed with.

I don’t mean to go on, but all this has led me to a decision to continue supporting All Saints’ work through Faithworks. I have been a pre-authorized giver to St. George’s for years, but now I will add a monthly FW donation directed to All Saints.

Thank you for all you do there; stay safe, stay well.

Blessings,

Helen

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