Edmonton cuts produce farm program for food bank amid financial crunch
Posted April 12, 2025 1:10 pm.
As the Edmonton Food Bank prepares hampers for tens of thousands of Edmontonians in need, they are concerned about how they will fill them in the coming months after the city cut an urban farming program.
The team at the Edmonton Food Bank is now trying to determine what this summer’s hampers will look like, following city council’s decision to cut funding to the City Farms gardening program.
“I won’t lie… we did shed a little bit of a tear,” said Tamisan Bencz-Knight, manager of strategic relationships and partnerships at the Edmonton Food Bank.
The City Farms program began during the pandemic, with nearly 200 volunteers growing everyday items for the food bank such as beets, carrots, corn, and squash.
The food bank estimates it received about 44,000 pounds of food from this program each year—but now, the land at the Old Man Creek nursery and hothouse sits empty.
“With the changes and challenges in our economy—everything from tariffs—this is one less avenue for us to access fresh, free food,” said Bencz-Knight.
“In order to keep the tax rate low, a number of things went on the chopping block, and this was one of them,” said Aaron Paquette, councillor for Ward Dene.
Paquette said he wanted to keep the farm program, but with the city facing a deficit, difficult decisions had to be made.
The city says the money from the City Farms program has been redirected into the general horticulture budget, which means more funds for weed control and shrub bed maintenance. The land will once again be used to grow trees.
“I understand the budget necessity for it, but at the same time, what looks good on paper may not always be good for people. The question I ask is, is the juice worth the squeeze on this?” said Paquette.
However, the food bank is now turning to community gardeners who want to give back.
“Any of your community gardens, any of your household gardens—if you have surplus and don’t have a use for it, bring it to us and we’ll make sure it has a good home,” said Bencz-Knight.
