Public Works Committee approves Review of Hamilton’s Community Food Garden Policy and Practices 12-0

Public Works Committee voted 12 to 0, with 2 absent on Review of Hamilton’s Community Food Garden Policy and Practices at its Monday, August 31, 2026 meeting. The motion carried.

The motion, as recorded in the minutes:

Works Committee in Q4 2027; and (b) That the review of community garden policy and practices: (i) identify a fulsome and inclusive definition of community food garden; (ii) define the role of the City and the parameters of support for community food gardens; (iii) identify and assess existing and future community food garden locations that will uphold the health, safety and fair access of interested resident users; (iv) identify site selection and permission requirement updates; Public Works Committee August 31, 2026 Minutes PWC 26-011 Page 13 of 17 Please refer to the September 9, 2026, Council Minutes for the disposition of these matters. (v) establish guidelines for the development and operation of community food gardens on City-owned lands and offer a framework to ensure equal access for all residents; (vi) define the nature of support to be offered by the City for community food gardens including but not limited to providing access to information on the development, operation, expansion and enhancement of community food gardens, the possibility of grants for funding to start, develop and manage community food gardens, facilitating connections between project proponents and other potential partners by providing liaison contacts, and possibly assisting interested groups in searching for suitable City land for the development of community food gardens; and (vii) identify the nature or threshold of community consultation necessary to inform the installation or expansion of enhancement of any community food garden.

This item comes up about 2:17:53 into the meeting recording. The meeting stayed on it for about 18 minutes. The recording is the city’s own. Local Wire does not transcribe it or attribute remarks from it.

Every figure above comes from the official minutes and the recorded vote they contain. The roll call shows how each member voted.