We receive thousands of visitors each year to the Just Food Community Farm, and we are glad that community members can observe what is happening and find ways to participate!
Our 150-acre community farm within the NCC Greenbelt supports community-based local farming and food initiatives, including:
Ottawa Farm School
Just Food Start-Up Farm Program
Greenhouse Training
Barn rental program space available to the public
For-profit food and farm businesses
Non-profit partners on site with many programs, including children’s programs
We are on Algonquin land:
The land is the traditional, unceded territory of the Anishinabe Algonquin Nation, and we encourage all visitors to reflect on this when visiting the community farm.
What can I do at the community farm?
Visitors are welcome to:
- Walk on the main roads during open hours (lots of roads on the site)
- Observe what is happening in the fields
- Bring a picnic and/or games with you and enjoy using the mowed spaces around the barn (as long as there aren’t other events)
- Participate in community events, workshops, – promoted on Twitter, Facebook and in our free e-newsletter
- Rent the barn or pavilion or space for customized prices based on what you are doing (Fundraiser? Memorial? Workshop? Staff meeting? Conference? Family gathering? Film? Concert? Art Show?)
- Volunteer in one of the projects (see list here), or suggest starting your own (contact info@justfood.ca)
- Like to do something else at the community farm? Please contact info@justfood.ca
Rules for all visitors:
(noting it is a working farm in addition to community space)
- Ensure children are accompanied by an adult.
- Visitors must stay out of fields where animals are or where food is growing.
- No driving on farm roads – all visitors are required to park in the parking lot. (You will see cars on site of the farmers or program leaders).
- Riding bicycles is not allowed, though cyclists may walk their bikes through the farm when visiting.
- Private Events might be happening while you’re visiting – at the barn, pavilion, greenhouse, or out on the land, so please keep that in mind and respectfully avoid those spaces.
- Please follow all regular municipal bylaws and provincial/federal laws.
What about dogs?
Please keep in mind that this community farm is not a dog park.
- Anyone visiting with a dog is doing so at one’s own risk, must ensure the safety of all others and no dog is welcome if negatively affecting other individuals, animals, wildlife, or property.
- Dogs must be leashed at all times, be under control by their owners at all times, and need to stick to the paths – No dogs in farm fields!
- Visitors must clean up after their dogs and pack it out with them.
- Just Food cannot be responsible to tend to problems caused by the presence of dogs on the farm.
How are decisions made on this farm?
Just Food staff and Board, as the lease-holders for the full property, are responsible for stewarding most of the land. There is a 9-acre portion of the land that is stewarded by Wabano Centre as a small example of land-back and Indigenous Food Sovereignty in action.
Since the start of the Just Food Community Farm in 2011, we have strived to facilitate and maintain a vibrant, inclusive community space that can meet multiple interests.
In order to do so, we must first ensure that the Just Food Community Farm is a safe environment for all that use it, and so we thank you for following our rules when visiting.
Here’s to a vibrant, safe space for diverse activities for all people engaged at the Just Food Community Farm!
