The power of food: Ontario Tech supports community effort to fight food insecurity
Windfields Farm lands now growing produce for Common Ground Foodshare project
September 2, 2025
This summer, Ontario Tech University turned fertile ground into food security.
Through a partnership with Common Ground Foodshare (CGF), the university is contributing to a vital community-led effort that delivers fresh produce to individuals and families facing food insecurity across Durham Region.
Led by its Office of Campus Infrastructure and Sustainability (OCIS), Ontario Tech has dedicated a section of its Windfields Farm lands on the edge of its north Oshawa campus for growing organic produce to support the initiative.
“This is a powerful way for the university to support a local food system,” says Lia Van Wees, Grounds Supervisor, OCIS. “We’re not only growing food, we’re helping empower people. Many of those facing food insecurity include university students themselves.”
CGF is a local non-profit organization that sources, prepares and distributes boxes of fresh food to community members in need. Each $25 box typically includes a dozen staple items such as carrots, potatoes, apples, bananas, oranges, eggs and bread. Since its founding in 2019, CGF has delivered more than 4,000 boxes annually, and its services now reach more than 18,000 people each year.
“We believe food has many different kinds of value,” says Alanzo Byfield, Founder and Director, CGF. “It connects people, nourishes communities, supports the local economy, and can even heal the environment. At the heart of our work is a belief that food has the power to create real, positive change.”
Ontario Tech’s contribution to CGF extends beyond land use. Students in the university’s work-study program have helped maintain the gardens, gaining hands-on experience in sustainable agriculture and a deeper understanding of local food insecurity. OCIS has also collaborated with campus Food Services and other local partners to support the project’s broader goals.
“This has been an incredible opportunity for students to engage with real-world sustainability,” says Isabel Savransky, Asset and Sustainability Planner, OCIS. “They’re learning how food is grown, how it reaches people and why access matters, especially here in our own community.”
CGF is also working with OCIS to build compost bins at Windfields Farm, to further extend the university’s sustainability efforts.
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