Food and Sustainability

Greater Sudbury has over 450 hectares (1100 acres) of agricultural land, over 140 farms, more than ten food banks, and manages over 2500 tonnes of organic waste each year at the City’s facilities. 

To become sustainable we need to consider the effects of growing, shipping, packaging, transporting, buying and disposing of food on our environment.

Read our Greater Sudbury Food Strategy

Local Food

Food that is produced locally has a much smaller impact on the environment due to transportation and fuel costs, processing and packaging. Check out our Food Access Map and consider some of the following:

• You can find local food at meat shops, health food stores and more.  
• Check out The Market in downtown Sudbury or the market at Anderson Farm Museum.
• Join a Community Shared Agriculture (CSA) and pay a set fee at the beginning of a season and receive regular boxes of fresh produce directly from your farmer.

Grow Food

• You can develop a small garden in your yard or on a balcony and grow fruits, vegetables and herbs. 
• You can also join a community garden. 

Prepare Food

Learn how to cook healthy meals by taking cooking classes at specialty stores, grocery stores, or other organizations.

The Sudbury and Manitoulin Districts’ Community Food Security Directory (PDF, 616 KB) has some great information.

You may also pickle, can, freeze, dehydrate and smoke food.  For your health and safety, make sure you follow guidelines set out by the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture and Food and the Sudbury & District Health Unit. Learn more about Home Canning Safety.

You may also want to check out:

• Foodland Ontario 
• EatRight Ontario
• Northern Vegetarian Society

Do you want your food initiative highlighted here? Contact EarthCare Sudbury.

Compost Food

Composting food helps reduce the load on the landfills and prevents purchasing expensive topsoil. Learn more about composting and the city’s Green Cart Program.

Larger organizations that generate large amounts of food waste, such as hospitals and restaurants, can make use of an on-site food waste disposal system, like a biodigestor which dehydrates and roasts food scraps and creates garden-grade compost within 14 hours.