It has been two months since the PARC Co-op cred program began in partnership with the West End Food Coop (see the orientation session facilitated by the WEFC). Currently, PARC Ambassadors are taking part in the program at two sites: WEFC co-op store and Greenest City’s community garden.

At the WEFC site, 5 PARC Ambassadors work as kitchen staff, produce staff and inventory staff. For them it is crucial to get a Food Handler Certification to prepare, cook and serve safe food. as a part of the employment training, they are going through a certificate program at the WEFC.

At the Greenest City site, three Ambassadors work in a community garden and learn how to grow food. They learn how to manage a community garden from  from weeding and watering to making a compost and harvesting. The Ambassadors hope to become a leader of sharing their learned skills with other community members and promoting more urban agriculture activities in Parkdale. Urban agriculture is an essential part of building a sustainable local food system by increasing local food production capacity.