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tinging Nettle. Plantain. Goldenrod. Dandelions. Woodsorrel. Lamb’s quarter. These are the kinds of weeds that peek out of the crevices of our cityscapes, and cause many of us (especially those with allergies) grief. Once upon a time, however, they provided nutrition and healing to many of our ancestors. 

Before agriculture became the key to sustaining a growing population, our ancestors relied on foods that were available to them within a 500 square-mile radius. When the world stopped during the pandemic, something shifted society back into a similar primal mode of thinking. Knowledge that was once forgotten entered back into mainstream thinking again, people began cooking more, and we started to see a rebirth of modern foragers. It’s important to note that foraging never left us completely. The concept may have shrunk down to a select few who found pleasure in searching for mulberries, rose hips, pawpaws, and other wild foods—but there are still many people today who hunt and forage for their food for many reasons. Whether it be out of necessity, the love of nature and all she provides, or for wild foods’ abundance in nutrients, connecting to land that surrounds you makes it easy to see what foragers have seen all along: that our parks aren’t just filled with useless weeds and random fungi. There is purpose and food that fill these city woods. 

Melissa Finn, an urban forager in Toronto and active member of the hospitality industry, explains that the pandemic invited us all to take a closer look at our food system and where our food comes from. “People were faced with the realities of food consumption and insecurity in a much different way previous to the pandemic. We were all forced to slow down and really think about things.” With supply shortages, many restaurants and businesses looked to nature for the solution by purchasing through companies like Forbes Wild Foods. They partnered with knowledgeable foragers and reintroduced items like sumac shrubs, dandelion teas, nettle cheeses, and extravagant meals topped with wild mushrooms onto their menus. Though the wild food trend was on the rise already, the average consumer only started to pay close attention around the time of the pandemic.

“People were faced with the realities of food consumption and insecurity in a much different way previous to the pandemic. We were all forced to slow down and really think about things.”
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In an effort to get out of the house, individuals took to connecting with nature as a means to ease anxiety, which allowed them more time to stop and notice all of the edible plants that were in their backyards. With the conversation around urban foraging growing online during this time, people’s perspective of their landscape also began to shift. Cities became places to scour for nutritious food. Finding these treasured wild foods gave so many people purpose and a means to connect during a very trying time. “It’s extremely therapeutic to be in nature, even if it’s in a city park. There’s a different frequency that calms you and you can just get lost in it,” Melissa says.  

“It’s extremely therapeutic to be in nature, even if it’s in a city park. There’s a different frequency that calms you and you can just get lost in it,”

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She goes on to explain that when walking into a space with the intention of foraging it’s about the details. “When you’re exploring for food, your gaze is all of a sudden fixed and there’s more focus on your immediate surroundings. You begin zeroing in on the trees, plants, ground cover; the details are so vivid." She goes on to explain that once you know where to find foods you can develop a [foraging] plan, but most often foraging is very in-the-moment. What might be available that day wouldn’t be there a day earlier or a day later. “Once you start seeing food, you don’t stop. It’s everywhere! I’m a runner and I often see ingredients when I’m running along the lake or in High Park. I’ve literally taken off my jacket to gather stinging needle and have strapped it to my back for the run home.” 

Though most people are still satisfied with finding foods neatly lined on supermarket shelves, many have opened themselves up to the possibilities of incorporating wild foods into their diets on a more regular basis. These foods, whether native or invasive, are brimming with vitamins, minerals, and phytonutrients that our bodies require, especially as our agricultural soils become degraded. Bronwen Erikson, a Vancouver-based forager and herbalist   says there is a rapidly growing usage of wild foods in the health industry, which has also contributed to the interest in foraging. 

“Wild foods have a more dense nutritional profile for the most part, so long as they are not coming from a polluted environment.” Bronwen also warns about the risk of foraging in ditches or fields that may be sprayed with pesticides or herbicides. Many herbalists believe modern health issues have run rampant as wild foods have disappeared from our diets, and wild food forager Sunny Savage’s popular TedX Talk argues that consuming just one wild plant a day can go a long way in improving our health. 

Bronwen adds that another benefit to eating wild foods is that it teaches us to live more sustainably in our cities and garner a healthy relationship with the environment. Foraging, in essence, invites us to observe nature’s cycles and pay attention to what’s in season. This allows us a deeper understanding of our surroundings and guides us to become better stewards of the land—meaning there is a greater likelihood that we will work harder to protect it.  

By way of foraging, people haven’t only become reacquainted with the land around them, but also with each other. A quick search through Instagram or Facebook will bring you to hundreds, if not thousands of pages, with well-seasoned experts, foraging groups and shared knowledge. The conversations happening online have been crucial in challenging some of the narratives and laws surrounding urban foraging. Thanks to widespread digital knowledge, places that were once barren of wild, native foods are being rejuvenated and protected and activists are lobbying together to legalize foraging in abundant areas for exploited and low-income communities. 

With an increase in foragers also comes the fear of over-consumption and over-harvesting wild areas. Bronwen notes  that it’s important to learn from someone experienced in order to forage in a way that’s truly sustainable. It’s also crucial that foragers are respectful and take the time to check in with local Indigenous people living in the area that is intended to be foraged in. 

Melissa agrees that urban foragers need to do their due diligence and be conscientious of which resources are scarce, which are abundant, and which popular areas within the city have been foraged in. Overall, she hopes that if people are becoming interested in wild foods, that they’ll want to work to maintain these precious resources too. “It’s been so sad how disconnected from food we’ve become—and for people to take an interest and see that our food can come from somewhere around us, that can only bring good things for the food industry as a whole.”

There are some wild foods that are not rare or endangered at all, like garlic mustard or dandelions, which were introduced by settlers as food. Even if everyone harvested enough for their personal consumption each year, only 1% of these invasive (and delicious) species would be harvested. On the other hand, mushrooms like Chaga or Turkey Tail are more sensitive to foragers and can take years to reestablish, or can go extinct if harvested improperly.

“I’ve even struggled with such an abundance, but I keep in the back of my mind that foraging isn’t another “thing” or hobby to consume just because it’s fun and exciting," Melissa says. "I always think about how much I actually need, and what I will do with the food once I’ve harvested it. ”

Although we can’t use wild foods to feed mass populations, they can be an essential supplement to enrich our diets and our lives, especially when it comes to allowing urbanites to connect more closely with nature.

Foraging promotes the basic principles of sustainability and ecology, and helps to create a more sustainable urban ecosystem.
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Gathering food together is our earliest relationship to the planet and to each other, and urban foraging can only bring us closer to a more sustainable (and edible) future together.

How to sustainably forage:

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1. Educate yourself on your city/region’s plants.
2. Check what’s in season, when plants are best harvested, and verify what is abundant versus a limited resource.
3. Learn your region’s laws and rules around foraging.
4. Understand and identify plants and mushrooms with poisonous look-alikes.
5. Check whether the food is near a potential water or soil contamination hazard area.
6. Always forage with a friend or let someone know where you are foraging. 
7. Seek out an expert to go with you for the first few times of foraging.
8. Bring resources and photos along with you to properly identify wild foods. 
9. Never take the first or the last of wild food if it is a known food source for wildlife.
10. Only take what you need, and make a plan for what you will do with wild foods beforehand. 
11. If you are taking any medication, check with your healthcare professional before eating wild foods. 
12. Share knowledge and food with others who are genuinely interested. 
13. Start with one food at a time and expand from there!
14. See this full list of forageable edible berries, plants, and mushrooms found in Canada. 
15. Looking for a spot to forage in? Check out this map for wild food spots in your area. 
    

10 Wild Foods to Find in B.C. and Ontario:
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• Smooth Sumac (Rhus glabra) 
• Dandelion (taraxacum officinale)
• Winter chanterelle (craterellus tubaeformis)
• Woodsorrel (oxalis spp.)

• Jerusalem Artichoke (helianthus tuberosus)
• Mulberry (morus spp.)
• Goldenrod (solidago spp.)
• Stinging Nettle (urtica dioica)
• Thistle (cirsium spp.)
• Inky Cap (coprinopsis atramentaria)