food access

World Food Day Toronto: creating a vibrant local food system that works for everyone

Join us for an exciting World Food Day, hosted by the Regent Park community, to learn more about some of the food problems in our neighbourhoods, and how we can create a just and sustainable food system in Toronto.

Sweet New Initiative Award: West End Food Co-op

For an organization, group, or partnership whose recent work has led to the development of an initiative contributing significantly to increase: good food, food justice, and/or community food security in Toronto neighbourhoods or communities.

The West End Food Co-Op is a multi-stakeholder co-operative that includes eaters, producers, workers, and community partners. Throughout their development they have been so much more to neighbourhood residents. Their nominee said they that they have been transforming their neighbourhood by motivating people to come out of their homes to shop together, learn together and invest in a 'more-than-a-food-store' vision with their own sweat, passion and money.

WEFC is about to open its doors to being a food shop, community kitchen, cannery, learning centre, and magnificent food hub. It is an insightful initiative that has put in so much work to show that small communities can have a say on where their food comes from and how it is distributed.

One of our panelists called the hub is both practical and visionary. We wish all success for this sustainable project and encourage everyone to become involved and support it, and we are looking to learn further from its challenges and successes.

Learn more about what's coming and how to support the West End Food Co-op.

Street Food@City Hall - Food Forward & Toronto Street Food Project in the news

Toronto gourmet food trucks stall – The Star

Street food advocate Darcy Higgins told reporters that food trucks co-exist with restaurants in other centres.

“I just want to sell sandwiches,” said Matthew Basile, whose Fidel Gastro’s Cuban sandwich truck doesn’t have a permanent location.

Committee votes to send Street Food Project recommendations to Director of Licensing 

T.O. streets getting food aplenty – The Sun

Darcy Higgins, the executive director of Food Forward, said they were happy to see changes being made for existing food vendors.

Councillor Josh Colle - who has been pushing for the city to address red tape surrounding food trucks - said the ongoing delay will likely mean food trucks miss out on two seasons of “prime business”.

Committee adopts broader menu for hot dog carts, delays better food truck rules – Openfile.ca

Darcy Higgins, representing the group PushFoodForward, had asked the committee to consider three recommendations for immediate action today (which would have been passed at the next council meeting in early July).

Higgins was disappointed in the committee's decision. "We hoped we could move further, obviously," he said, though he was happy for the expanded options for hot dog carts—and Toronto finally catching up to changes in the rules that Ontario made in 2007.

City not doing enough to quell our appetite for street food - National Post

“I will be operating out of a food truck within the next six months,” he vows. But Mr. Robertson tells me there is no public or private land in central Toronto zoned to permit Mr. Basile’s truck.

Darcy Higgins of the group Food Forward suggested that the city “allow refreshment vehicles and food vendors to vend temporarily in commercial parking lots for a period of up to four hours;” councillors sent that back to staff for study.

A Truckin' Good Summer: Toronto Food Trucks? Truck Yeah! - Toronto Standard

Suresh Doss: Food truck hubs in designated areas or parks can generate revenue for the city. The containers (such as the ones at Scadding Court) can be a platform for indie food entrepreneurs that don't have the money for a food truck, but want to test their food ideas.

Suresh Doss: I would like to see the City of Toronto work towards street food installations where we can consider restaurants, popups, and food trucks. 

Learning about Toronto's street food & changing laws

Food Forward is incredibly lucky to be partnering with a number of individuals representing the diversity of Toronto street food, including existing street food vendors, start-up food vendors and event organizers, as well as dedicated activists, a lawyer, and a planner. Together we're working with Torontonians to make sure our politicians and bureaucrats are accountable and make positive change for diverse street food in Toronto and allow new jobs to flourish on our streets. 

This Thursday, the Licensing & Standards Committee will be voting on a City report that would finally allow street food vendors to prepare a diversity of foods in the City. There are many media stories about this including this one with Darcy Higgins' and Carly Dunster's thoughts, and we'd invite you to join us at the Committee meeting to help push food further forward.

We wanted to share with you some recent work of our partners. 

Take a look at this delicious blog by Kyla Zanardi to see what we did at the Street Food Block Party, see the vendors, and hear suppportive words from City Councillors that Darcy interviewed. 

Darcy Higgins (Food Forward), Councillor Mary Fragedakis (Ward 29, Toronto-Danforth) and Marianne Marooney (Executive Director of the Street Food Vendors Association)

Andrea Winkler, who recently returned from viewing street food and policies in action in Los Angeles has prepared this insightful video profiling Toronto street food vendors. I'm sure you'll enjoy it as much as we did. Please share!