The document discusses innovative strategies by FoodShare to improve access to healthy food in low-income communities in Toronto through good food markets and mobile markets. These initiatives aim to address food deserts, offering fresh produce at affordable prices while promoting community engagement and support for local farmers. Since their inception, these markets have expanded significantly, demonstrating a commitment to enhancing food security and health outcomes for vulnerable populations.

1. AFUA ASANTEWAA
Get Healthy!: Innovative
Public Market Strategies and
Programs to Increase Access
to Fresh, Healthy Food
Mobile and Good Food Market
Senior Coordinator
FoodShare

2. AFUA ASANTEWAA
MOBILE & GOOD FOOD MARKET
& COMMUNITY ANIMATOR
SENIOR COORDINATOR

3. • Canada’s largest food security
organization
• Working with communities to
improve access to affordable healthy
food and to reduce hunger
• Programs include GF Box, cooking,
GF & Mobile Markets, school
nutrition and community gardens
• Although our Mission is “Good
Healthy Food for All, and that our doors
are open to customers from Toronto’s

4. • richest neighbourhoods, our priority is
low-income communities
• In 1985, at the inception of
FoodShare, Toronto City Executive
Committee adopted key
recommendations towards alleviating
hunger based on FoodShare’s
report, A Concept to Help Fight
Hunger in Toronto

5. • The recommendations included: City
of Planning and Development
Department provide incentives
to encourage supermarket space in
neighbourhoods lacking such spaces
• The latter was slow in coming and
farmers market began popping up in
neighbourhoods lacking grocery
stores

6. • Historically farmers markets have been
supported by the municipality and
operated weekly at the old Toronto City Hall
Model of the St. Lawrence Market buildings. The large building at the front
of the market, with the three archways, was used as Toronto’s first City
Hall

7. • when the farmers markets moved out into
residential communities none of them were being
hosted in low-income communities, which
continued to have no supermarkets
Riverdale Farmer’s Market: first organic market in Toronto

8. • In 2002, FoodShare in partnership with local
community organizations secured City
funding for a farmers market in two low-
income communities: Flemingdon Park and
Parkdale Liberty

9. • In 2003, affordable food began
selling in these markets
• You’re listening and thinking ‘what is
so innovative about that?’
• It was innovative because these were
not farmers market—they were called
Good Food Markets

10. • By definition, the US Department of
Agriculture, refers to a farmers’
Market as “an association of local
farmers who assemble at a defined
location for the purpose of selling
their produce directly to consumers”
(USDA, 1996; Lauren Baker 2005)
• At the Parkdale Liberty and
Flemingdon Park markets fresh
produce were being sold, but there
were no farmers

11. • FoodShare had instead innovatively
used it’s purchasing power as a
wholesale supplier to buy produce
directly from farmers and Ontario
Food Terminal
• This model bypassed the middle-man
and allowed FoodShare to sell the
produce simply at cost to Parkdale
and Flemingdon Markets

12. • FoodShare had instead innovatively
used it’s purchasing power as a
wholesale supplier to buy produce
directly from farmers and Ontario
Food Terminal
• This model bypassed the middle-man
and allowed FoodShare to sell the
produce simply at cost to Parkdale
and Flemingdon Markets

13. • The markets were operated by local
community residents:
1. to improve health (access to healthy
food)
2. for affordability (reducing the cost of
healthy food)
3. for accessibility (locating markets in
food deserts)
4. for community-building (through
social interaction, networking,
volunteerism, education and
celebration)

14. 5. Supporting local farmers (buying food
directly from farmers at a fair price). (CANADIAN
POLICY RESEARCH NETWork)
• By 2007 the GF Markets had expanded to
12 across the City; today, it’s at 17
markets
• For a comprehensive understanding of the
impact that GF Markets are having take a
look at one in an indigenous community in
a typical isolated Northern Ontario
community that goes beyond the term
Food Desert

15. Fort Albany Good Food Market

16. • Along with Fort Albany, FoodShare
provides produce to 5 other Northern
Ontario indigenous communities by
exactly the same mode of transport
• Debbie Field, FoodShare’s ED, had
to obtain an exemption from our
board of directors to service the
northern communities, since we’re
mandated to only serve the Toronto
area

17. • FoodShare’s more recent market
program is the Mobile Market

18. • Initially started with a delivery truck
mounted with an awning and removal
table attachments

19. • The Mobile Market is modeled on
Chicago’s Fresh Moves project to service
inner city tower building communities with
no or little access to grocery stores

20. FoodShare Mobile Good Food Market

22. • In Toronto, approximately 1 in 3 children (age
2-11) is either overweight or obese
• According to a 2010 report from Statistics
Canada, children as a group are “taller, heavier,
fatter and weaker than in 1981”
• This may lead to accelerated
“non-communicable disease development,
increased health care costs, and loss of future
productivity”
• The risk is higher in low-income communities
due to poor diet