World Crops PanelBring Food HomeBarbara Emanuel

November, 2013

Toronto Food Strategy Approach

Everything in partnership with others

Leveraging resources

Top down & bottom up strategiesfor change

Research & evaluation

1 in 10 Number of Toronto households that are food insecure

$8,001 Average annual income by Ontario farmers from agricultural activities

1.2 million Visits to food banks in the GTA in 2010

1 in 3 Toronto children are overweight or obese

Toronto Food Facts

modern food paradox

we produce or import

∼50%more calories than we need

we produce or import

∼50%more calories than we need

approx.

10%often can’t put enough food on the table

approx.

10%often can’t put enough food on the table

BUT

Ethno-racial Breakdown of populationEthno-racial Breakdown of

Population

Toronto’s Challenges

Urbanization, 1M people

Urbanization, 1M people

What Bureaucracies Can Be Good At

Regulations

Good Ideas

• Affordability of food

• Access to healthy, high-quality, and culturally appropriate food

• Needs of newcomers

• Basic food skills and knowledge

• Community participation in policymaking

Key Health Equity Issues in Food

MANY OF THESE VEGGIES CAN BE GROWN HERE

Locally Grown World Crops

• Looking at continuum of World Crop regional value chain – from commercial market development to low income community access

• Scale appropriate market development• Promotion of locally grown world crops to

everyone

Partnership with Vineland

• Price, variety, freshness and convenience key factors (research in Flemingdon/Scarb)

• Majority cooked culturally specific foods at home, using traditional ingredients wherever possible

• Many felt the food in Toronto is “too big”, “picked too early” and isn’t as flavourful compared to back home.

• Since larger sized fruits and vegetables the norm in North America, newcomer consumers may have different priorities re: fresh produce.

Key Community Research Findings

• Looking at scale appropriate markets • World Crops broker/aggregation role under

consideration to serve multiple markets.• Opportunity to integrate with other

community programs, food strategy initiatives and TPH programs

Opportunity to Integrate with Other Programs/Initiatives

Working with Existing

Small Food Retailers

Healthier Corner Stores

Approx 8 convenience stores in Toronto for every supermarket

Problem in Toronto is NOT quantity of food stores but quality of retail in many areas

Less healthy food retail envir’t common across Toronto

Schools more likely to have fast food within 500m/1km vs surrounding areas

HCS Findings So Far

Density in problem areas doesn’t fit with traditional big food retail models (but they’re trying to adapt)

“Progressive” regulatory legacies can impede alternate food distribution models today

Little support for small food enterprises

Explanations?

Kabul Market- Scarborough

Wide variation in small food store models

Many practical barriers for owners to integrating healthier foods

Residents value customer service highly

Insights from Research So Far

Very little institutional support exists for small-scale food retail

Many store owners keen to serve community, provide healthier and culturally appropriate foods

Most successful examples prioritized positive relationships with customers

Insights from Research So Far

• Small/medium chain and/or Independent supermarkets (likely through OFT)

• Small food retail establishments (most flexible)

• Institutional Buyers (schools, hospitals etc)

• Direct market environments (farmers mkts)

• Community food programs (eg. MGFM, FoodShare good food box)

Many Different Market Opportunities

• Implement a pilot initiative (after developing a business plan)

• Continue partnership with Vineland and a range of community and retail partners

• Integrate world crops in all food strategy initiatives

Next Steps

Barbara Emanuel, ManagerToronto Food Strategybemanuel@toronto.ca416-392-7464