FoodShare Toronto

FoodShare Toronto is a Toronto-based Canadian not for profit organization that delivers programs that address hunger and advocates for better policy from government. In addition to advocacy, programs include delivery of food boxes, supporting urban farming, and operating a telephone hot line.

FoodShare Toronto
Formation1985
PurposeCommunity food security
HeadquartersToronto
Executive Director
Paul Taylor
Websitehttps://foodshare.net/

The organisation was founded in 1985 and employs over 100 staff. It is known for its progressive approach to employee rights.

Organization

FoodShare was launched in 1985 by Toronto Mayor Art Eggleton during his election campaign.[1] Eggleton envisioned an organisation that would help people coordinate between food-security support organizations.[1]

As of 2021, the organization employed over 100 staff, and in 2020 it has revenue of $10.7 million.[2] The board of directors includes Rosie Mensah.[3] Paul Taylor was hired as FoodShare's Executive Director in April 2017.[2]

Organisational practises

Since March 2022, the organization pays every interviewed job candidate $75 for their time.[4] As of 2022, all staff were paid $24 per hour, in order to keep them above the Toronto living wage rate of $22.04 per hour.[5][6] The organization has a policy that the highest paid employee cannot make any more than three times the rate the lowest paid employee receives.[5]

In 2021, FoodShare urged CharityVillage to require salary information on job postings.[2]

Programs

Phone line

FoodShare's initial (1985) activity was running the Hunger Hotline, which was later rebranded as FoodLink in an effort to better convey the organizations shift in focus away from charitable support for individuals towards a more political systems change ambition.[1]

Food boxes

FoodShare launched its Good Food Box program in 1993.[7] The program delivers fresh food boxes to food insecure households.[8] Food boxes have been delivered weekly or every two weeks at different times in the program's history.[8][7] The program initially procured the food at the Ontario Food Terminal before switching to buying from local farmers.[8] Kathryn Scharf, writing a chapter in the 1999 book For Hunger-proof Cities noted that the Good Food Box program was different from comparable food box programs because of its focus on systems change, rather than the usual more charitable focus on individual households.[7]

FoodShare runs a food box delivery program called The Food Rx Program in collaboration with University Health Network.[9] Participants in the program are provided with a box of fresh food every two weeks.[10]

Farming

In 2021, FoodShare helped launch Flemo Farm, an initiative to help under-represented community members engage in urban agriculture.[11]

Advocacy

FoodShare advocates to municipal, provincial and federal levels of government for progressive interventions that advanced food security.[8]

See also

References
  1. Johnston, Josée. “Food for All.” Alternatives Journal, vol. 29, no. 4, 2003, pp. 29–30. JSTOR, JSTOR 45032949. Accessed 2 Jul. 2022.
  2. "How FoodShare Implemented Pay Transparency". Canadian Business – How to Do Business Better. 2021-10-05. Retrieved 2022-07-02.
  3. Sharp, Morgan; March 22nd 2022, Next Gen Insider | (2022-03-22). "Fighting for food justice out of Toronto's Jane and Finch". Canada's National Observer. Retrieved 2022-07-02.
  4. Westol, Nick (8 March 2022). "CityNews". toronto.citynews.ca. Retrieved 2022-07-02.
  5. Davidson, Sean (2022-03-11). "This Ontario company will pay you for a job interview and here's how much". Toronto. Retrieved 2022-07-02.
  6. Leonard, Deja (2022-04-20). "Diversity and inclusion in the workplace is a challenge – and an opportunity". The Globe and Mail. Retrieved 2022-07-02.
  7. Koc̦, Mustafa (1999). For Hunger-proof Cities: Sustainable Urban Food Systems. IDRC. ISBN 9780889368828.
  8. Johnston, Josée, and Lauren Baker. "Eating outside the box: FoodShare’s good food box and the challenge of scale." Agriculture and Human Values 22.3 (2005): 313-325.
  9. "Program fights food insecurity with a 'prescription' of fruits and vegetables". CTVNews. 2022-06-16. Retrieved 2022-07-02.
  10. Kennedy, Brandan (2022-06-05). "A prescription for healthy food? Food Rx program gives people access to fresh fruit and vegetables on doctor's orders". The Toronto Star. ISSN 0319-0781. Retrieved 2022-07-02.
  11. Sara Miller Llana (2022-05-03). "Sowing justice: When farming is about more than food". Christian Science Monitor. ISSN 0882-7729. Retrieved 2022-07-02.
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