Democracy may not be something many people think about as they peruse the produce section at their local grocery store, but it’s something that weighs heavily on the minds of food activists in Toronto’s west end who plan to open a food co-op in Parkdale next year.
Organizers of the West End Food Co-op launched their bond campaign at the Gladstone Hotel Monday night, offering very accessible $5 memberships and about 200 people turned out to learn more about the effort.
The group is also offering yearly memberships in increments of $100 up to $1,000. The co-op directors, which started the highly-successful Sorauren Farmers Market in 2008, have also received larger investments from local businesses and organizations.
“As a co-op, we operate by consensus decision-making. Everybody who is a member … has a vote in how the co-op operates,” board member Hannah Lewis told CityNews.ca.
While the local, fresh and organic movement gains momentum every day it’s a food philosophy low-income earners often can’t practise. The West End Co-op, scheduled to open in late 2010 or early 2011, hopes to change that by eliminating the middle man and offering produce and other products delivered straight from local farmers, who are also members.
The non-profit Parkdale retail store will be the city’s third food co-op, following The Big Carrot on the Danforth and the Karma Co-op in the Annex.
While quality and affordability are high priorities for food activists, security is also high on the list, Debbie Field, executive director of FoodShare, said Monday.
“We have a very insecure food system … what I think is going to happen through the process of the West End Co-op is relationships are going to be built between farmers and consumers,” she said.
“We have an appetite and understanding of a fair food system that we would like to build in which everybody, in part, has access to the same quality of food as everybody in this community.”
Lewis said the co-op also hopes to fill a massive gap in the amount of culturally diverse foods available to people who can’t afford to shop at specialty markets.
The directors held three food mapping sessions this summer where participants outlined where they buy their groceries, at what cost, and where those items actually come from.
“Some of the biggest things are obviously there’s a lot of cultural and income diversity in the west end but there aren’t a lot of options, food-wise, for people, so those are really clear indicators of what we can provide,” Lewis explained.
While poverty is a major issue in Parkdale, the now trendy neighbourhood is home to a higher-income bracket, as well, and Lewis said this is a consideration in nailing down a location for the co-op.
“One of the reasons why we decided the storefront has to be in south Parkdale is because that’s where the low income community mostly lives,” she said. “If we put it up north, we’re afraid those low-income community members won’t feel comfortable coming up into those neighbourhoods.”
The co-op members also have aspirations to run a community kitchen and provide bike delivery. For more information on the effort and to find out how you can get involved, click here.
shawne.mckeown@rci.rogers.com