Fireweed Food Co-op (FFC) is a non-profit co-op based in Winnipeg for producers and consumers of food that is grown sustainably in Manitoba. FFC supports the development of a short-chain regional food system that is more resilient to disruptions and can respond to changing conditions more quickly than a globalized supply chain, and that engages everyone from farmers to eaters. It operates three connected projects that strengthen the local food system: the South Osborne Farmers' Market, Fireweed Food Hub, and Fireweed Veggie Van. Since it began in 2016, the South Osborne Farmers' Market has grown to become the second-largest farmers' market in Winnipeg. The Food Hub is Winnipeg’s first cooperatively run aggregator and wholesale distributor of food. Sourcing from over 35 local producers, it provides a competitive alternative to the global supply chain by making it easier for wholesale customers to source locally. The Veggie Van is the most recent venture: a mobile market that distributes fresh fruits and veggies in communities with few fresh food options throughout Winnipeg using a pay-what-you-can model, thus removing common barriers – location and affordability – and increasing food security. These projects contribute to a thriving local food system that keeps more dollars in the local economy, builds important community connections and reduces food waste.

The Good Greens Food Reclamation Program operates in partnership with the Downtown Windsor Farmers’ Market to address the dual issues of food waste and food insecurity in Windsor’s urban core. At the close of each Saturday market, Good Greens purchases unsold produce, baked goods, and preserves from local vendors at 20–80% below retail prices. These goods are then weighed and sorted by a team of (primarily youth) volunteers and redistributed that same afternoon to a network of seven downtown-based shelters and social service organizations, many of whom rely on food donations to meet rising demand with limited funding. Since launching in October 2023, the program has reclaimed over 7,500 kilograms of locally grown fruits and vegetables, 5,200 baked goods, and 47 litres of preserves. These goods have contributed to more than 18,000 meals served through distributor partners, reaching many individuals living in Windsor’s downtown, where food can be difficult to access. With a redistribution success rate over 97%, the program has prevented thousands of kilograms of CO₂ emissions in 2024 by diverting food from landfills, avoiding the need to produce more food in replacement. By reclaiming surplus food from the Downtown Windsor Farmers’ Market and redistributing it to front-line organizations, the program not only nourishes thousands of residents in Windsor’s urban core but also champions environmental sustainability.

Located in Toronto’s East End, Nourish East End is a market-style food bank that runs a community dinner on the fourth Monday of every month, a longstanding tradition that predates the food bank itself. The dinners began as a collective effort in recognition of the challenges experienced by many people in the community living in poverty and experiencing food insecurity and social isolation. The Community Dinner Program strives to address these issues by providing meaningful social interaction in the company of neighbours and friends while sharing hot, nutritious, and culturally diverse meals in a safe and welcoming space. After dinner, guests are invited to a “Gab & Games” social event. Along with a chance to chat and play games over snacks, it features a resource table and a referral service that assists community members seeking access to local resources. These dinners are run by volunteers and use an innovative sponsorship model where organizations can sponsor a dinner either by providing a donation or by hosting the dinner – including planning, paying for, and cooking the meal as well as providing volunteers to help with serving. In a city where food insecurity and social isolation often go hand in hand, Nourish East End’s community dinner model offers a reliable and warm respite, one meal at a time.

Not Far From The Tree (NFFTT) harvests and shares fruit from trees in Toronto – trees that constitute an “urban orchard” producing over 1.5 million pounds of fruit on city property and over 6 million on private property. Much of this fruit is left to rot each year, creating food waste and adding the emissions equivalent of burning 1.5 million pounds of coal. Since 2008, NFFTT has picked and shared over 280,000 pounds of fruit, splitting the harvest three ways: a third to the tree owner, a third to volunteers, and a third donated to community agency partners. Over 97,000 pounds of fruit were donated to these 70-plus partners, which include shelters, food banks, community fridges, and housing and meal programs. Every year, NFFTT mobilizes over 1,000 volunteers to pick fruit throughout the summer and early fall. They also steward the health of the urban orchard by registering trees, planting new trees, and caring for older ones. Through the power of fruit trees, Not Far From The Tree and its community of volunteers and tree owners nurture sustainable and connected communities across Toronto that can enjoy their urban orchard for generations to come.

In the City of Vaughan, north of Toronto, a community of neighbours living around Marita Payne Park worked with the municipal government to create new opportunities for both resident engagement and urban agriculture in this vibrant green space. They piloted a food forest in the park with edible and pollinator-friendly plantings, with the Friends of Marita Payne Park group forming to steward it. The community then created a vision for the initiative’s future in which the park will become a year-round hub for nature-based learning and connection through outdoor programming like story walks, meditation, and art shows. In this vision, the food forest will continue to provide community members with free access to fruit trees, herbs, and shrubs while improving the park’s biodiversity (for example, adding bird and bat boxes), as well as being a place for people to foster friendships and knowledge about food forest stewardship. The park could also become a place to pilot new technologies, like a tool that uses AI, geographic information systems (GIS), and publicly available datasets to help the City track carbon sequestering in its green spaces, and educational apps and nest cams that would engage young people in the environment. The Marita Payne Park project is an ever-growing pilot that serves as a model for reimagining a park as a living hub for nature, innovation, and community.

Since 2021, Malvern Family Resource Centre (MFRC) has led the Malvern Urban Farm, an urban agriculture project located under power lines along the Finch hydro corridor in Scarborough, in eastern Toronto. Seventeen farmers each maintain a plot on the urban farm. Together, they have produced over 120,000 pounds of culturally relevant produce – like callaloo, a staple of Caribbean cuisine – and launched 16 small businesses through their urban agriculture skills development lab, as well as supporting many underemployed and low-income residents in the community. Beyond food production, MFRC uses the farm to encourage community engagement through youth training, farm camp programs, and volunteering. In 2024, the Resource Center expanded its farmers' market, increasing vendor participation and food access. It also introduced “Market Bucks” – discreet tokens for low-income families – which successfully supported 200 households and generated a 37% increase in market sales. MFRC continues to expand, recently receiving City approval to add an additional acre under the hydroelectric lines to its farm. Starting in 2025, the Center has also been working with organizations in the neighbouring communities of Agincourt, West Hill, Scarborough Village, Morningside, and Kingston-Galloway as they launch their own community farms. The Malvern Urban Farm demonstrates how underutilized land can be put to productive, community-focused use, supporting neighbourhood food sovereignty, economic opportunity, and resilience.

Nearly 25% of households in Toronto experience food insecurity, with Black and Indigenous communities disproportionately affected. Traditional food banks are serving more people than ever, faced with higher demand and an increasingly challenging economic environment. FoodShare Toronto’s Grown in TO program tackles these problems with an approach that encompasses cultivation, distribution, and community action to create a robust and truly local food system. On urban farms across Toronto, growers cultivate food that is then distributed in produce boxes and bulk orders to seniors’ residences, schools, Indigenous child and family support centres, and community kitchens. FoodShare’s dedicated team of packers and drivers provides an affordable alternative to commercial delivery suppliers by prioritizing access to fresh food over profit. The organization also supports a city-wide network of more than 50 community produce markets intended to bring fresh food to the places where communities need it, including on college campuses and in the lobbies of social-housing buildings. Through this integrated system, FoodShare is supporting communities from growers to end consumers, improving the predictability of how food moves through the system, and creating a more sustainable, resilient, and local supply chain.