Formation | 1985 |
---|---|
Purpose | Community food security |
Headquarters | Toronto |
Executive Director | Matt Johnstone |
Website | https://foodshare.net/ |
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.
The organisation was founded in 1985 and employs over 100 staff. It is known for its progressive approach to employee rights.
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]
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]
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]
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]
In 2021, FoodShare helped launch Flemo Farm, an initiative to help under-represented community members engage in urban agriculture. [11]
FoodShare advocates to municipal, provincial and federal levels of government for progressive interventions that advanced food security. [8]
Arthur C. Eggleton is a retired Canadian politician who served as the 59th and longest-serving mayor of Toronto from 1980 to 1991. He was elected to Parliament in 1993, running as a Liberal in York Centre and served as a member of Parliament (MP) until 2004 when he declined to seek re-election. Eggleton held a number of cabinet positions from 1993 to 2002 including Treasury Board president, minister of infrastructure, minister of international trade, and minister of national defence. He was appointed to the Senate in 2005, serving until he reached the mandatory retirement age of 75 in 2018.
In the United States, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), formerly known as the Food Stamp Program, is a federal government program that provides food-purchasing assistance for low- and no-income persons to help them maintain adequate nutrition and health. It is a federal aid program administered by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) under the Food and Nutrition Service (FNS), though benefits are distributed by specific departments of U.S. states.
Purolator Inc. is a Canadian courier majority owned by Canada Post. It was founded as Trans Canada Couriers, Ltd and acquired in 1967 by Purolator, a US manufacturer of oil and air filters. In 1987, the company returned to Canadian ownership. Although it retained the Purolator name, it has had no connection with the oil filter business since that time.
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Daily Bread Food Bank (DBFB) is a Canadian charity organization with a stated goal of ending hunger in Toronto by collaborating with all to eliminate food insecurity and advocate for solutions to end poverty. Founded in 1983, the organization is based in Toronto, Ontario, and is one of the largest food bank organizations in Canada.
The Greater Chicago Food Depository (GCFD) is a nonprofit organization that fights hunger throughout Cook County, Illinois. The GCFD distributes donated and purchased food through a network of 700 food pantries, soup kitchens, shelters and community programs, serving more than 800,000 adults and children every year. In fiscal year 2016, the GCFD distributed more than 70 million pounds of nonperishable food, produce, dairy products, and meat - the equivalent of more than 160,000 meals every day. Of the $96,883,955 spent in 2016, over 90% went to direct food distribution programs.
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Hunger Task Force, Inc. is a non-profit, anti-hunger public policy organization in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Hunger Task Force works to end hunger in Milwaukee County, Wisconsin by providing direct food delivery services, and works to end future hunger by advocating for fair and responsible administration of federal nutrition assistance programs.
Wholesome Wave is an American nonprofit organization focused on nutrition and access to fresh food. Wholesome Wave operates two nutrition incentive programs, the Double Value Coupon Program and the Fruit & Vegetable Prescription Program, which tackle the issue of affordability for underserved consumers. The organization works with food hubs, retail outlets and convenience stores. Wholesome Wave's programs address the complex issues of food insecurity, farm viability, economic vitality of local communities, and diet-related diseases. Wholesome Wave was founded in 2007 by Michael Batterberry, Gus Schumacher and Michel Nischan.
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Paul M. Taylor is a Canadian food security & anti-racism activist and former executive director of FoodShare Toronto. He is currently the co-CEO of Evenings & Weekends Consulting.
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