Feeding City’s Stories section showcases our research examining the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on food chains, markets, producers, workers, and consumers. Through qualitative research, we seek to foster ways to build back a more resilient and sustainable food future.
By: Abigail Ayala Romero The Yanapana Project was created as a joint effort by eight Ecuadorian students from three Canadian universities. As one of the founding members, I am writing this article to share our story. Yanapana Project officially launched in July 2020 after witnessing COVID 19’s impact on Ecuador’s less-resourced communities. The viral outbreak… Read More
By: Amber McNeil 5n2 volunteer Christine explains that when she recently retired, she looked for a volunteer opportunity. “My interests are cooking and gardening, so I wanted to do one of those two things..food to me brings everybody together… I love working in an atmosphere where… everybody has a common purpose”. (Volunteer Highlights: Meet… Read More
By: Cheyanna Sammy Sitting on the border of Toronto and Pickering, Paul Wong’s Fine Chinese Cuisine has been serving the patrons of the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) for three decades. Over the years, Paul Wong’s has developed a well-established reputation making it one of the go-to Chinese restaurants in the eastern GTA. Not only is… Read More
by Andrea Yovorsky Header image by Chelsey Ellis: Chelsea Ellis Photography In my 2021 Summer academic term, my colleagues were the local fisheries, chefs, farmers, consumers and other food system advocates of Prince Rupert, Northern British Columbia. Due to the area’s relative remoteness, its difficult food growing conditions, and its social economic inequalities, there is a… Read More
By: Cheryl Cheung With the support of the University of Toronto’s Student Engagement Award, I worked with Patrick Ren and Mabel Yang on a documentary covering the impact of COVID-19 on communities in the Greater Vancouver Area. A salient way to capture such stories is through a food lens. We subsequently filmed the documentary … Read More
by Matilda Dipieri With winter approaching, the Withrow Park Farmers Market prepares to wrap up the 2021 season after a successful summer operating. As COVID-19 continues imposing limitations on how the market operates, this season has been a true testament to Withrow Market’s longstanding community support. From its origins in 2006, local residents have managed… Read More
By Franzelah Gallo and Yusra Khalid 5n2 (formerly 5n2 Kitchens) is a charity organization that combats food insecurity in Toronto ,Canada, especially in the Scarborough-Guildwood area. Since its founding by Seema David in 2013, 5n2 has served over 474,000 people with culturally appropriate, freshly cooked, hot meals. 5n2 is also an important food rescue organization… Read More
by Cheryl Cheung and Yusra Khalid, Feeding City Lab The COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated food insecurity issues in Canada. Since March 2020, community organizations across the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) have subsequently been helping less resourced populations get access to food. This article highlights the ways a few of those have quickly pivoted their activities… Read More
By Jeffrey Liu, Junior Researcher Introduction It is well known that the COVID-19 pandemic has negatively impacted the restaurant industry in Canada and abroad. Knowledge of how the pandemic has affected disparate types of food businesses is comparatively lacking. In this article, I summarize and reflect on my recent research project that explores how the… Read More
By Jeffrey Liu, Junior Researcher, Feeding the City: Pandemic & Beyond At the University of Toronto, the Feeding City research lab’s commitment to analyzing and documenting the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on the GTA’s food system extends well beyond the classroom. Assisting grassroots actions that provide Torontonians with nutritious and sustainably produced food is… Read More