What We Learned
Many more individuals and families in Flemingdon Park and Thorncliffe Park rely on emergency food distribution services since the ongoing dual crisis – public health and inflation – of the pandemic.
And food insecurity is about so much more than food.
Charity, in the form of emergency food distribution programs, comes with surveillance, judgment, and devaluation, and does nothing to address underlying needs.
Residents encouraged researchers and workers to adopt a self-critical perspective, to consider the ways in which we are part of the system that maintains food insecurity for certain individuals and groups.
A devastating reality for families is high (and rising) rent, even for small and unsuitable housing; increased food prices, especially since the pandemic; in combination with steadily inadequate (or declining) family income.
Cooperation and collaboration among agencies and grassroots initiatives are undermined by competitive and short-term funding of social programs and barriers to decision-making and influence.
Employment opportunities, especially for immigrants and refugees, are limited to low-wage precarious jobs. Credentials are often not recognized.
The system is rigged to sustain and increase the wealth of a few and the dispossession of many
Project Goals
Document and mitigate the immediate and long-term “viral inequality” of the pandemic by understanding and chronicling the experiences of food insecurity and economic.
Establish a base of evidence to inform the community’s further development of food justice and inclusive economic development initiatives.
Build capacity of local agencies and residents through community leadership and co-creation in all stages of the research, including paid positions for community researchers.
Action Plan
The research was conducted between January 2021 — June 2023. We aimed to hear from a range of stakeholders in Thorncliffe Park and Flemingdon Park.
Two primary stakeholder groups include:
1. Workers involved in all local food programs, including food banks, community farms and gardens, and grassroots initiatives. We intentionally engaged with both agency staff as well as volunteers leading grassroots initiatives.
2. Residents experiencing food insecurity.
Research Methods
Literature Review and Assessment
Previous Community Research
Environmental Scan
Qualitative Data Generation
Limitations in Research
Team Members
Luann Good Gingrich
Professor, York University and Director, Global Labour Research Centre.
Omar Khan
Coordinator, Engaged Communities and advocate for refugee newcomers
Safeera Hatia
Community Researcher, resident and co-founder, Friends of Thorncliffe Park