Together we made noise for food justice!
On March 30, 2022 FoodShare hosted a Digital Day of Action for the right to food—and the City of Toronto heard from us, loud and clear.
The Day of Action was an opportunity to come together to take action as part of our Right to Food campaign. We launched our Right to Food campaign in October 2021 with the goal of gaining as much support as possible to have the Toronto Food Charter — which was passed over 20 years ago — updated to reflect the needs of communities most affected by food insecurity and poverty.
After receiving over 1,000 signatures of support for our petition, we had a BIG win: Toronto city councillor Joe Cressy introduced a motion at the Economic and Community Development Committee in support of our call for an updated food charter to be led by communities impacted by food insecurity and poverty, and those that are working to defend the food rights of their communities. The motion also required City staff to report back on a plan for implementation, accountability, and resourcing — which are critical pieces missing from the earlier version of the charter.
Next steps? A city council meeting takes place on April 6, 2022 where Council is set to vote on motion item EC28.15.
FoodShare’s Digital Day of Action asked folks in our community to join us in contacting the mayor and city councillors in advance of the April 6 meeting in order to gain their support for the motion.
And folks came through—the Digital Day of Action was a success! Together, we made a total of 2,829 emails, calls and tweets to City representatives, calling for an actionable charter written by and for marginalized communities and that holds government accountable.
During the event, some incredible speakers joined us to offer their input on the need for a new Toronto Food Charter: Laura Hammond of Birchmount Community Action Council and Nadia Pabani of Dietitians for Food Justice. See the recording of the event below to listen to their motivating words on the importance of a food charter that works for and represents those in our city most often left behind.