On April 7, 2022, the Toronto City Council voted in favour of creating a new Toronto Food Charter after sustained pressure from community members across the city, including a petition led by FoodShare that demanded an updated food charter, one that was representative, actionable and accountable. 

The motion, put forward by Councillor Joe Cressy to the Economic and Community Development Committee on March 24th, emphasizes the charter as a guiding document and underscores the importance of actively engaging residents and community groups working to address food insecurity and poverty in the city as a key requirement to updating the plan.

FoodShare will continue to mobilize community to shape a new food charter and hold the City of Toronto accountable to the demands of our Right to Food campaign: 

• To support the development of a new Toronto Food Charter written by marginalized communities who are most affected by food insecurity to reflect their needs. This requires centering the leadership of people who experience the most food insecurity— Black, Indigenous and racialized people; people with disabilities; workers; and renters.
• To include a mechanism for the new Toronto Food Charter to ensure that the City is accountable to the communities impacted by its food policies.
• To allocate sufficient funding and resources to realize the right to food in Toronto.

Background 

This commitment from the City of Toronto represents a win in advancing the right to food in Toronto. Getting here required raising our voices together to demand a response to the growing crisis of food insecurity. 

Between October 15, 2023 and March 15, 2024 over 1000 people and organizations signed FoodShare’s Right to Food petition calling on the city to update the Toronto Food Charter. 

On Thursday March 24 Toronto city councillor Joe Cressy introduced a motion at the Economic and Community Development Committee that supports our call for an update to the 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 required City staff to report back on a plan for implementation, accountability, and resourcing — which were critical pieces missing from the earlier version of the charter.

On March 30, 2022 FoodShare held a Digital Day of Action and toolkit the helped folks could come together to email, tweet at or call the mayor and city councillors to vote in support of a new Toronto Food Charter. 

Next steps

According to the City, the Toronto Food Charter will be updated as a part of the Toronto Poverty Reduction Strategy 2023-2026 Action Plan. 

FoodShare will continue to mobilize community to shape a new food charter and hold the City of Toronto accountable to deliver a charter that is representative, actionable and accountable.