TheBulletin.ca Journal of Downtown Toronto
Dennis Hanagan –
People with disabilities in the Bathurst Quay neighbourhood who find it difficult to get to grocery stores are having a weekly volunteer-run, affordable food market come to them.
It’s called the Waterfront Good Food Market and runs Tuesdays from 4:30 to 7 p.m. in the courtyard and first floor community room at 25 Bishop Tutu Blvd. west of Bathurst, starting May 28.
Tara Ramkhelawan, market coordinator, said the closest grocery stores to the neighbourhood can be expensive and hard to get to for people with disabilities, and the lesser-priced ones like No Frills are even further away.
“It’s a bit like a food desert in this community,” she said. “The market is a food security initiative for the community (and) we want it to be a community building initiative,” she said. Residents appreciate it because it’s accessible.
To keep prices affordable the market gets its produce from FoodShare which buys wholesale and sometimes straight from farmers. FoodShare also subsidizes delivery costs.
For starters, oranges three for $1, cucumbers are 95 cents each, and (when in season) Ontario-grown apples are 10 cents each.
The market helps residents eat better foods because they’re not at the chain stores where junk and snack foods are tempting. It’ll have some treats like honey, jams and some desserts. “But we’re trying to keep it as healthy as possible,” said Ramkhelawan.
The market was in hiatus for a short while after starting in 2008. At that time its self-help approach inspired another community group from Dufferin Grove Park to lend a hand. Volunteers hauled a load of bricks to the market, set up a temporary oven and made pizzas for the community.
The market will run indoors in winter. Occasionally, a dietitian nurse will visit to answer questions about nutrition.
Organizers are looking for volunteers to help, including someone to play music or serve as deejay.
Email waterfrontgoodfood@gmail.com or call Ramkhelawan at (416) 593-8520 to volunteer or for information.
