At the West End Food Coop, we are working to create a thriving local food culture in Toronto’s West End.  We believe neighbourhood actions can have a positive impact upon the economy, environment, and society, and promote a sustainable food system.

WEFC is an incorporated multi-stakeholder co-operative – with eater, worker, farmer and community members. The co-op acts as a catalyst for local food security by coordinating community-driven food initiatives such as the Sorauren Farmers’ Market and our Community Cannery where we have been offering workshops on preserving all around town. 
 
Right now, WEFC is in the process of opening a central food hub in Toronto’s Parkdale neighborhood. It will be accessibly located on the ground floor of the Parkdale Community Health Centre (at  Queen Street West and Dufferin Street).

The Food Hub will:

• Include a small, full service grocery store featuring our farmer members' products as well as other fresh and healthy local foods. 
• House a community kitchen where we will offer affordable healthy meals, offer food education programming, and create value-added products with our farmer member’s goods.

• Create local food security while providing employment with a liveable wage.  One way we will do this is through acting as a social enterprise, where skills training and job experience can be exchanged for co-op credits, as we work to ensure the varied demographics of the area are enjoying local fresh food.
• Renovate our new space using innovative technologies such as earthen plaster walls, heat recovery, recycled lumber, and energy efficient appliances. We even plan to use bicycles for our deliveries.

We are almost done the renovations and are set to buy our first batch of inventory.. but we need your help!

We already have 200 bond holders, and we are asking YOU to contribute to YOUR co-op today.  Imagine… directly contributing to your local economy, supporting your local producers, and helping to build a business with a social and environmental ethic!  You can do all of this and more for as little as $500 when you invest in West End Food Co-op.

This is truly an opportunity for us to collectively demonstrate a different way to do business. Please contribute today!  To invest in the co-op you can buy community bonds or donate by visiting our Contribute Page or contact Lynn Bishop, our co-op coordinator, for more information.

This slideshow shows how the West End Food Co-op is building green!  This report [PDF 88K], a Greenhouse Gas emissions chart, gives details of the environmental impact the store will have.

For the latest updates about our construction and the development of the Food Hub, see our Food Hub Blog or sign up for our weekly newsletter to stay in the loop.