The message I hear over and over is life is just too expensive. That’s why I’m taking on the fight to open City run grocery stores to lower food prices.
This past March I asked City of Toronto Council to endorse opening, as a pilot program, four City run non-profit grocery stores that would sell food to the general public at cost. By doing this we can lower food prices and can make food pricing more competitive across the City of Toronto.
City Council endorsed the idea, now the hard work begins to ensure that when the project comes back for final approval early next year-that the weight of public opinion is firmly behind the idea.
Sign the petition, join my fight to lower food prices.
Background:
In 2024:
- 24.9% of Toronto residents were food insecure
- 14% of residents surveyed stated that they had gone hungry or been unable to afford to eat a meal in the past 12 months
- Food Insecurity was declared an emergency by City Council in December 2024
In 2025:
- The monthly cost of healthy eating for a family with two adults and two children, ages 8 and 14, was $1,178
In 2026:
- Canadian grocery prices were up 5.7 per cent in February from a year ago
- Prices will increase four to six per cent this year.
- A family of four is expected to spend $17,571.79 on food, nearly $1,000 more than last year