FoodShare Good Food Market Expansion Explorer

FoodShare is a non-profit organization that works to increase access to affordable high-quality fresh food for all people. Their Good Food Market (GFM) program does exactly that, bringing fresh vegetables and fruit to neighbourhoods where they might not otherwise be available.

In early 2017, FoodShare received funding from the Maple Leaf Centre for Action on Food Security to examine the effectiveness of a focused expansion of their GFM program. A critical first step was to select a neighbourhood in Toronto that would benefit from a GFM. To do this, FLEdGE Research Assistant, Amanda Jekums, developed a map visualizing data relevant to FoodShare’s GFM location selection criteria, including existing GFM locations and median household income by neighbourhood.

Using the map, FoodShare was able to view this information neighbourhood by neighbourhood and make a strategic and evidence-based short-list of communities to engage with. After consulting with these communities, FoodShare collaborated with one that was eager to have access to more affordable fresh produce in their neighbourhood.