An increasingly prominent issue these days is the cost of food and discussion of various options to control the pricing and profiteering by food corporations across Canada.

Depending on what you are purchasing or where you live, the cost of groceries has increased at least 30 per cent since 2020. The cost of food is ranked as the main issue for more than 75 per cent of Canadians – above housing and above gas prices.

As noted in previous columns, the sale and distribution of food in Canada is concentrated. As is just five corporations – Loblaws, Metro, Sobeys, Costco and Walmart – control the market.

It’s estimated that one in four Canadians cannot afford the cost of food, and that figure rises to more than 40 per cent among Indigenous and Black communities.

The issue of food costs has been festering for some time. Now, the discussion about public grocery stores is heating up.

A few weeks ago I sat in on a webinar on public grocery stores organized by the Food Communities Network, a coalition of food policy groups and individuals working on food security. Within minutes of my logging on to the zoom presentation, the hosts had welcomed more than 300 participants just as eager as I was to learn more. The turnout amazed the hosts.

The webinar explored the possibilities of building a network of public grocery stores and shared knowledge from panellists in the US and Canada related to the investment required, accessing public distribution networks to ensure sourcing of food, and how best to maintain sustainable and affordable food systems. There was also important discussion about how family farmers and small producers might be linked into the public grocery store system.  It’s clear that people, from consumers, community groups, to family farmers, have latched on to the possibilities. A recording of that online event is available here.

During the webinar, panelists also underscored that family farmers are not........

© rabble