Though the temperature may be dipping lower and lower as we reach the midpoint of winter, one thing that is never phased by the weather is the output of Canadian food media.
Edmonton has an exciting chef-focused food hall concept on the horizon that has industry and food lovers alike excited. Meanwhile in the city, Africa Centre's food bank recently announced that it has been losing funding sources and needs immediate help to continue its operations.
On the coast, food delivery app SkipTheDishes has added a 0.99 cent "B.C. fee" to its services in the province in response to the government's new restaurant delivery fee cap.
Finally, a group of American farmers and labourers have recently formed a coalition that is campaigning for the Biden administration to drop the trade action against Canada’s dairy industry.
Here are five interesting Canadian food news stories that you may have missed this week.
JustCook Kitchens, Edmonton's new food hall is on the horizon
Anticipating an official opening in May, JustCook Kitchens is a food hall concept providing opportunities to aspiring restaurant owners. Located in the ICE District, the space includes four commercial kitchens. The idea behind this new development it is to give local chefs a chance to have their mini-food concepts without major logistical or financial obstacles.
Click here for the full article.
Local Saskatoon family creates community food box to battle food insecurity
Joanne Dudiak, a volunteer at the École Forest Grove School, first started the Free Food Donation Box a couple years ago and the community box has been going strong ever since. Recently, the food box garnered local press for its substantial contributions to the local community over the holidays. In the summertime, Dudiak also grows a garden on her front yard that she then invites nearby residents to come and harvest ingredients free of charge.
Check out CBC News’ article for more information.
SkipTheDishes adds "B.C. fee" after government caps delivery service fees
Starting on December 27, 2020, the BC government began capping the delivery services fee charged restaurants by delivery apps such as SkipTheDishes and DoorDash at 15 per cent for a trial period of three months. Obviously, this was done to help aid restaurants during the ongoing pandemic.
Now, in retaliation, SkipTheDishes has added a $0.99 "B.C. fee" to all their deliveries. According to the delivery app giant, this current cap allegedly limits their ability to help B.C. restaurants.
Find out more about this new fee in this Global News story.
Cultural food bank in Edmonton in dire need of financial help
The Africa Centre is a social organization that offers an array of community programming for Albertans of African and Caribbean descent. This includes a food bank that offers a wide variety of international foods for the centre's members. However, like many non-for-profit organizations they are facing financial struggle due to lack of funding and donations and may have to shut down at the end of March unless they find ongoing support.
This organization has always been a beacon of hope for many marginalized individuals that call Edmonton home, but even more so during the pandemic.
Read more about the situation on CTV News.
Biden administration asked to drop dairy trade action with Canada
An American coalition consisting of 18 labour and farming groups is asking the Biden administration to drop a trade action against Canada’s dairy industry. This was created in the final days of the Trump administration as a way to “corporate dairy interests”. This coalition strongly believes that this trade action pushed through by Trump will not benefit U.S. farmers or workers whatsoever.
Head to CBC News for the full article.
