The Ontario Food Terminal is the main

produce In American English, produce generally refers to wikt:fresh, fresh List of culinary fruits, fruits and Vegetable, vegetables intended to be Eating, eaten by humans, although other food products such as Dairy product, dairy products or Nut (foo ...

distribution centre for

Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

, Ontario, Canada. It is located at 165

The Queensway The Queensway (or Queensway) is a major street in the municipalities of Toronto and Mississauga, Ontario, Canada. It is a western continuation of Queen Street, after it crosses Roncesvalles Avenue and King Street in Toronto. The Queensway is ...

at Park Lawn Road, north of the

Gardiner Expressway The Frederick G. Gardiner Expressway, commonly known as the Gardiner Expressway or simply the Gardiner, is a partially at grade and elevated municipal expressway in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Running close to the shore of Lake Ontario, it exten ...

, and west of the Humber River. The U-shaped building occupies of a site and includes of cold storage and is open 24 hours a day, 365 days a year for deliveries. Annually some one million vehicles arrive at the centre delivering produce from across North America or leave to distribute it to stores and restaurants across the city. It is the largest such facility in Canada, and the third largest in North America after those in

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

and

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History

The Ontario Food Terminal was completed in June 1954 and replaced the Wholesale Fruit Market located west of

St. Lawrence Market St. Lawrence Market is a major market (place), public market in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is located along Front Street (Toronto), Front Street East and Jarvis Street in the St. Lawrence, Toronto, St. Lawrence neighbourhood of downtown Toront ...

at The Esplanade. The land had been purchased in 1946 but plans to build on the site were shelved in 1950 due to the scarcity of building materials. It cost $3 million and took two years to build. The architects were Shore and Moffat and Soules Construction Limited built the facility. It included space for 400 trucks. Previously the main distribution centre for Toronto was located in buildings in the five-acre block of King Street East, Market Street, Front Street and Church Street, northwest of the St. Lawrence Market market building. In 1954, it was considered one of the most congested car and truck parking districts in downtown Toronto. Fifty-six wholesale and related firms moved to the new terminal from the old block. When it opened, most shipments arrived by rail with tracks branching off the

Canadian National Railway The Canadian National Railway Company () is a Canadian Class I freight railway headquartered in Montreal, Quebec, which serves Canada and the Midwestern and Southern United States. CN is Canada's largest railway, in terms of both revenue a ...

line on the east and south sides of the complex, but the rail tracks have since been removed and today most arrive by truck, while some are flown in via nearby

Pearson Airport Toronto Pearson International Airport is an international airport located in Mississauga, Ontario, Canada. It is the main airport serving Toronto, its Greater Toronto Area, metropolitan area, and the surrounding region known as the Golden Hors ...

and delivered via Highway 427 and the Gardiner Expressway. The fruits and vegetables are shipped to the terminal from Ontario farms as well as more distant locales such as Florida, California, and Mexico. At the terminal, local buyers meet the sellers and negotiate prices. It is thus the main market for establishing produce prices in the region. The majority of the produce eaten in Toronto moves through the terminal, though some of the largest grocery store chains such as

Loblaws Loblaws Inc. is a Canadian supermarket chain with stores located in the province of Ontario, and in Alberta and British Columbia under the Loblaws CityMarket banner. Headquartered in Brampton, Ontario, Loblaws is a subsidiary of Loblaw Companie ...

contract directly with growers and do not use it. The Ontario Food Terminal is owned and operated by the Ontario Food Terminal Board, an agency under the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs. The Ontario Food Terminal Board leases space in the market to vendors and distribution companies. The board members are appointed by the provincial government, legally through the

Lieutenant Governor of Ontario The lieutenant governor of Ontario (, in French: ''Lieutenant-gouverneur'' (if male) or ''Lieutenante-gouverneure'' (if female) ''de l'Ontario'') is the representative in Ontario of the monarch, who operates distinctly within the province but i ...

on recommendation from the Minister of Agriculture and Food. The terminal is entirely self-funded from fees charged to the users of the facility. Normally, The Ontario Food Terminal is not open to the public and is a wholesale-only facility. However, on September 22, 2012, it opened its doors for ''Fresh Fest'' a community event which offered entertainment, cooking demonstrations, food and informational exhibits. On May 25, 2013, it hosted a second similar event called ''Taste of the Food Terminal'' which benefited FoodShare Toronto, a not-for-profit charity organization which focuses on providing healthy food to low-income communities in Toronto.

References

External links

Ontario Food Terminal Board
{{coord, 43.628732, N, 79.485397, W, region:CA-ON_type:landmark, display=title Buildings and structures in Toronto Food markets in Canada