Source: Posted in the St. Catharines Standard on Jan. 23nd 2025 by Matt Barker.
Without a traditional grocery store nearby, many Queenston Street area residents “often purchase higher priced food from convenience stores or gas stations.”
Non-profit organizations in the Queenston Street neighbourhood are hoping to establish a pay-what-you-can-style market to offer fresh produce to food insecure residents in an area historically lacking access.
A joint venture of Start Me Up Niagara (SMUN) and Westview Christian Fellowship would see a small marketplace, in Westview’s basement at 124 Queenston St., offer access to items such as tomatoes, carrots and beans at least three days a week.
The produce would come from several community gardens in Niagara.
Queenston Street is considered a food desert, an area of a city that lacks access to plentiful, nutritious and affordable food at grocery stores, limiting people with accessibility issues or on fixed incomes.
For more than 50 years, the area has not had a traditional grocery store. A Loblaws supermarket, previously in the old Delta Bingo building, closed in 1971, resulting in some residents’ reliance on convenience stores.
“That was one issue that was always brought up, there’s not a grocery store in this area,” SMUN executive director Laura Dumas said of the decision to start a market.
“The other issue that comes up is the rising cost of food. It’s becoming more difficult for individuals to get food at the grocery store.”
Geographically, the closest grocery stores to the Queenston Street area are No Frills, Walmart and FreshCo, near the intersection of Welland Avenue and Bunting Road, which is a barrier for people walking or on a fixed income.
In Niagara, more than one in five people, or 20.7 per cent, are food insecure, and 18.3 per cent of Niagara children younger than 18 live in food insecure households.
SMUN, the lead agency for the market, applied for grants and funding, but Dumas said, if it is unsuccessful in obtaining funding the venture is not lost.
“We have applied to NPI — Niagara Prosperity Initiative — for funding, so in doing that you have to have partners in place, not only for the application, but to make this initiative work,” she said.
“Our board has looked at moving forward with this if unsuccessful with NPI and opening as a social enterprise venture. The problem is we need people specializing in social enterprises to help ensure we have a good business plan to make it self-sufficient.”
“Not everyone can afford public transportation or to drive to a grocery store, so people have to buy overpriced food … and pay more for food because it’s not accessible, it’s not walkable or even nutritious.” - Mike Enns, Westview Christian Fellowship
Mike Enns, Westview Christian Fellowship convener, said the idea of a “low-cost grocery store” in the Queenston Street neighbourhood has been “talked about for years.”
“Many participants in our congregation have been informing us about their access challenges to buying food and, as a result, they often purchase higher priced food from convenience stores or gas stations,” he said.
“Not everyone can afford public transportation or to drive to a grocery store, so people have to buy overpriced food … and pay more for food because it’s not accessible, or walkable or even nutritious.”
Enns said the desire for a community-run grocery store is there, as Westview Centre 4 Women offered similar programs limited to neighbourhood women.
“When Start Me Up Niagara approached us to partner with them, we felt it was the perfect fit,” he said.
“Over the past 14 years, Westview and Start Me Up have partnered on various food-related projects, from growing produce to serving meals.”
Enns said he believes partnering with other community organizations will allow for strengthening community ties.
“Access to food has been something discussed for years, and we believe our facility is something that could help make a difference,” he said.
“While we don’t have the resources to develop a new program, we have a facility we could use and make available to the community by partnering with Start Me Up to provide something to make some real impact.”
St. Patrick’s Coun. Caleb Ratzlaff, who has worked closely with organizations, said his understanding of the grocery store absence is it comes down to dollars and cents.
“We’ve always known the need’s there, but the need isn’t profitable (for the grocery conglomerates),” he said.
Ratzlaff said a community-led grocery store is the best option.
“It’s a local business, and local businesses always contribute massively to the local community,” he said.
“It’s something we hope neighbours take ownership of and support, because to be successful it’s going to need the support of everyone.”