Last time you checked out your groceries, you might have wondered if the barcode scanner was broken.
New Grocery Movement and the Food Secure Canada Youth Caucus invite you to examine these questions by reading between the barcode lines with us in our new program: a food politics book club! With the help of a curated selection of books, we’ll look behind the surface of the cash register screen to explore the networks of people, places, and relationships that organize the journey of food from the land to the shelf.
How it works:
This cross-country program has many components! Learn how each part works together to increase food systems knowledge and community action.
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The book club will convene three in-person groups in Halifax, Toronto, and Edmonton. Don’t live in one of these cities? You can join the fourth virtual group from anywhere with internet access! We’ll rotate monthly between separate meetings with our smaller groups and virtual sessions that will bring all four groups together.
The Edmonton group will meet at Magpie Books; the Toronto group will meet at East End Food Hub; the Halifax group will meet at Trident Cafe; and the virtual group will meet on Zoom. Light refreshments will be provided for the in-person groups!
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We will read 4 books over the course of the year. Each book will be read over a two-month period: you decide how many books to read by opting in or out when it works for you!
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Over the course of the year, we’ll read our way through a grocery store checkout, uncovering hidden sites along the way...
As we queue up with Plundering the North, we’ll discuss the colonial foundations of the dominant food system in so-called Canada.
Moving on to scan our groceries alongside A Foodie’s Guide to Capitalism, we’ll assess how capitalism’s perpetual search for profit has shaped the global food economy.
Gathering inspiration from Uncertain Harvest, we’ll review our receipts, identifying opportunities to use food policy to transform food systems.
And when we encounter a bin of food donations near the store exit, we’ll draw lessons from The Serviceberry on gifting and mutual care.
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This isn’t just a book club… we will combine knowledge with action! The program will culminate in 2027 with two workshops:
A food policy workshop will show us how to push for regulatory changes
A community organizing workshop will model grassroots techniques for movement-building.
Together, they'll teach us practical skills for generating real change in and beyond the grocery aisles
The Book Club is open to everyone who lives in Canada or Indigenous Territories within the borders of this country. Registration is currently closed, but stay tuned for future workshops!
About Us
New Grocery Movement (NGM) is a nonprofit organization building a grassroots movement for food sovereignty by reimagining groceries.
Food Secure Canada Youth Caucus (FSCYC) is a network of youth dedicated to bringing more voices into the ongoing dialogue around food justice.
We are grateful to Finance Engage Sustain (FES) for making this program possible.