Membership
Everyone is welcome to come shop at our markets at the non-member price, which is about 50% of regular grocery store prices.
If you are in need of further assistance, apply below to become a member!
Two Mondays per month, we host markets which provide access to beautiful, local, affordable food through a social-tiered pricing system. Our solidarity market looks and feels similar to a small farmer’s market, just with a social-tiered pricing system! When you shop at our markets, fresh produce is available to all shoppers, and there’s a separate pantry section (milk, eggs, bread, cans, other shelf-stable goods) that is just for members.
The market is held at Centre St Jax, 1439 St-Catherine O, from 2pm to 5pm on the dates listed below. Check back in quarterly to find out the new round of dates!
What is a social-tiered pricing system? It’s a way of charging for items where the cost varies depending on the need of the person buying it - this aims to make food more accessible for all!
Our market has three prices:
Member price: for those who are in need of food assistance, the price for produce is around 20% of the estimated retail price, and for eggs and milk it’s 50% of their retail prices. Membership also grants access to the pantry section which has bread and other shelf-stable goods for free.
Non-member price: for those on the waitlist or who can afford to pay a bit more than the member price but can still benefit from reduced prices. Being a non-member means produce and transformed food costs about 50% of its retail price. Paying the non-member price is a great way to support the market!
Paying it forward: for those who want to support the financial independence of the market a bit extra, you can always round up your shopping bill to pay it forward. If you want a tax receipt, leave your bill as-is and donate online!
You are likely on this page because you would like to become a member! In considering membership, please keep in mind that you can shop at the market as a non-member! This means that if you are not in dire need, you can shop at our market at a rate closer to 50% of the cost at a grocery store. Given that we work with limited resources, we ask that you consider the situations of others as well as your own. Our goal is to increase the accessibility of food quality, affordable food for everyone in the neighbourhood, while aiming to prioritize those most in need. Though we do not ask for financial statements, we do ask that you keep all this in mind when requesting membership.
To be eligible for membership you must fulfill two criteria:
Your home address is in the Peter-McGill district. This means your postal code starts with one of the following: H3A, H3B, H3C, H3G, H3H, H3J, H3Y, H3Z.
You self-identify as needing food assistance. For example, our member base is primarily made up of low-income seniors, students, families, and single parents.