From Volatility to Stability: Building a Stronger Canadian Agri-Food System
Part one of the From Field to Future series
A child should not have to learn on an empty stomach. A farmer should not have to plant without knowing whether there will be a reliable buyer. A food-service team should not have to rebuild its supply chain every time costs rise, weather shifts or labour becomes harder to find.
Yet these pressures are connected: and they are happening NOW.
Canada’s agri-food system is facing a period of sustained volatility. Food prices remain high. Production costs are rising. Demand is changing. Processing and distribution capacity is uneven. Skilled workers are in short supply. Communities are carrying the consequences.
We cannot treat these challenges as separate problems any longer.
At We Are One, we are developing a Community Regenerative Hub Network: a private social enterprise model designed to connect local agriculture, food infrastructure, institutional demand, education and workforce development. Our goal is clear:
Build a more stable system by coordinating the parts that are too often left fragmented.
Volatility is affecting every part of the food system
Canadian agriculture remains a major economic strength. But strength at the national level does not always translate into stability at the community level.
Farmers are managing unpredictable weather, input costs, transportation expenses and shifting markets. According to Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada’s Farm Income Forecast, net cash income was forecast to level out at $19.6 billion in 2025: still 5% below the previous five-year average. Operating expenses were expected to rise by 4%, with fertilizer and labour among the costs increasing.
For families, the pressure is equally real. Canada’s Food Price Report 2025 projected food prices to rise by 3% to 5%, adding as much as $801 to the annual food bill for an average family of four. The report also found that 48.2% of Canadians were seeking more sales and discounts, while 28% reported reducing their food consumption.
These are not abstract statistics. They represent fewer choices, more stress and more households forced to make impossible decisions.
The University of British Columbia’s summary of Canada’s Food Price Report also reported that more than 8.7 million Canadians were experiencing food insecurity, while food bank visits had exceeded 2 million in March 2024: a 90% increase since 2019.
This level of pressure cannot wait for a perfect solution. We need coordinated action now.
The problem is fragmentation
Canada grows an enormous amount of food. We also have farmers, processors, educators, food-service professionals, community organizations, businesses and policymakers working hard every day.
The challenge is that these strengths are often disconnected.
A local farmer may have high-quality produce but lack predictable institutional buyers. A school may want to purchase locally but lack the time, storage, delivery systems or purchasing structure to coordinate multiple small suppliers. A community organization may understand local needs but lack access to commercial kitchens or workforce funding.
A food processor may have capacity but not enough dependable volume. A young person may want a career in agriculture or culinary services but lack a clear pathway into Living Wage employment.
When every part of the system operates separately, costs increase and opportunities are lost.
The National Food Security Strategy identifies many of the same structural gaps, including limited regional distribution, inadequate refrigerated storage, transportation costs, processing limitations and a lack of alternatives for smaller producers and independent buyers.
The answer is not simply to produce more food.
We must connect production to demand, infrastructure to opportunity and food access to long-term community resilience.
A shift from reactive relief to coordinated stability
Emergency food programs remain essential. They provide immediate support to people facing hunger today.
But emergency relief alone cannot solve the structural causes of food insecurity. Families need affordability. Children need consistent access to nutritious meals. Farmers need stable markets. Communities need employment and infrastructure that continue creating value year after year.
That is why We Are One is developing a model that links five essential elements:
- Local agriculture that can access reliable markets
- Regenerative hubs that aggregate, process, store and distribute food
- Institutional demand from schools and other community-serving organizations
- Workforce pathways into agriculture, food preparation, logistics and skilled trades
- Community partnerships that ensure the system reflects local priorities
A Community Regenerative Hub is more than a warehouse or commercial kitchen. It is a regional platform where food, skills, services and economic activity can connect.
The hub model can help farmers reach buyers more efficiently. It can give schools a practical way to source nutritious food. It can create training and employment opportunities. It can reduce waste by improving coordination between supply and demand.
Most importantly, it can help communities move from short-term reaction to long-term capacity.
Why institutional school meal demand matters
Schools are one of the most important anchors in a local food system.
Every school day creates a predictable need for nutritious meals. That demand can help support local procurement when purchasing systems are designed to make participation practical for farmers and food producers.
Canada’s National School Food Program represents a significant step forward, with $1 billion in federal funding and the goal of providing meals to up to 400,000 children each year. For a participating family with two children, the program is estimated to save approximately $800 annually.
That investment is about more than feeding children.
When school meal demand is connected to local producers and regional infrastructure, it can also:
- Create more dependable markets for Canadian food
- Support local processing and preparation
- Improve access to fresh, nutritious ingredients
- Create Living Wage employment in agri-culinary sectors
- Strengthen relationships between schools, farms and communities
- Ensure meals are provided universally, without singling out children who need support
A universal model matters. No child should feel identified, embarrassed or excluded because they participate in a meal program. Every child deserves the same welcome, the same dignity and the same opportunity to learn well.
What stability could mean for farmers
For farmers, stability does not mean eliminating uncertainty. Agriculture will always involve weather, markets and risk.
Stability means having more tools to manage that risk.
A coordinated regional model can provide:
- Predictable purchasing commitments from institutions
- Better aggregation of orders across multiple buyers
- Reduced administrative burden through shared coordination
- More opportunities to sell products closer to where they are grown
- Access to processing, cold storage and delivery infrastructure
- Stronger relationships with schools, businesses and community organizations
- New markets for products that may not fit traditional retail channels
The National Food Security Strategy recognizes food hubs as a way to connect local producers with stores, restaurants, institutions and consumers. It also highlights their potential to consolidate supply, reduce spoilage and improve access to fresh food: especially in rural, remote and northern communities.
Farmers should not have to carry the entire burden of building a resilient food system alone.
What stability could mean for schools and communities
Schools need practical solutions, not additional complexity.
A strong hub network can help schools and boards access coordinated purchasing, prepared meals, delivery, menu planning and nutrition-focused partnerships. It can also make local food procurement more achievable by simplifying relationships with multiple producers.
Community partners bring knowledge that no centralized system can replace. They understand local culture, geography, transportation challenges, employment needs and the barriers families face.
Businesses can contribute through procurement, investment, equipment, expertise and long-term partnerships. Policymakers can help by supporting regional infrastructure, fair procurement practices, workforce development and internal trade.
Everyone has a role: and waiting for someone else to act will cost us more.
The workforce is part of the solution
A stronger agri-food system requires people with the skills to grow, process, prepare, transport, manage and innovate.
Workforce shortages are already affecting agriculture, food processing, logistics and food service. Canada’s Food Price Report identified an estimated shortage of 20,000 truck drivers, while the sector continues to manage an aging workforce and persistent recruitment challenges.
The response must go beyond filling vacancies.
We need clear pathways into meaningful careers, including opportunities for young people, newcomers, underrepresented workers and individuals seeking practical skills. Community Regenerative Hubs can connect training with real employment in:
- Commercial food preparation
- Culinary services
- Food safety and quality control
- Logistics and cold-chain operations
- Equipment maintenance
- Agriculture and controlled-environment production
- Data, technology and business administration
These jobs should provide dignity, stability and a Living Wage.
Building the network together
We Are One is developing this work through a private social enterprise model grounded in more than 20 years of planning and successful pilots in the Windsor-Essex and Chatham-Kent regions. Our experience has shown that food, education, employment, health and economic development cannot be separated.
The next step is to build stronger regional connections through a Community Regenerative Hub Network.
This is an invitation to farmers, school boards, educational institutions, community organizations, policymakers, businesses and investors:
Bring your expertise. Bring your relationships. Bring your willingness to build.
You can learn more about our initiative, explore our pilot projects, or connect through our partners page.
The future of Canada’s agri-food system will not be secured by one organization acting alone. It will be built by communities choosing coordination over fragmentation and long-term resilience over short-term reaction.
The need is urgent. The opportunity is here. Together, we can move from volatility to stability: and nourish the future.