U of G Campus Food Market is Back This Fall!

The Campus Food Market is back this fall! This collaborative effort between CESI’s Guelph Lab, the Arrell Food Institute, the Sustainability Office, Hospitality Services, and the Seed Guelph offers fresh fruits and vegetables for purchase on a sliding scale every Thursday from 12-3pm in the University Centre.

The food market first launched in Spring 2022. It was well-received and utilized by the campus community, and was recently awarded an Our Food Future Spark Grant to expand the range of foods available, with emphasis on affordability and reflecting diverse tastes, cultures, and cuisines on campus. The upper end of the scale is comparable to retail value and the lower end of the scale is the cheapest they can offer it, typically being 30 to 50% below retail price. Customers who come to the market are given the option to choose the amount they would like to pay in that range, with no questions asked. 

Community food markets that use sliding scale models have proven to be beneficial in the Guelph community because they bring together people of all incomes together for one common goal: to enjoy fresh food and social connection. The on-campus affordable food market not only helps to address issues of food insecurity, but it also can build meaningful social connections. This market is open to anyone and everyone, with the goal of making healthy food as accessible as possible for all. 

If you visit the market, be sure to bring your reusable bag! Customers may pay by U of G card or debit/credit.

Learn more about the Campus Food Market in this feature by University of Guelph Campus News and in this article in Guelph Today. If you're interested in learning more about sliding scale markets and their impacts in the Guelph community, read the SEED Sliding Scale Community Markets Report.