How Municipalities Can Grow Back the Missing Middle in Canada’s Food System

Flat-style illustration of a municipal council chamber with three floating icons — a warehouse (cold storage), a shopping cart (procurement), and a handshake (regional food hubs). Crates of produce and greenery in the background symbolize how municipal food policy can rebuild Canada’s missing middle in food systems.

Canada’s food system suffers from a hollowed-out “missing middle”: thousands of farmers at one end, a few dominant multinationals at the other, and too few regional processors, packers, and distributors in between. That gap means jobs lost, food dollars drained, and resilience undermined. But municipalities are not powerless. Councils control zoning, procurement, and financing tools that can rebuild the middle, create jobs, and strengthen local economies. This article lays out five concrete steps—from zoning food hubs and cold storage to setting procurement targets and convening regional food chambers—that communities can adopt right now. It also provides adaptable memos and talking points that residents can use to bring the issue directly to councils, service clubs, and NGOs. If Canada wants Canadian food on Canadian plates, the work begins close to home.