166: How Daily Bread is Tackling Toronto's Food Insecurity Crisis with Mike Greenberg
Release Date: 01/27/2026
AnthroDish
When heard about the work that chef India Doris is doing with her new restaurant, Markette, in bringing Caribbean heritage and flavours to European-style fine dining, I was delighted to have the chance to speak with her. India is the co-owner and Executive Chef at Markette, which is a modern European restaurant based in Chelsea, New York, along with The Argyle, a cocktail lounge located directly below the restaurant. This past fall, she was awarded the Young Chef Award at the 2025 Northeast Michelin ceremony. Originally from London, India has lived and cooked throughout Europe at acclaimed...
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For anyone that grew up without a strong sense of connection to cooking or eating cultural foods, it can be daunting to get into the kitchen and make your own relationship with food. But for today’s guest, Jamie Tracey, that lack of relationship was enough incentive to try an honest approach to building something that would last. Jamie is a self-taught creator and Canadian cook that created Anti-Chef, a culinary experiment that plays out in real time on his YouTube series. It captures the good, bad, chaos, and triumph that comes with learning and loving to cook. With more than...
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When it comes to Caribbean food, there tends to be a viewpoint that it can be a monolithic culinary experience. And particularly as those living in countries like Jamaica, Cuba, Trinidad and Tobago, Bahamas, or other Caribbean countries move in the diaspora, it necessitates a nuanced look at how culinary traditions and knowledges are shared, shifted, and expanded with new generations. My guest today, chef Leigh-Ann Martin, reminds us that there is such a rich regional diversity and abundance that needs to be explored more fully. Leigh-Ann is a trained chef, thought leader, and senior...
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What does it take to make the most out of the internet when you’re building a micro or cottage bakery? My guest today, Teresa Finney, is here to explore this through her journey building At Heart Panadería. Teresa is a pastry chef and writer from the Bay Area in California, with family roots in Guadalajara, Mexico. Now based in Atlanta, Georgia, she runs At Heart Panadería, a contemporary Mexican bakery. She is also the author of Panadería: A Cookbook Zine, which contains five thoughtfully crafted original recipes from her cottage bakery. In today’s discussion, we explore how...
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My guest this week, Dr. Hanna Garth, is here to speak to how food justice movements are affected by long-term misconceptions and assumptions about the communities they work with. Hanna is a sociocultural and medical anthropologist, and Assistant Professor of Anthropology at Princeton University, who studies food access and the global food system. Drawing on 15 years of research on the food justice movement in South Central Los Angeles, her second book is out now with the University of California Press. In today’s conversation, we’re discussing some of the central themes in her...
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My guest this week, Stephanie Voytek, is a registered dietician here to walk through some of the key issues around nutrition and anxiety in our current social media landscape. She has with a range of experience working in the field of nutrition, from providing education to the community through food access programs, working in the fields and kitchens on farms, and counseling folks with eating disorders. Her range of work experience allows her to understand people, and find the entry point for nutrition-related behavior change in each community and individual. Her work emphasizes pleasure as...
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My guest today, Sarah Oresnik, is a PhD candidate in the Department of Anthropology at McMaster University. Their research interests centre around food insecurity and its impact on our health and wellbeing. Within their PhD, their focus is on how youth navigate food insecurity, looking at youth experiences in Southampton, UK. Sarah grew up in the kitchen learning recipes from their parents and grandparents, which has translated to their continued investigations and reflections on their own food environment. In our conversation, Sarah shares about their current research working with...
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Here in Canada, we have a food security crisis—and a cost-of-living crisis. While there are many, many factors that are shaping this continued issue across the country, one of the challenges of navigating food insecurity here is that we rely primarily on non-profit food banks to support those in need. One non-profit food organization in Toronto, Daily Bread, is on a mission to eliminate food insecurity and advocate for solutions to end poverty. Daily Bread prepares over 250,000 meals annually, including more than 43,000 heat-and-eat meals delivered through the Red Cross Mobile Food bank to...
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To kickstart the second half of AnthroDish season 10, we’re shifting to a topic I generally feel very intimidated by: wine. But, as my guest Cha McCoy reveals this week, there is a lot to unearth in making sense of why wine feels intimidating or harder to access. Cha is an entrepreneur, educator, and event producer. As a certified sommelier, she developed The Communion, a wine dinner series that offers an inviting, accessible approach to gathering and enjoying wine. This experience inspired her to open her first brick-and-mortar store, The Communion Wine & Spirits. Today, Cha talks...
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Edomae sushi is an Edo style of sushi making that underscores marinating, curing, and aging techniques. Within that, there is one chef, Cheng Lin, standing out for his attention not only to these techniques, but bringing an emphasis on seasonality and sourcing of ingredients. Born and raised in Fujian, China, chef Cheng Lin began his culinary career in 1997 when he moved to New York City and worked in restaurants such as Hatsuhana, Sushi Seki, and Blue Ribbon. Continuously looking to refine his skills at trailblazing culinary concepts, he eventually joined Chef Masa Ito and Kevin Kim at...
info_outlineHere in Canada, we have a food security crisis—and a cost-of-living crisis. While there are many, many factors that are shaping this continued issue across the country, one of the challenges of navigating food insecurity here is that we rely primarily on non-profit food banks to support those in need. One non-profit food organization in Toronto, Daily Bread, is on a mission to eliminate food insecurity and advocate for solutions to end poverty. Daily Bread prepares over 250,000 meals annually, including more than 43,000 heat-and-eat meals delivered through the Red Cross Mobile Food bank to individuals facing barriers like mobility challenges, inadequate housing, or mental health conditions that make traditional food access difficult.
In 2024, Toronto food bank visits hit an all time high of 4.1 million, and Toronto declared a state of emergency about food insecurity. In response, Daily Bread has seen their visits increase, with their Food Services Manager Michael Greenberg overseeing a kitchen that produced more than 270,000 meals between 2024-2025. Mike is on the show today to speak about the work he and his team do at Daily Bread to ensure that their food bank kitchen can logistically maintain itself with such high demands, the nutritional and social impact of food insecurity for clients who cannot prepare their own meals, and the vital role food banks play in advancing equity and dignity in food access.
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