Ontario Food Terminal

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The Ontario Food Terminal is the main produce distribution center for Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is located at 165 The Queensway, near Park Lawn Road, north of the Gardiner Expressway and west of the Humber River. The U-shaped building sits on 40 acres and has about 1.74 million square feet of space, including 80,000 square feet of cold storage. It operates 24 hours a day, 365 days a year for deliveries. About one million vehicles arrive each year with produce from across North America to be distributed to stores and restaurants in the city. It is Canada’s largest such facility and the third largest in North America after Chicago and Los Angeles.

The terminal opened in June 1954, replacing the old Wholesale Fruit Market near St. Lawrence Market. The land was bought in 1946, but construction plans were paused in 1950 due to material shortages. The project cost $3 million and took two years to complete. Architects were Shore and Moffat, and Soules Construction built the facility. It originally included space for 400 trucks.

Before 1954, Toronto’s main distribution center was in a downtown area on King Street East, Market Street, Front Street and Church Street, which was very congested. Fifty-six wholesale firms moved to the new terminal from the old block.

Initially, shipments arrived mostly by rail, with tracks connected to the Canadian National Railway. The rail lines have since been removed, and today most produce arrives by truck, with some shipments flown to nearby Pearson Airport and delivered via Highway 427 and the Gardiner Expressway.

Produce at the terminal comes from Ontario farms and from further away places such as Florida, California and Mexico. Local buyers meet the sellers here to negotiate prices, making it the main market for establishing produce prices in the region. Most of Toronto’s produce goes through the terminal, though some large chains like Loblaws contract directly with growers and do not use it.

The Ontario Food Terminal is owned and operated by the Ontario Food Terminal Board, an agency of the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs. The board leases space to vendors and distribution companies. Board members are appointed by the provincial government, through the Lieutenant Governor on the Minister’s recommendation. The terminal funds itself from user fees and is normally not open to the public.

It has hosted community events, such as Fresh Fest on September 22, 2012, and Taste of the Food Terminal on May 25, 2013, which supported FoodShare Toronto.