Bag of Toronto

WORDS AND PHOTOS BY NICK MILUM Bag of Toronto

Being from a family with two parents who are small business owners, I saw the immediate effects of the pandemic on small businesses up close and personally. Beyond the health implications of the pandemic, small businesses were forced to close their doors without the appropriate supports in place to ease the economic burden of lockdowns. Many changes had to be made almost overnight as business owners adapted to the changing world – many doing so while taking care of their employees and generously donating to their communities. My business partner Derek Liu works as a healthcare worker and he, on the other hand, saw the incredible generosity that flooded in from small businesses that wanted to donate to those on the front lines.

We were both motivated to find a way to give back in support of local businesses and hyper-local charities.

When I brought up the idea of a ‘Bag of Toronto’ as a way to support local and help Torontonians try products—both new and old favourites—during lockdown, we quickly mobilized to make this a reality.

We began by contacting any businesses willing to hear us out in the Bloordale and Bloorcourt neighbourhoods, curating the first “Bag of Bloor” edition in May 2020. This prototype quickly snowballed into a much larger “Bag of Toronto” project after collaborating with local Business Improvement Areas (BIAs), including the Queen Street West BIA. Bag of Toronto has received amazing feedback from our partner vendors and customers alike. We recently finished the latest ‘Mother’s Day’ version, which expanded the offerings to bags from seven different BIAs with incredible results!

“When I brought up the idea of a ‘Bag of Toronto’ as a way to support local and help

Torontonians try products— both new and old favourites—

during lockdown, we quickly mobilized to make this a reality. “

“We were both motivated to find a way to give back in support of local businesses and hyper-local charities.”

We are so honoured to have been able to create a spark of positivity during a time when things didn’t always look so bright. Look for our upcoming editions of the Bag of Queen West throughout 2021 and beyond.