This is the last article in a 10-part series about working in chicken processing in Ontario. We've covered wages and roles, the hiring process, safety, logistics, trades, and what automation is doing to the industry. Now we're talking about us. Cheong Hing Wholesale Meat. Who we are, what we do, and why people stay.
We've been processing chicken out of the same Scarborough location for over 30 years. Family-owned. CFIA-approved. We hold quota allocations under CUSMA, WTO, and CPTPP — which means the Canadian government has recognized us as a licensed poultry processor with the authority to import chicken under international trade agreements. That's not something you get by accident. It takes regulatory standing, consistent compliance, and a track record.
But the numbers on paper aren't what this article is about. This one's about the work.
Three Decades in Scarborough's Poultry Supply Chain
Our facility is at 63 Silver Star Boulevard, Unit E1, in the Middlefield industrial area. If you know Scarborough's food scene, you know this pocket. There are approximately 185 food manufacturing companies operating in Scarborough — the Silver Star complex alone houses multiple food processors. We're about 4 km from Highway 401, North America's busiest highway. That proximity matters. Product moves in and out of our facility daily to restaurants, wholesalers, and supermarkets across the GTA. You can't serve fresh chicken if you're stuck in logistics.
Scarborough isn't a random location for a poultry processor. It's a strategic one. Direct access to the 401 east-west corridor and the 404 north-south. Close to the CN and CP intermodal rail yards. Forty-three minutes to Pearson International. The GTA's 400-series highways form the arterial system of food distribution in southern Ontario, and we sit right on it.
But the real reason we've stayed in Scarborough for 30 years is the people.
What Makes the Work Here Different
We're not Maple Leaf. We're not Olymel. We don't process 100 million birds a year through a 640,000-square-foot automated facility. We process 100% Canadian chicken, locally sourced from Ontario farms, and we do it with a product mix that mainstream processors don't touch.
Whole birds. Feet. Wings. Necks. Gizzards. Hearts. Cuts for siu mei shops. Portions for dim sum kitchens. Chopped birds for Hainanese chicken rice. The Asian grocery and restaurant market in the GTA demands products that the major chains don't carry, prepared in ways that commodity processors aren't set up to handle.
Here's a number that puts it in context: the global chicken feet market was valued at USD $7.95 billion in 2024, projected to reach $13.46 billion by 2033. The Asia-Pacific region accounts for 67% of that market. China alone consumes roughly 30 billion chicken feet per year. When a processor in Scarborough knows how to handle feet properly — cleaned, graded, CFIA-inspected, packed to spec for the Asian market — that's not a side product. That's a core business line.
This product diversity shapes the work. If you're on the floor at Cheong Hing, you're not doing one repetitive cut eight hours a day on a high-speed line. You're handling different products for different customers. A restaurant order for 200 chopped whole birds is a different job than packing 50-pound cases of wings for a wholesaler. The pace is steady, but the variety keeps the day from blurring into monotony.
The team is small enough that you know everyone. You work alongside the same people every day. The owners are in the building. When something goes wrong — a rush order, an equipment issue, a last-minute customer change — the conversation happens face to face, not through three layers of management.
That's the honest description of the work. It's physical. It's cold. It's fast. It's also straightforward. You show up, you process chicken, you go home. No politics. No ambiguity about what the job is.
Who We've Hired — and Who We're Looking For
We don't require formal experience for floor production roles. Never have. What we look for is simpler than a resume: reliability, communication, and willingness to learn. Can you show up on time every day? Can you follow food safety protocols without being reminded? Can you take feedback and get better?
That's it. We train everything else in-house.
Scarborough gives us access to one of the most diverse labour pools in Canada. The 2021 Census puts Scarborough's visible minority population at 76.6% — 477,890 residents. South Asian (25.4%), Chinese (19.0%), Black (10.8%), Filipino (8.4%). Ward 41 alone has a 71.4% immigrant population. Nationally, immigrants make up 35% of Canada's food and beverage manufacturing workforce, nearly 10% higher than the overall labour force.
Many of our workers have come to Canada from countries with deep food processing traditions. Some arrive with years of hands-on experience in butchering or food production that doesn't translate to a Canadian credential but absolutely translates to the floor. We've always hired on ability and attitude, not paperwork.
For workers without a car — which is a real barrier at many food processing plants located in suburban industrial parks — we're accessible by TTC. Route 53 Steeles East is part of the TTC's 10-Minute Network, running every 10 minutes or better from 6 AM to 1 AM, Monday to Saturday. Route 130 Middlefield connects Scarborough Centre Station directly to the Middlefield area, with 26 stops over a 21-minute ride. Both routes serve the Steeles and Middlefield intersection near our facility.
Industry Turnover Is 26%. We're Different.
Meat processing has a turnover problem. The industry-wide annual rate is roughly 26%. Broader food processing hits 36%. The reasons show up in every FPSC exit interview: strong odours, temperature extremes, physical labour, repetitive work, bad management relationships.
We're not going to pretend the physical conditions are different here. The floor is cold. The work is physical. You stand for a full shift. That part is the same everywhere.
What's different is the rest of it. When you've been a family-owned operation in the same community for over 30 years, the culture is different than a corporate plant that reorganizes every 18 months. People here know each other. Workers who started on the floor 15 and 20 years ago are still here. That doesn't happen by accident.
The research backs this up: 93% of employees say they'd stay longer if their employer invested in their career development. Companies with structured retention programs cut turnover by 20-28%. But the data point that matters most to us is simpler. When a workplace is stable — same ownership, same location, same team for years — people don't feel like they're disposable. They feel like they belong somewhere.
Look, 83% of manufacturing workers cite "enjoying your work" as a top motivator, according to the Manufacturing Institute. That sounds obvious. But in food processing, where the conditions are genuinely tough, enjoyment comes from something specific: knowing your work matters, working with people you respect, and not dreading the drive in. The biggest retention killer in this industry isn't the cold or the physicality — it's a bad relationship with management. When the owners are on the floor and you can talk to them directly, that dynamic changes.
Our specialization helps, too. The skills you develop processing for the Asian grocery market — custom cuts, whole bird handling, feet preparation — are specific and valued. Workers here build expertise that commodity processors don't develop. That makes them harder to replace, and it makes them more invested in the work. When your skills are unique, you're not interchangeable.
How to Apply
We hire on a rolling basis. When there's an opening, we fill it — usually through referrals from current staff, but we take direct applications too.
Here's what to do:
1. Contact us directly. Call 416-332-0668 or email cheonghingwholesale@gmail.com. You can also reach us through the contact page on our website.
2. Tell us what you're looking for. Floor production? Full-time? Part-time? Morning shift? Be direct about what works for your schedule.
3. Come prepared to work. If we bring you in, we'll walk you through the facility, explain the food safety requirements, and start your orientation. Bring government-issued ID and your SIN. Wear closed-toe shoes.
4. No resume required for floor roles. If you have one, bring it. If you don't, that's fine. We care about what you can do, not what you've written down.
For a full breakdown of the application process at a chicken processing plant in Ontario — what to expect, what to wear, what the first week looks like — we covered that earlier in this series.
You can also browse our products at the Cheong Hing shop to see what we process and who we serve. It gives you a real sense of what the work involves.
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This is Article 10 in a series on working in chicken processing in Ontario. If you found this useful, read the full series — it covers everything from wages and safety to automation and career paths.