At Food Banks Canada, we believe that food banks open doors: they allow for everyone to support one another through life’s challenges and pursue possibilities. We’re grateful to the former food bank clients who’ve generously agreed to share their stories to show how this truth plays out in the lives of our families, friends, and neighbours.

One December, when Josephine Sindani was a child, she watched her mother trudging home through the snow with a large bag. Inside was plenty of nutritious food, winter coats, and even toys: Christmas gifts for her and her brothers. It was from their local food bank, and it showed the young girl that their community was there for them. 

Sindani’s mother was a resilient woman who had navigated personal struggles and civil war in Sudan. In Canada, she worked hard to earn a Master’s degree and secure a steady job. It wasn’t an easy time, but the food bank gave the family a foundation for their new chapter in life.

That’s why it occurred to Sindani to turn to a food bank again as a 20-year-old in a tough situation: she was a university student, she had just exited a relationship that had been abusive, and she was pregnant. She worried about how she would provide for her baby. 
 
To others who are feeling overwhelmed and considering visiting a food bank, she says: “Give yourself some leniency in terms of feeling like you’re not worthy or that you’ve let people down. Trust me, I’ve had that feeling multiple times, but you shouldn’t entertain it. Using a food bank is nothing to be ashamed of. It’s something you should pull strength from, especially because you’re doing it to support your family.” 

“The people there didn’t judge me,” she adds. “They saw me as a mother doing everything she could to care for her child.” 

In addition to food, North York Harvest Food Bank in Toronto helped to set Sindani up in her first apartment and connect her with prenatal care. Eventually, she went back to school to study design and construction financing, which led to her starting her own construction business. 

New ventures don’t usually take off overnight, and while Sindani was getting hers off the ground, the food bank once more gave her the stability she needed to build her future. 

“It helped me get to where I am now,” she summarizes. Besides parenting two kids, employing herself and her team, and undertaking residential, commercial, and institutional projects in the Greater Toronto Area, Sindani is also interested in building up the community. She volunteers for an organization that connects and empowers Black women and girls, as well as one that introduces young people to the world of construction and skilled trades. 

“I try to take my kids with me when I volunteer, so that they’ll be used to it,” she says. “As much as we all may struggle, it’s always good to give back.” She dreams of using her skills to build affordable housing, because it would give more families the chance to thrive. 

Sindani underscores the fact that when people have support during transitions, it sets them up to contribute to the economy, participate in community life, and support others in turn.

“And to those amazing donors who support Food Banks Canada: that support is going to make a difference, whether it’s right away or — as in my case — after five or six years,” Sindani says. “It’s going to be significant to someone’s life.”