What do taxi vouchers, wheelchair ramps and halal meat have in common? They can all help to dismantle barriers that prevent people in need from accessing food banks or benefiting equitably from them. Taxi vouchers can help people without cars or a convenient public transportation option to get to the food bank. Wheelchair ramps ensure that folks with certain kinds of disabilities can enter and navigate the building. And halal meat allows clients with certain religious observances to access protein-rich nutrition, as do kosher and vegetarian protein options. All are examples of changes that can make people feel welcome at the food bank and included among those it aims to serve. 

Across the country, food banks are striving to make their services accessible, equitable, and impactful. Many are doing so with support from Food Banks Canada’s Access program, which invested around $3 million into accessibility projects, programs, and purchases at 92 food banks this past fiscal year. 

Some changes are modest yet meaningful, such as the children’s corner at Ressourcerie Bernard-Hamel in Rouyn-Noranda, Quebec. Among other steps, this food bank used part of a Food Banks Canada Access grant to improve its intake and waiting areas. One of these improvements was a corner with materials for kids. 

“A mother told us she now felt more comfortable coming to get help with her young child, because the new space allowed him to play safely and happily while they were waiting,” they reported. “This simple upgrade contributed to making our reception area more … respectful of the realities facing families.” 

Food Banks Canada’s supporters are also enabling larger investments with widespread impacts. For instance, the Access program has helped to fund a warehouse expansion at the Cochrane Food Bank in Ontario, so that the facility — a regional distribution hub — can receive more food and expand its deliveries to neighbouring communities. Allowing larger amounts of food to reach food banks across northeastern Ontario on an ongoing basis will help to overcome geographic barriers in this historically underserved region. 

“Watching our warehouse grow and transform has been emotional,” wrote the food bank’s warehouse team to Food Banks Canada. “Every new wall going up feels like another door opening for families across the North. This expansion isn’t just about a bigger building. It means more room to store hope, more space to share kindness, and more capacity to help our neighbours from Kirkland Lake to Hearst to Moosonee and every small community in between.” 

Food, Compassion, and Belonging 

“Who told you about this food?” It’s a question that visitors asked excitedly last year at The Salvation Army Food Bank in Listowel, Ontario, where 41.5 % of surveyed clients had specific dietary needs. With financial support from Food Banks Canada’s Access program, the staff purchased an array of culturally relevant and medically appropriate products that helped them serve clients more equitably. 

“Mungbean is something my mother used to cook for us growing up,” said one person. “I’ve never seen this here [at the food bank]. Who told you about this?” 

“We don’t eat a lot of pasta in our culture; we eat rice noodles,” said another. “I can’t believe you have these!” 

“Glucerna [shakes designed to help people with diabetes manage their blood sugar] is not something I can afford,” said yet another client. “But my husband uses it when he can, when he’s working. He works very hard for our family. I can put this in his lunch box!”  

“This attention to individual needs was received as care and compassion,” summarized Gwyneth Woods, a Salvation Army community services manager, in a report to Food Banks Canada. “It left clients feeling a sense of welcome and inclusion.” 

Woods was touching upon the fact that visiting a food bank can be an emotional experience. It’s frequently a positive one, as it was for the clients she described. At the same time, food bankers know that the day when someone visits them for the first time is often one of the most challenging days of that person’s life. Research conducted by Food Banks Canada shows that shame, embarrassment, anxiety, discomfort and other unpleasant feelings are barriers that commonly come between people who need food and the community organizations that can provide it. 

That’s why initiatives that tackle these barriers — such as creating private spaces for collecting information from new clients or training staff and volunteers to understand certain mental-health-related challenges — are eligible for support from the Access program, as are investments such as: 

• Translating communication materials into more of the languages spoken in the community; hiring multilingual staff 
• Physical accessibility upgrades, such as change tables for babies or wheelchair-friendly infrastructure 
• Expanded or flexible hours to accommodate clients’ varied schedules 
• Solutions for overcoming geographical and transportation barriers, such as mobile food trucks, taxi vouchers, or delivery services 
• Food that meets specific dietary needs or that is familiar to clients from specific cultural backgrounds 
• More food for food banks in urgent need of it 

“Food banks … are wonderful places,” stated Food Banks Canada CEO Kirstin Beardsley in a guide for food bankers who are interested in taking these steps or others. “Places where people from all walks of life can join together to give back and support brighter futures. And yet, we know that making the decision to ask for help when you need it is never an easy one. Food banks at their best not only provide food but strive daily to be places of compassion and belonging for everyone who comes to our doors.” 

“We know that food insecurity and poverty don’t affect all equally,” she continued. “As the need grows right across the country, and the diversity of the clients we support increases, the work of building welcoming and accessible [food banks] is more critical than ever.”