Fresh and nutritious. This is a core goal of food banks. When clients enter a food bank, they are often surrounded by aisles of a variety of food, including fresh produce, frozen meat, and shelf-stable items that families would purchase at the grocery store. As a matter of fact, 40% of foods distributed by Canadian food…

We are always interested in hearing more about the individuals in food banking across Canada! This month, our spotlight is on TaKuaKautik-Nain Food Bank in Nain, NL. What is your role in food banking?The TaKuaKautik-Nain Food Bank is lead by a small but mighty group of volunteers. We do not have any paid staff. We…

2020 started as usual for food bankers across the country, and usual meant busy, with already 1.1 million visits per month in Canada. Within a matter of weeks, everything changed. Businesses were shutting down, and as evidenced by long lineups of people forming at food banks all over Canada, food insecurity was at a heightened…

We are always interested in hearing more about the individuals in food banking across Canada! This month, our spotlight is on Ashlee Aitken from Kawartha Food Share in Peterborough, ON. What is your role in food banking? I am the General Manager of Kawartha Food Share, a distribution centre that serves 37 member agencies and 51 local…

Hunger eradication is not something that can be done solely by one person. It really takes a village at all levels —national, provincial and municipal to work towards a solution.  And from food distribution to securing donations and helping multiple local communities at the same time, Feed Ontario has their hands full within the province. …

Laurie O’Connor, Executive Director at the Saskatoon Food Bank & Learning Centre has been volunteering at food banks since she was a teenager. She remembers visiting after school and being inspired by the work that was seen. Seeing many people have access to food that they could not afford always made her day, and spending…

The IssueWith the staggering levels of food insecurity in our country it’s hard to fathom good food going to waste yet every year billions of dolllars of quality excess food is wasted throughout all levels of the food chain – from farmers, producers and processors, to retailers and households.  This is difficult to grasp especially…

The pandemic pushed food insecurity to new heights in 2020. With businesses closing, unemployment rates skyrocketing and schools shutting down, food banks across Canada were getting ready to welcome the increasing number of clients visiting their food banks. Food bankers have faced many unprecedented challenges in the past, but none like this pandemic. “As we…

In 2006, Lori McRitchie, Executive Director at the Airdrie Food Bank did not know that she would fall in love with the food banking world. The compassion, the support and the kindness are just a few of the characteristics that would describe what she sees every day.  “It’s been a long journey for me and…

The theme of National Volunteer Week 2021 is The Value of One, The Power of Many. For the thousands of food banks across Canada, this sentiment rings especially true of the experience throughout the last year. Volunteers have always been the backbone of the food bank network. Before the pandemic, approximately 40 per cent of food…