Since the state of emergency was declared in Ontario, we’ve seen an increase in the number of people who need to access a food bank. While we’ve always provided emergency food (1-2 days’ worth) from our distribution centre to anyone who comes to us for help, we felt we needed to do even more.
To respond to the growing need, we opened a re-imagined space in a section of our 22,000 sq-foot warehouse to safely operate an emergency food bank during the Covid-19 crisis.
In record time, we set up a food bank and changed to a hamper model to ensure social distancing and the safety of staff, volunteers, and clients.
When someone comes to us, we are supplying them with 7+ days of food that meets the required number of servings for each food group, including a healthy selection of fresh and frozen foods. Our goal is to continue to direct these clients to visit a neighbourhood food bank which will be closer to their home for the next time they need to access a food bank.
Emergency Food Bank Hours
Monday – Thursday: 9:30 a.m. – 12:00 p.m., 1:00 p.m. – 4:30 p.m.
Friday: 9:30 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.
Saturday – Sunday: closed
With this addition, we are continuing to operate our distribution centre to our agencies across the city – from our neighbourhood food banks, to our food pantries, and meal and snack programs.
We also continue to offer our Food Bank 2 Home program that launched late last year which delivers food directly to our home bound clients. Since the crisis started, we have doubled our number of deliveries.
During this difficult time, we are hoping this decision will help our neighbours navigate what may be new territory for them as they deal with food insecurity.
If you are in need of food, please click on “need food” and find out which neighbourhood food bank is closest to you.
