Staff Spotlight | Summer Placements

This past May, Food Banks Mississauga welcomed four summer placements to our team through the Canada Summer Jobs program to take on various roles to help our efforts in working towards a Mississauga where everyone is food secure.

Two of our summer placements, Jill Purves and Parneet Singh, worked closely with the Programs & Agency Network team as Agency Relations Assistants. Ahmed Ibrahim and Brianna Bachan joined the Marketing & Communications team as Marketing Assistants. All four of our placements worked diligently to learn about our network of agency members, our programs, and how we tackle food insecurity for our neighbours in Mississauga.

As their four months come to an end, we asked them to reflect and share a little about their time with Food Banks Mississauga.

Describe your typical day this summer at Food Banks Mississauga.

Parneet Singh: As Agency Relations Assistants, Jill and I were fortunate to handle various tasks while conducting and completing our Annual Client Survey. From June to July, a typical day involved visiting local food banks, conducting surveys with food bank visitors, and gaining valuable insights into their experiences. We also managed volunteers by overseeing their survey phone calls and resolving any issues that came up. We then focused on data analysis, where my daily routine included enjoying my morning coffee, preparing individualized reports for each food bank, and engaging with my wonderful colleagues!

Brianna Bachan: As one of the Marketing Assistants, I was tasked with story collecting at neighbourhood food banks and pantries that belong to Food Banks Mississauga’s network of over 60 agency members. I took photos, transcribed, and organized interviews to be used in blog posts, newsletters, social media, and donor engagement materials. I also got the opportunity to draft content for our blog (like this one!) and sit in on important meetings with the different departments where I learned about the inner workings of a non-profit’s marketing and communications team.

Ahmed Ibrahim: This summer at Food Banks Mississauga, my days were full of interesting activities, but a big part of my work involved writing content to highlight our programs, operations, and community partnerships. My goal was to craft messages that would resonate with the community and effectively communicate the impact of our work. Alongside writing, I also spent a lot of time behind the camera, capturing the energy and dedication of our volunteers during food sorting shifts, documenting visits from politicians, and showcasing our community pop-up events. These visuals became an essential part of how we told our story, helping to bring the work we do to life.

How did your experience differ from your initial expectations of food banking, our agency network, or food bank usage in Mississauga? 

Jill Purves: Because I completed my school placement hours here 9 months prior, I had a pretty good understanding of food banking and the network in Mississauga. I think my experience was just as I had hoped and expected. The team is supportive and knowledgeable and I was able to continue to hone in on my skills in social services.

BB: I’ve had experience working with non-profits, but never one in food banking. It was completely eye-opening to see Food Banks Mississauga operating at such a large scale. I was fortunate enough to see how critical the work is to the community they serve. I had a very simple concept of what I thought a food bank and a food bank visitor looked like. But then I got to witness the frontlines of how visitors get their food and hear their stories first-hand. It was a special experience to connect with many visitors.

AI: Coming into this role, I had a general understanding of food insecurity and the rising cost of living from a consumer’s perspective, but my experience, this summer, was truly eye-opening. I didn’t fully grasp the extent of the need until I saw it firsthand. The volume of people who rely on Food Banks Mississauga, and the wide range of individuals we serve, was far beyond what I had imagined. It emphasized how critical our work is and how deep the challenges of food insecurity run in our community.

What are some lessons learned from this summer through your role at Food Banks Mississauga?

PS: I learned the real-life impact of the affordability crisis beyond the statistics and about the remarkable strength and compassion of food bank visitors, who, despite facing significant hardships, remained open, warm, and kind.

BB: I learned about the importance of storytelling within marketing. Having an educational background in journalism has motivated my passion for great storytelling, but it wasn’t initially clear how that fits into marketing. Through my time here, I learned about different marketing strategies and tools to enhance social media engagement, develop partnerships, and support fundraising. I also learned about different storytelling approaches, especially when involving vulnerable community members.

AI: One of the most important things I learned is that there’s no typical food bank user—people from all backgrounds, ages, and circumstances find themselves in need of support. This realization broke down the idea I had about who uses food banks and showed me that food insecurity can affect anyone. I also learned a lot about the logistics and operations behind food banking, from how donations are managed to the intricate coordination needed to get food to those in need. It gave me a greater appreciation for the complexity and importance of the work being done.

Ahmed (left) spent his time with us taking pictures and videos, and drafting content for our social media pages. Brianna (right) visited 21 of the 60+ agency members in Food Banks Mississauga’s network and spoke with over 70 clients to hear their stories.

Can you share any particular conversations, tasks, or projects that impacted you at Food Banks Mississauga?

JP: The task of completing surveys at the food bank was very impactful. Every conversation and interaction left me with many different emotions and thoughts. A conversation that stands out the most for me is one I had with a couple from Colombia who had been in Canada for 10 months. They both were established and well off in Colombia, but had to flee to Canada as asylum seekers. Together we cried, laughed, and discussed the hardships of their move and experience in Canada. We continued to talk long after the survey was completed and I think the reason this conversation was so impactful for me was despite their hardships, starting over, and having to flee their country, they had hope, happiness, and appreciation for the safety that coming to Canada has provided. A reminder that we can’t control what happens to us in life but we can control our reactions and attitudes. 

PS: While conducting a survey at SEVA Wolfedale, I spoke with a couple who became visibly emotional as they answered questions about their current situation and the hardships they faced. I offered several times to skip the questions or end the survey if it was too upsetting, but they both insisted on completing it. They believed it was an important step for food banks to improve and help those in greater need. This moment of strength and bravery had a profound impact on me.

Tell us about any challenges or obstacles you may have experienced during your time here. What did you learn from them?

JP: One challenge I faced was feeling helpless when food bank users were expressing their situation and sharing what would be helpful to make their experience better at the food bank. They were always appreciative of the food banks and even provided ideas for improvement to not only help us but also effectively help more folks. So having to work through my internal feelings of guilt for not being able to do more was my biggest challenge. I learned that communication and transparency were very helpful for me. I spoke with my manager who assured me my feelings are normal and she too has felt them at times. 

PS: During my time here, adapting to the sudden onset of rheumatoid arthritis has been one of my biggest challenges. This condition dramatically changed my daily routine and how effectively I could work. Simple tasks like managing spreadsheets, going to the office, and cooking balanced meals quickly became exhausting. It also became expensive to find accessible options to make some of these tasks easier. This experience highlighted how economic and accessibility issues are linked, showing that people with health problems or disabilities often face extra financial burdens due to the higher cost of products and services designed to meet their needs. My personal struggles with accessibility and affordability have helped me better understand the experiences of food bank visitors. Working with clients showed me that many people, including myself, face diverse challenging issues. These difficulties often overlap, with factors like race, gender, socioeconomic status, health concerns, and/or disabilities combining to make things even harder. This experience has strengthened my commitment to continue approaching my future work with an intersectional perspective.

AI: One of the biggest challenges I faced was figuring out how to communicate the seriousness of food insecurity to our online audience without overwhelming them. It’s a tough balance—on one hand, you want to highlight the urgency of the issue and encourage donations, but on the other hand, social media users are often looking for content that’s quick, engaging, and light-hearted. I learned that it’s possible to mix in creativity and even a bit of humour or lightness while still driving home the importance of our mission. Finding that balance allowed us to keep our audience engaged and informed without burning them out.

Jill (left) and Parneet (right), with the help of 34 volunteers, completed 485 client surveys this summer.

How will you apply your learnings and experiences in working with community members to future opportunities? Are there any that you think will be particularly helpful?

JP: This experience allowed me to be part of the survey process from start to finish, which will be very helpful when looking for new employment and showing what I have accomplished. I think becoming more educated on the food bank network in Mississauga and understanding the demographic and socio-economic status of food bank users allowed me to deepen my understanding of food insecurity and how to better support our community. 

AI: This summer gave me hands-on experience across a wide range of marketing tasks, from crafting compelling copy to creating videos and graphics, and even diving into data analysis to refine our strategies. These skills are crucial for any marketing role, but what really stands out to me is the importance of empathy in all aspects of this work. Whether it’s telling the stories of those we serve or interacting directly with community members, approaching everything with empathy has been key to creating genuine connections and effective messaging. This lesson will be invaluable as I move forward in my career, especially in roles that involve community engagement and advocacy.

Is there anything else you’d like to share about your time at Food Banks Mississauga?

BB: I am so grateful for this opportunity and all the experiences. The team here is outstanding—just a few weeks in and I’d already met such different people who found each other through their common goal of giving back to their community and the desire to help. In this short time, I’ve learned about the vital work of food banking, I’ve seen how different departments collaborate, and I’ve found new passions in marketing, storytelling, and photography. There are no words to describe how incredibly thankful I am for the mentorship from my team. I’ve learned so much and can’t wait to put these new skills to use!

AI: My time at Food Banks Mississauga has been incredibly rewarding and eye-opening. The team here is not just dedicated to the mission, but they’re also deeply supportive and genuinely care about everyone involved. They’ve shown me the true strength of community—how powerful it can be when people come together to tackle something as important as food insecurity. They’ve also encouraged my growth, both personally and professionally, by giving me opportunities to explore different aspects of our work and by being there every step of the way to offer guidance and support.

“Being able to bring on summer placements each year is a huge help to our team at Food Banks Mississauga. The roles they take on — collecting and analyzing data on fook bank usage, speaking with food bank visitors to learn about their lived experiences with food insecurity, and creating visual and written ways to share our work with the community — are ones that are extremely important in our efforts to improve food bank programs, fundraise for support, and ultimately create a Mississauga where everyone is food secure. Jill, Parneet, Brianna, and Ahmed didn’t just show up with professionalism and integrity every day, they also brought a true sense of empathy and a passion for their neighbours facing hunger in Mississauga. We’re really going to miss them around here.” – Jenna Cura, Marketing Coordinator at Food Banks Mississauga