Volunteers are incredibly important to their community! I get to meet fantastic volunteers of North York Harvest every day and they always have a smile on their face and a great story to tell.
Volunteers are the lifeblood of any nonprofit organization! Without your help, charities like North York Harvest would not be able to collect, sort and distribute millions of pounds of food that serves over 16,000 people each month!
Did you also know that there are many benefits in becoming a volunteer?
1. Learn a new skill. Did you know NYH volunteers learn skills such as safe food handling, cooking, building a budget and much more?
2. Make new friends and meet interesting people. Meet new people with similar interests or people from different walks of life. Bond with others while helping out in your community.
3. Boost your resume. Volunteering is a job even though you aren’t paid to do it. Many employers and colleges find the skills you gain from volunteering very important when looking for a person to hire.
4. Increase self-confidence. When you do good in the community, it really gives you a feeling of accomplishment and pride. These feel good feelings will go with you into other areas of your life such as work or friendships.
5. Stay physically fit. Many of the volunteers at North York Harvest lift boxes and are on their feet moving around to sort food or serve food bank clients. But even if you have limited mobility there are many other ways to get involved such as making phone calls and helping in the office!
6. Set a good example for your kids.Steffi volunteers with her family sorting food in the warehouse. “We serve as examples for children through our actions more than our words. We have not ever used a food bank and many need to. So I want my children to understand this is a reality for many people in Toronto”.
7. Minimize stress. Move beyond your day-to-day troubles that can arise from your job or stress at home.
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What do you think of when you imagine a food bank? I used to think of a basic definition of a food bank – a place for people to come to when they need food to feed themselves and their families. They would get their food and be sent on their way. That was until I joined North York Harvest.
You see, through the member agencies that you support through NYH, people are able to access so much more than food. We like to think of it as Food Bank Plus. As you may imagine, most of the people that need to use a food bank also are in need of support in many other ways. This can range from health care, education, connecting with others and maybe even a bed to sleep in for the night.
“We like to think of it as Food Bank Plus”
When you support North York Harvest, your support multiplies and you reach over 47 member agencies throughout this city. People in your community can access programs and services that they truly need – and that couldn’t be done without you and the amazing agencies that fall under the NYH umbrella.
So what exactly else does a food bank do other than ensure our neighbours have enough food to put on the table?With so many great agencies, there is no way I would have time to visit them all, so I went to an expert.
Meet Rowena Power, our Director of Food Distribution. With a passion for helping others and making a difference in her community, Rowena was drawn to North York Harvest because of the progressiveness in food bank programming. She loved how clients are able to access so many additional services and get the one on one attention they deserve. In her role, she is the link between NYH and all of the member agencies we work with. She is there to provide support, training and even just a listening ear to all the agencies that we work with. She refers to them as the “hands and heart of the organization”. Rowena told me about some of the incredible programs that run in this city for people in need.
With your help, some amazing things happen in your neighbourhood, like:
Youth Homeless Shelters such as Eva’s Initiatives provide healthy meals to kids that don’t have a home to call their own.
There are prenatal and new parent centres such as The Hincks-Dellcrest Centre. Families can come here for education on many topics that can come up for new parents. They are also able to access nutritious food for themselves and their children.
Rexdale Women’s Centre offers a community meal that will serve 40-50 people. A facilitated discussion happens during the meal about important issues facing families today.
Lady Ballers Camp is a safe space for young girls to get together and keep fit. Every girl is included in activities regardless of their family income. They are also taught about nutrition and self esteem.
North York Community House serves senior citizens that may otherwise be alone and isolated. They can come in for meals, socialize and access other services.
After-school programs like the Boys and Girls Club provide a safe space for kids to hang out, do homework and fill their bellies before their parents get home from work.
Those are only a few of the amazing services offered to people in your community. I have noticed that the NYH network has so much to offer the community and how incredibly intricate these services are for people in need in Toronto. I’m amazed when I see the hard work, dedication and generosity that staff and volunteers in these agencies give each day to ensure someone else’s life is touched and not forgotten.
When you join us on this journey, you too are touching lives through the gift of food.
Community members come for the food, but stay for the classes, health care, social connection, assistance and more.
Without you, we wouldn’t be able to provide the food and support that keeps these programs running! Thank you for being there for your neighbours in need whether they need something to eat, guidance or even just a friend that will listen to them.
Want to learn more about the programs you reach through North York Harvest?
One of my favourite pastimes is looking up recipes on Pinterest and being able to cook new and exciting meals for my friends.
When you make your grocery list, you might be thinking of recipes for your family that include fresh ingredients such as vegetables, milk and meat.
Unfortunately, for some people in our community, trying many of these new recipes is a luxury they don’t have because they can’t access fresh ingredients. Many of our neighbours struggle to afford any food let alone food that’s healthy and nutritious.This can lead to choices between filling your belly with healthy items or filling your belly with empty calories to avoid hunger.
You’ve seen it at the grocery store – the chips, ramen noodles and other processed foods are so much cheaper than what’s in the produce section. I find sales all the time on microwave dinners and sugary cereals, but rarely deals on ingredients for my next salad. Considering how low our dollar currently is, it’s hard for many to afford any fresh produce at all.
Lack of proper nutrition is linked to low incomes and food is the most flexible item in a family budget. During tough financial times, people will purchase the cheaper items in order to save money. In fact, 54% of North York Harvest’s clients have reported skipping meals in order to pay for bills such as rent, utilities, transportation and food for their children. 33% of our clients go without food at least one day a week.
Here at North York Harvest, we strive to provide healthy food items and food education to our community. Every month over 15,000 people depend on North York Harvest for hampers of food.
Because of the need for nutritious items in a food hamper, we often resort to food purchasing because food donations alone will not provide fresh items such as fruits, vegetables, eggs, dairy and protein. This is why we have started the Build a Hamper campaign to aide in purchasing these items to support low-income families that need them.
You can help ensure that families receive healthy food items and don’t have to struggle with side effects of poor nutrition. Please help us take our food hampers to the next level. Your donations will purchase nutritious items and make sure that no child, parent or grandparent goes without enough healthy food.
Next time when you’re out buying groceries for your next nutritious meal think about picking up some items for your neighbours in need. Here is a list of suggested food items.
The Average Agency is volunteer run & has limited resources. This year your funds helped us invest in 4 agencies to increase food, enhance client services & empower agencies to serve their community better.
Every groundhog day, Canada patiently waits to see what Wiarton Willie has to say about how much longer we have to wait out the winter.
Well… as of February 2, the little critter said we had six more weeks to go and if you’re like me, you can’t wait! It’s almost time to break out the spring jackets and put away the toques and mittens for another year! It’s time to walk around in the sunshine surrounded by trees and flowers blossoming and the smell of fresh cut grass.
Another thing to be excited about is the annual Spring Food Drive! It kicks off on February 24 and will propel us into the spring season!
You make this important event possible each year! With the food and funds raised during this drive, your neighbours will have enough food to help them get by through off peak times such as the summer. When kids are on summer vacation, they lack access to the breakfast and lunch programs run by their schools. But with your help, they will have enough food to give them the energy needed to be healthy and active kids all summer long!
Don’t let your neighbours in need go hungry! Help us raise $100,000 & 100,000 lbs. of food this spring and make sure no one in our community goes without food!
Not sure what food to donate? No problem! We have a handy list of all of the top needed items at the food bank! If you’re looking through your pantry for items to donate, be sure not to donate anything expired – please check out this blog post on best before dates for more info.
Because of your generosity, we are able to provide food for over 13,000 parents, children and grandparents every month!
Thank you for making a difference today and every day!
Isn’t it wonderful when you see people working together and committing to a cause with great passion? I’m lucky because I get to see that kind of enthusiasm each day at North York Harvest. One of the companies that we have been grateful to work with is BrandActive.
BrandActive has been a very important partner with North York Harvest for years. They have quite a suiting name as well because they are very active in helping others and making a big impact. We are constantly amazed by the commitment and passion shown by this group of wonderful people.
I recently had the chance to sit down and talk with Robynne Budish, who is a cofounder of BrandActive. As a long-time supporter of her community, Robynne always knew that channeling her values through her business was important. I loved hearing her energy and passion as she shared how her company is involved in making a difference.
For the past two years, BrandActive has collaborated with NYH to hold a Back to School event for the community.“I know I could write a cheque or come in to sort food once in a while. But because of the resources I have through BrandActive, I am able to make a bigger impact,” says Robynne. As an outreach activity, her team purchased school supplies and packed them in backpacks for over 500 kids in the community. “I loved overhearing how excited people were to see what was in those backpacks.” Most families have to stretch their limited budget when their kids go back to school. Often it means less food for mom and dad. “It might only be a backpack but that’s $60 they can save and spend on food.”
BrandActive is also one of the top food sorters in the warehouse! When they come in you can just feel the positive vibes that these employees have. They were most recently in to sort food in the warehouse in December and they sorted an amazing 10,068 lbs. of food! To put that into perspective – that food will make up hampers of food for close to 1,000 people.
The outreach activities with BrandActive also resonate with the employees at the organization. “A lot of people don’t realize how large the issue of food security and hunger is in our own backyard,” Robynne says of engaging her employees in community giving. “I am happy I can raise that awareness. Some of my employees have also told me that they plan on coming back on their own time with their family.”
But it wasn’t just motivating her employees that drew Robynne to the food bank. “NYH does more than just provide food. It’s trying to meet a deeper need for food security. They are trying to have a greater impact. That resonates with our company.”
“You realize that whatever you have in life is determined by what opportunities you are given,” Robynne told me. “But I believe that everybody deserves respect no matter what walk of life you come from, no matter what opportunities came your way. One of the first things I heard when I was here was about the dignity and respect that choice model food banks provide.”
“If everybody had dignity and respect for each other, imagine how much better of place the world would be?”
Because of entrepreneurs like Robynne and companies like BrandActive, more and more people in the community are being engaged and becoming aware of the growing issue of food insecurity. We are thankful for all of their hard work making a difference in their community.
I remember college fondly. Leaving home, living in a new place, and fun with friends. I think I even remember some learning and planning for the future somewhere in there. What most of us don’t think of when we think of university or college is not having enough food to eat. I mean I didn’t exactly eat the best food. There was a lot of mac and cheese, microwave dinners and some other weird combinations of food I cringe to think of now. But never was there not enough. I never had to stress about where my next meal would come from.
Unfortunately today, more and more students across our country are finding themselves in university thinking more about how they will afford to eat than about their studies. Right here in our city all our universities have had to open food banks right on campus. More than 800 York University students need to access the Food 4 Thought campus food bank weekly in order to feed themselves.
I had the chance to talk with Niraj Maharaj, Student Rights and Support Services Coordinator for the
York Federation of Students about this the other day. You see back in 2010, Niraj and his friend Kemba, working at York, realized many of the students they were working with were also food insecure and they knew they had to do something about it.
Growing up, Niraj shared with me that he felt he was lucky. Even though he came from a single parent household, they always had enough food on the table and did not go hungry. His mother felt it was very important that he and his siblings were grateful for everything they had. Many weekends and holidays were devoted to volunteering in the local soup kitchens and participating in food drives. This is a lesson that Niraj has taken with him throughout his life.
Niraj’s job in Advocacy Services was to advocate for students who facing disciplinary action for misconduct, connect students with tutoring when they were struggling in classes or support them for other issues that would arise at school. Niraj was there to lend a helping hand. He eventually began to notice a trend among the students that he was working with. Many of confided that even with OSAP, scholarships and jobs, they were not able to afford enough food to get by. The combination of hunger and their incredibly busy schedules was leading many students to make poor academic choices.
Niraj and Kemba began running food drives to support their fellow students. Their efforts quickly snowballed. They were surprised to see how many people at York rallied together to ensure their fellow classmates could get access to enough food. The Food 4 Thought York University Food Bank was born.
Today the program sees 40-50 students in need of food every day.
When the food bank was just beginning, Niraj told me that many students were embarrassed to use the program. “They were worried that their peers or teachers would find out. But as the years have gone by the students at York University have been having open discussions regarding food insecurity. This has helped with the stigmatization many people feel about using a food bank. Students are realizing that they are not alone when it comes to hunger. If someone is still uncomfortable, I will refer him or her to a food bank that is off campus.”
Niraj told me that the best part of the job is seeing how grateful people are for the help they have received. “Many students stop by in their cap and gown after graduation, some with their families, to express thanks for the service. I’ve been told by many people that they wouldn’t be able to graduate if it weren’t for the food bank”.
However, graduation does not necessarily mean an end to food bank use. Unfortunately, many students will need to continue using food banks for years to come. “It used to be that once you had an education you could go out and get a job and support yourself and your family. But these days an education doesn’t guarantee you a job anymore,” says Niraj.
As students are graduating, they find it difficult to secure well-paying jobs to cover rent, other expenses and the new debt incurred from attending university. Continuing to use a food bank until one can hopefully find a job that pays enough is not uncommon for many students, especially those without strong family support. Even those with families in the city, often come from homes where parents are just making ends meet.
“The issues around food security, income, and tuition are vast and not going away any time soon but in the mean time we will be here to support our student community so that people who need food can access it.”
Without your help, community food banks just like Food 4 Thought would have to close their doors. Hundreds of students would go hungry and be forced to drop out of school.
Niraj saw the need to help others in his community and you can too. Not all of us can start a food bank, but there are many ways to contribute to make an impact.
Because of the need for nutritious items in a food hamper, we often resort to food purchasing because food donations alone will not provide fresh items such as fruits, vegetables, eggs, dairy and protein. This is why we have started the 
I had the chance to talk with Niraj Maharaj, Student Rights and Support Services Coordinator for the
