Thank you so much for making the end of 2015 amazing! Because of you we were able to provide 2.5 MILLION meals to people that are hungry in Toronto
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We are incredibly grateful for the thousands of pounds of food items that you have donated! Most donations that come into the food bank are non-perishable. These non-perishable items go a long way to ensure that our neighbours have enough food to eat.
You might be wondering what non-perishable items are used and needed the most. Well, all donations made to the food bank are important, but there are some items that are requested more by food bank clients.
Most requests are for canned fish, pulses (beans and lentils), canned tomatoes and rice.
But why are those items requested more so than others? Here’s a little more about information and some awesome recipes!
When it comes to non-perishable meat products, canned fish can’t be beat. Fish is high in Omega-3 fatty acids, which aid in brain health, lower blood pressure and reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease. It is also a great source of lean protein, which is essential for cell growth and maintaining one’s muscle tissue. Reduced sodium varieties are preferred as canned fish can contain too much salt for some people. Canned fish can easily be added to salads and pastas for a convenient way of incorporating it into a diet.
For a tuna salad without the mayo and the added health benefits of avocado – try this Avocado Tuna Salad
Make a quick and delicious dinner using items from the pantry with Garlic Salmon Linguine for just 67 cents per serving
It’s official! 2016 has been named the year of the pulse. It’s not hard to see why; these economical beans and lentils are nutritional powerhouses. The are extremely high in fibre and vitamins and minerals including zinc, iron, magnesium and B vitamins. Pulses can also reduce “bad cholesterol” which decreases one’s chance for heart attack or stroke. They are also a fantastic source of protein.
Warm up when it’s cold outside by making this super simple Lentil Soup
Brownies made with beans? It’s true – delicious and healthy; try this Black Bean Brownie recipe!
Try something a little different with these Chickpea Burritos
One of the best canned produce items is canned tomatoes. Unlike other canned produce, canned tomatoes can retain their flavour, allowing them to be used in many recipes for breakfast, lunch and dinner. These are a great staple for soups, sauces, chili and many other recipes. They are also high in lycopene, which is a powerful antioxidant.
Have some comfort food with this Creamy Tomato Mushroom Pasta
This Potato and Cauliflower Curry is a great way to try out some spices in your spice rack.
Use your beans and canned tomatoes in this Vegetarian Chili
Rice is a very conventional and easy to prepare food item. It is also a great source of vitamins and minerals such as niacin, vitamin D, calcium, fiber, iron, thiamine and riboflavin. These vitamins and minerals promote a healthy body by supporting the immune system and regulating a person’s metabolism. Rice is also a great source of energy.
Impress your family and friends with this Creamy Risotto
Try your hand at making your own Sushi, it is economical and a lot of fun to try!
For a basic and easy dish for any night of the week, try this Brown Rice Tofu Stir Fry
Families right in your neighbourhood are always in need of these basic pantry items. If you would like to donate groceries, please visit one of your local fire halls or grocery stores. Aside from the items mentioned above, you can check out our list of suggested food donations here.
Curious about what else goes into a food hamper? Learn more about the Build a Hamper Food Purchasing Program that helps all children, parents and seniors have access to items like fresh fruits, vegetables, eggs and more.
As the Winter Food Drive wraps up, we are absolutely astounded by how the community came together to support your neighbours in need! Your holiday spirit and eagerness to make a difference in the lives of people that are hungry was nothing short of incredible!
All of your efforts raised $270,000 & 250,000 lbs. of food!
From the food drives…
To generous financial donations…
To even some really creative fundraising ideas…like Ferrero holding a product sale in the lobby of their building. It sold out quickly and had a line up right out the door!
It’s amazing what a group of generous and community minded people can achieve when they get together!
You even booked the sort room for every session available to help sort the groceries coming in from the drive!
Our friends from Brand Active sorted a whopping 10,068 lbs. of food for families in need!
Our Winter Public Sort was booked to capacity with volunteers more than a month before the event!
Including City Councillors Shelley Carroll & Frank Di Giorgio
Even Mayor John Tory stepped in to help!
Your time and effort was absolutely awesome!
Kids will enough enough to eat…
Shelters for teens will be able to provide well rounded meals…
Community members can get together to bond over the joy of food…
…And SO much more!
It’s not too late to make a gift to provide meals for people that are hungry! You can still organize a food and funds drive or make a financial donation here!
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New Year’s resolutions are very common to make at this time of year. I have definitely thought of a couple for myself, and it has probably crossed your mind as well. Most of the popular resolutions are to get out of debt, volunteer more, get fit, quit smoking or save money.
As a new member of the North York Harvest family, I was curious about our New Year’s Resolutions for a city where no one goes hungry. I sat down with our Executive Director, Ryan Noble, to chat about what is in store for North York Harvest Food Bank in 2016. These are some of the main things we will be partnering with our donors, community and agencies in 2016
Our Lawrence Heights Community Food Bank, used to be at our old location in Lawrence Heights. We were unable to have the food bank come with us to 116 Industry Street. It needed to stay in that area to provide service to the many clients who relied on it for food support. With space in our old neighborhood difficult to find, we were able to find a home nearby that promised to be a good solution. Yet two major issues that our food bank clients face is the cost of transportation and disability. The majority of the 2,000 clients who access this food bank living in Lawrence Heights found it difficult to get there. We quickly recognized that to ensure clients would be able to access the food bank it would need to move back to the Lawrence Heights community. With the support of our staff, volunteer leaders and the Lawrence Heights community, we have been working on a solution that would provide us with an accessible space right back in the community. With the continued support of donors like you and our dedicated community, our goal is to move back within the next 6 months without interrupting service. We want to ensure that in the cold winter months ahead, everyone will be able to access the food they need.
Recently the Poverty Reduction Strategy (PRS) was passed during a Toronto city council meeting. The PRS aims to eliminate poverty in Toronto by 2035 with implementations starting in 2016. The goal is to address immediate needs such as housing, transportation and food insecurity. NYH has been a big supporter of this strategy since day one and we would like to see it take shape. The only issue now is what funding will be available for this plan.
What does North York Harvest want to see addressed as soon as possible? Public space for food programming. Many people living in poverty do not have access to healthy food because of where they live. We want to be able to provide our programs in more communities, but there is a lack of public space for us to run our programs (like our issue with Lawrence Heights).
The PRS recommends increasing the number of emergency food programs such as food banks in neighbourhoods that have food insecurity and poor food access.
This would significantly help us serve over 13,000 people each month and would increase access to these programs for our clients. Click here to find out more about the Poverty Reduction Strategy.
When we moved into our new home at 116 Industry St, one of the things we were most excited about was the potential for partnerships with many of the great organizations also located here. One collaboration that we were able to implement right away was allowing students working on their forklift-driving license to use our forklifts and warehouse. This has helped them complete their training in a live warehouse thus building real work experience. As we enter 2016, we have some plans to see that partnership expand. We’re hoping to create an apprentice program for on the job training while supporting our warehouse distribution. This will ensure we can move more food through our warehouse to the clients who need it.
In an effort to make sure that our community has enough healthy food to eat, we have further developed our food purchasing program into the Build a Hamper Program. The goal of this program is to take our food hampers to the next level by adding more fresh and healthy food. Many of our food items come through donations from food drives or corporate donations and consist of non-perishable foods. We would like to increase our food purchasing budget so we can provide more items such as fresh vegetables, dairy, eggs, meat and milk to ensure a more balanced meal for those that access our food banks. If you would like to learn more about our Build A Hamper program, click here.
We are definitely looking forward to achieving these goals in 2016! What are your New Year’s Resolutions?
Keep in Touch this Year!!
2015 was a great year at North York Harvest Food Bank and it couldn’t have been done without you!
Enjoy our 2015 year in review video!
We can’t wait to see what 2016 holds!
At this time of year, it feels like more people are showing that extra bit of kindness towards others! Here at North York Harvest, I see it every day but more so during the winter months. There is just so much joy and holiday cheer that people have and they want to share it with those around them.
Don’t you notice the extra bit of kindness at this time of year? It’s even the smaller things like holding a door for someone or paying that extra 5 cents they need for their morning coffee. It can make someone’s day just so much brighter.
Kindness is powerful. It can completely transform your day and that of people around you.
Did you know the many advantages of kindness?
Kindness can relieve stress. Doing something nice for another person makes you feel good.
“If you want others to be happy, practice compassion. If you want to be happy, practice compassion.” ~Dalai Lama
Kindness is contagious. Remember that big news story a couple of years ago when people were “Paying it Forward” at the coffee shop? A person would buy the coffee for the next person in line and that pattern continued for the entire day! A person can’t help but return the favour when a kindness is bestowed upon them!
“A single act of kindness throws out roots in all directions, and the roots spring up and make new trees.” ~Amelia Earhart
Kindness strengthens relationships. When you perform an act of kindness for another there is just a new unspoken bond between the two of you. When it is a larger act of kindness among many people – such as sponsoring a refugee in need, a group volunteer activity or running a food drive at work – it brings a sense of community between you, your friends, your coworkers and those that benefit from your kindness.
“Too often we underestimate the power of a touch, a smile, a kind word, a listening ear, an honest compliment, or the smallest act of caring, all of which have the potential to turn a life around.” ~Leo Buscaglia
Kindness can make a difference in someone’s life. You might not know it, but letting another person go ahead of you in line could be the highlight of his or her day, week or even month. You never know what someone else could be going through.
“Be a rainbow in someone else’s cloud.” ~Maya Angelou
There are just so many random ways that you can show a little extra kindness this holiday season.
Here are a few ideas:
Another easy way to share kindness is to contribute to our make a donation for people in your city that really need it! Every month over 16,000 children, parents, seniors and people on their own will come into our programs because they don’t have enough food to eat.
I remember when I was a kid, we would always take the long journey (at least it seemed at the time) to
my Grandparents’ house to spend the holidays. My grandmother would always cook a large family dinner for all of us including my aunts, uncles and cousins. There was always a scent of fresh baked bread throughout the house; I can still remember it to this day.
As the Holiday Season quickly approaches, you’re probably thinking about what kind of delicious food to make and share with your friends and family. Perhaps your grandparents passed down some holiday traditions and recipes that you can’t wait to use.
Thinking about my grandparents and family around the holidays makes me think of the seniors that are alone at this time of year. My heart goes out to the thousands of senior citizens that access a food bank every month; just this year alone there has been a 35% increase in usage of food banks among seniors*.
One of our largest Community Food Spaces, Bathurst-Finch, reflects the rise of seniors using food programs. Many seniors living in the Bathurst-Finch area do not have a family or friends to spend time with; many have emigrated from other countries. Sometimes they feel as though they have no one and nowhere to go.
Because of the support of community members like you, we are able to help these seniors by providing healthy meals and a sense of community. Bathurst-Finch runs a community kitchen program that is a great way for them to get together for companionship and bonding over the joy of food. The seniors reach out to one another to make sure that they are not alone and isolated, especially around the holidays. A wonderful program that shows kindness and inclusion to those that need it most.
As part of the Community Kitchen program, many of the seniors would share with each other recipes 
from their home country that they taught their children as they grew up. The community even recently put out a cookbook of most loved recipes!
The main goal of the Hot Pot Cookbook Project was to support socialization of seniors as well as learning from each other culturally. The name was inspired by a traditional way of cooking in Asia that gathers community members around a simmering “Hot Pot” to cook together. The cookbook really showcases the amazing people, culture and food found in the neighbourhood.
Support the Bathurst Finch Community
In the holiday spirit of sharing recipes through generations, I wanted to share with you some amazing dessert recipes from the Hot Pot Cookbook to enjoy with your loved ones for the holidays.
Make sure you let me know how your baking turns out!
It’s that time of year! When your family will celebrate another year shared together. Usually the celebrations feature an abundance of wonderful food – so much food that it can cause many to start thinking about their new year’s resolutions.
Though filling your belly with delicious and decadent foods is part of a holiday tradition, it starts to make me think of my neighbours in need. While many people will be indulging in large dinners and treats, too many other people in our city won’t even have enough food to put on the table.
“It’s not just the food, its knowing there is someone in our community we can trust, someone who will be there for us.” – Isha – Read Isha’s Story
That someone is YOU!
This December over 13,000 children, parents and grandparents will come to the food bank. Because of YOU, they will receive the food they need to feed their families.
Join us this December to Light Up the Holidays with the Gift of Food!
Together we can make a huge difference.
Get involved and sprinkle a little extra joy into the holiday season.
Not sure what kind of items to donate? Here’s a handy list of food items that are in high demand, especially around this time of year. (Don’t forget – no expired food please)
The top 5 needed items are:
Thank you for generously supporting your community!
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