Comments Off on The many homes of North York Harvest Food Bank
Over the past 40 years the roof at North York Harvest Food Bank has changed, but our foundation stayed the same: Work toward a community where all members are able to meet their food needs.
Every time North York Harvest has moved, it allowed us to expand not only the space, but also our programs, our community partnerships, and our advocacy work to fight the underlying causes of poverty.
As we prepare to move again into our new Community Food Hub at 4050 Chesswood Dr., here’s a look back at how we’ve turned every new home into an opportunity for growth and deeper connection with our community!
1986-1991 – 3640 Weston Rd. Unit 11
North York Harvest Food Bank moves into its first humble home: A 3000 sq. ft. warehouse. That year, 158,337 lbs of food were distributed to the community.
The food bank grew rapidly, and by 1990 North York Harvest expanded its space to include both Units 10 and 20, and rented an additional 2,700 sq. ft. space next door to keep up with the need in North York.
Key milestones
- Welcomed 43 partner agencies
- Installed 2 walk-in fridges, vastly expanding food distribution
- Published our first annual report and monthly newsletter sharing low-cost recipes and information about local community programs
1992-2002 – 4478 Chesswood Dr., Unit 16
This new space opened the door to more food served in our community, and in our first year we distributed 1 million lbs of food!
This home also represented a shift in focus beyond emergency food support to addressing the underlying causes of poverty.
Key milestones
- Through the Who’s Hungry survey of over 800 food bank users across the GTA, North York Harvest helped reveal that chronic food insecurity was deeply tied to poor health outcomes
- Launched community initiatives including Making Connections, which brought fresh food from local farms into the city that would otherwise go to waste
- Partnered with the Ontario Institute of Chartered Accountants to launch free tax clinics for low-income individuals
2002-2015 – Bathurst Heights Secondary School – 640 Lawrence Ave. West
North York Harvest relocated to the back of the former Bathurst Heights Secondary School. This came with three loading docks and a completely rebuilt walk-in freezer/cooler, which doubled our capacity for food distribution.
For the first time ever, North York Harvest could accept and distribute large-scale donations of perishable food — and by 2014, 75,000 lbs of fresh foods were distributed in a single year.
Key Milestones
- Expanded our in-house hamper program into the Community Action Resource Centre, providing not just food, but referrals to ESL programs, newcomer settlement services, employment services, and more
- Founded our Bathurst-Finch and Oriole Community Food Spaces to deepen our impact across North York
- Implemented the choice model, which moved from prepacked hampers to dignified food assistance by allowing clients to choose the food they wanted
2015–Present – Learning Enrichment Foundation – 116 Industry St.
By 2015, 13,000 individuals relied on North York Harvest Food Bank for support in meeting their food needs. Our home at 116 Industry was not only larger, but it came with additional food racking, a walk-in fridge 3x larger and a freezer 2x larger than our old space.
But equally important was the work that went on to challenge the underlying causes of poverty. This included formally adopting ‘focused advocacy’ into our mission, creating real pathways out of poverty, and providing platforms for our community members to have their voices heard and push for lasting change.
The food support we provide remains critical, but the job creation, the innovation, and the advocacy is essential to achieving our vision of a community where all members can meet their food needs.
Key milestones
- Creating our workforce and training program Leadership in Logistics, which provides practical experience and pathways out of poverty into full-time employment
- Running our FoodReach social enterprise, which helps provide more affordable food to non-profits across Ontario while supporting North York Harvest’s operations
- Forming the Community Advocacy Group, which unites clients to organize around key issues, including affordable housing and social assistance, through rallies, deputations, petitions, and more
2026– 4050 Chesswood Dr.
With 30,000 clients depending on North York Harvest Food Bank every month, and the lease at our current space ending next year – North York Harvest is preparing to move again to meet the growing and changing needs of our community.
Our next move will be a transformational one. This 30,000 sq. ft. Community Food Hub will expand our Leadership in Logistics program and FoodReach, triple food storage capacity, and bring our community together to develop initiatives that fight the root causes of poverty.
This isn’t just a new food bank, it’s a launchpad for a more resilient, equitable, and empowered community.
Learn more about our Crisis to Catalyst campaign to support this bold next chapter.
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