Tag Archive: city hall

  1. Community BBQ to Get Out the Vote this federal election!

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    Removing barriers at the ballot box

    As the need for food banks is reaching record highs, voter turnout in our community is reaching record lows.

    There are many barriers stopping people from making it to the ballot box.

    After paying rent and utilities, on average our community members only have about $7 per day to spend on food, transportation, medication and all other expenses. It’s not easy getting to the polls when getting there eats into your food budget. 

    The No. 1 reason people walk through our doors is the high cost of rent, and far too many don’t even have a permanent place to call home. It’s not easy exercising your right to vote when you don’t have a permanent address. 

    That’s why North York Harvest Food Bank held a Community BBQ to Get Out the Vote on Sunday, April 13.

    We had free food, games, raffles, face-painting, advocacy, and free transportation taking attendees to the polls to cast their vote.

    Over 600 people attended the BBQ throughout the day, with 75 folks heading to the polls. Many community members who voted said if it weren’t for this initiative, they wouldn’t have been able to vote.

    Watch a short highlight reel from our BBQ below!

    That week, our Community Engagement team also visited each of our four food spaces to shuttle over 100 clients to vote and ensure no one was turned away from exercising their right to vote. For some, it was their very first time voting.

    “This whole initiative, whether it was the BBQ or the shuttles from our food banks to the polling station was really just about making sure the people most impacted by the affordability crisis are having their voices heard in this election,” says North York Harvest’s Senior Advocacy Specialist Chiara Padovani.

    By removing barriers in the voting process, nearly 200 community members cast their ballot this federal election!

    Four people wearing red North York Harvest attire smile together at an advocacy tent at a community BBQ.

  2. Our community mobilized for change – and won!

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    In December, the City of Toronto declared food insecurity an emergency.

    In the following two months, North York Harvest Food Bank collected hundreds of petition signatures, sent dozens of letters and gave deputations to urge every city councillor to pass a city budget that puts people first.

    For years North York Harvest has been making policy recommendations to government, but this year we mobilized our community like never before to take these issues to the doorstep of our decisionmakers and put them on notice.

    On the day of the official City budget deliberation, we brought a delegation of 60+ people from our community food banks and joined with other community members and organizations at the City Budget Rally outside City Hall.

    (In December our Community Action Group got together for an Art Build event, where North York Harvest clients made signs and posters. The event was a platform for our community to connect with one another on issues that are impacting them every day and use their voice for real change.)

    After the rally, we went into City Hall to deliver petitions to our elected officials, calling for them to support the following in the budget:

    A TTC fare freeze
    The TTC fare freeze means people won’t have to choose between transportation and their next meal.With food bank users having as little as $7.78 left per day after rent and utilities, even a small fare increase can make a big difference.

    More funding for renter supports
    Additional funding for RentSafeTO, the Toronto Rent Bank and the Tenant Support Program will help prevent evictions and protect affordable housing in Toronto.

    An expansion of the Student Nutrition Program
    With 1 in 4 food bank users being a child, access to nutritional food at school is life-changing.

    More funding for drop-in meal programs
    Drop-ins are providing life-saving meals to Toronto’s most vulnerable populations, and adding $530,000 to the Creating Health Plus budget would ensure these vital programs would at least be able to operate with the same level of funding as last year. 

    And together … we won!

    Dozens of people holding protest signs stand together during a rally outside City Hall

    Thanks to the advocacy of our community, the meaningful action of Mayor Olivia Chow and many city councillors, and the support of our donors who make this work possible, more children will have meals, more renters will have support, drop-in meal programs will continue to be able to serve vulnerable communities, and budgets won’t get squeezed even further by transit costs.

    Together we make change happen!