Tag Archive: community development

  1. Commemorating 40 years of community care

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    A crowd of people mingle in a large warehouse during an event at North York Harvest Food Bank.

    On Friday August 8th, we celebrated our 40th anniversary by opening the doors to our soon-to-be home at 4050 Chesswood Drive!

    Throughout the day, 1000 attendees showed up to tour the space and reflect on what four decades of community care has meant for North York.

    We were delighted to welcome past and present staff and volunteers, community partners, and donors who have each contributed to transforming North York Harvest into what it is today.

    A group of people stand in front of a wall with a timeline in the shape of interconnected honeycombs, weaving together pictures and text.

    Guests followed a timeline of our progress from the moment they walked in, with photos and milestones capturing four decades of food served, voices heard, dignity preserved, jobs created, connections forged, and real change fought for every single day.

    North York Harvest Food Bank would not be possible without the generosity, passion, and dedication of our community. 

    We thank everyone who joined us to commemorate our past and look to the future at our most transformative chapter yet: A Community Food Hub that will reimagine what a food bank can be, and redefine how we fight food insecurity.

    But we can’t do it alone. That’s why we recently launched a bold $6-million capital campaign that will turn an empty warehouse into a vibrant hub of food distribution, workforce development, and social enterprise.

    Support this campaign to help create real, lasting change that will be felt for generations.

  2. Education At the Heart Of Community

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    Food insecurity has been a longstanding concern in North York’s Keele and Finch neighbourhood where
    ANIDA Foundation is located, but over the past year and a half the organization’s executive director Samuel Donker says that need has grown exponentially.

    “Pre-pandemic we served 30 to 60 people bi-weekly, now it’s 350 depending on the needs of seniors,” he says. According to Donker, the way in which North York Harvest responded to its member agencies during the pandemic helped keep their program running in very real ways. “There was a lot of uncertainty but the resources we had access to allowed us to continue to serve clients safely,” he says. Shifting their operations from indoors to outside required tents, vests for staff and access to technology, all of which were facilitated by North York Harvest. Grant funding also helped ANIDA launch a seniors delivery program which continues to serve 100 seniors on a bi-weekly basis.

    Along with providing nourishing food, ANIDA is also focused on feeding minds through educational programs. “We have a reading program for children along with a book bank thanks to our partnership with Indigo,” explains Donker. “Having the food bank allows us to offer access to our other resources and programs which people wouldn’t otherwise know were available.” As with other member agencies, food is the connection to education and so much more as we all work towards building healthier communities
    together.