Comments Off on Building Strong Community Partnerships
Operating a food bank has many unique challenges, many of which has been further amplified because of the COVID-19 pandemic. “Once COVID hit, North York Harvest was put into a position to change how business was done,” says Dianna Stapleton, volunteer and board chair at Weston Area Emergency Support (WAES). Stapleton has worked in the food security industry for more than 30 years, with much of her time spent volunteering with WAES which means she understands the unique needs of small food banks. At the beginning of the pandemic, WAES would not have been able to keep its doors open and support families, and individuals in need had it not been for North York Harvest. “We spent a lot of time with the team at North York Harvest trying to figure out how to get food so that we could assist the community,” she says. It was through this support that enabled WAES to access alternative avenues for food and donations that would not have been possible for a small organization.“Sometimes we get into a routine and may not think there’s a better or different way to do things,” she explains. “Having the other members in North York Harvest’s Agency Network to tap into their expertise, is one of the biggest benefits.” Without the traditional networking opportunities that many other types of businesses have, Stapleton and her colleagues at WAES value the regular meetings with other professionals in the food security space for the chance to also share experience and celebrate shared success. As we all work towards basic income that allows for affordable housing and accessible food many would agree with Stapleton, “Food banks are an emergency room in a hospital, you don’t want to use it but you are glad when it is there.” At our core, it’s important for community member to not feel a stigma around needing their support.
Comments Off on Growing Stronger Through Our Network
Over the past 18 months, our partner agencies have been able to rely on our ongoing support in many different service areas. Operated by volunteers, Community Share Food Bank has been able to continue helping more than 150 families meet their food needs every week. Established in 2005, Community Share Food Bank provides fresh and non-perishable food to families on a weekly basis. As a member of our agency network, Community Share strives to provide healthier, more food secure community by creating a space where people can come together and feel a sense of belonging. Community Share Food Bank, that would not have been able to serve the community without resources available through North York Harvest.
“Being able to lean on North York Harvest’s expertise as a larger, parent agency that has emergency plans in place and the resources available, we can grow, build and move forward in a much stronger way.” Diane Enhorning, past chair Community Share
As a partner with North York Harvest, during the pandemic Community Food Share relied even more to get up and running quickly. Beginning with getting access to the Toronto Public Library’s Don Mills location to developing the infrastructure needed to operate safely, Diane credits the partnership with North York Harvest as being a major contributing factor to the ongoing success of Community Share’s programs.
Now with a program manager in place, along with policies and procedures and the connections Community Share has established as a North York Harvest partner agency, Enhorning is looking forward to continuing to work, learn and grow. With brighter days on the horizon, it is an exciting time for Community Share to be able to bring additional resources and programs to the neighbourhood.
You want the best when it comes to the food you eat. There’s no way you’d want something old, mouldy or funky smelling in your food.
It’s the same here at the food bank.
Food safety is extremely important. Safety measures are taken into consideration before the food even makes it into the warehouse. Our hardworking operations team ensures not to bring in food that may be hazardous to members of our community. Items like this can include damaged items, foods with missing labels and nutritional products that have expired.
Not only do we want everyone to meet their food needs in the community, we want them to enjoy their food safely.
As you may know, we prefer to take non-perishable food items from donations (canned goods, boxed items, etc.) to ensure we can get these items out to the public without safety issues. But…
Did you know…
Even though we are grateful for amazing donations from the community, there are just some items that we CANNOT accept. These items include:
Food products that are not identifiable or that have ingredients that are not identifiable (missing label or label written in a language other than English/French)
Partially consumed foods (open packaging)
Unpasteurized foods
Home preserves and canned items (jams, jellies, pickles etc.)
Meats, dairy and other high risk items that are not directly from a processor or store e.g. turkeys that have been in your freezer; you may assure us that that turkey has never been defrosted but because we don’t know that 100% we cannot accept it, sorry!
These guidelines make sure that people using the food banks don’t get sick from foods they consume.
Did you know…
There is a difference between Best Before and Expiry Dates. When it comes to packaged foods the dates can get a little confusing. Here are some tips to tell the difference between dates.
A best before date is simply the promise of the manufacturer that the food in the package will be of highest quality. It is not an indication of food safety.
Many times a best before date is not necessary and mostly used to indicate when the quality of food will begin to decrease (a change in taste and texture).
The only items REQUIRED to have expiry dates are baby formulas, meal replacements, formulated liquid diets and nutritional supplements. These items must be thrown out past the expiry date as the should NOT be consumed. This is because the nutritional content cannot be guaranteed beyond the expiry date and the nutritional content is very important for babies, the sick and the elderly.
We will accept foods up to three months past their best before date because we know that they are safe. However, in order to protect our community members’ dignity we prefer to receive donations of food that have at least 3 months remainingbefore their best before date.
Food Recalls
You may have seen food recalls on the news, specifically the latest one about Baby Food. These recalls affect the food bank and food bank clients.
How might a food be recalled?
Illness outbreak
Food tests identify a health risk
An inspection by CFIA detects a safety concern
A recall of the item in another country
The company initiates a recall
Other issues can arise such as food tampering
Recalls are taken very seriously at the food bank. These items are removed from our shelves and notices are sent out. If these items have already made it into people’s homes, we alert them and contact Toronto Public Health.
Ensuring public safety when it comes to food handling and distribution is one of our top priorities. If you join us for a food sorting session, you will be trained on how to identify the safety of the food you’re sorting. Remember: When in Doubt, Throw it Out!
