There are many options to get involved and help our neighbours that are hungry! Together we can provide healthy food for people in our community.
Run a Food and Funds Drive!
There are many different ways to run a Food and Funds Drive – from bake sales, to jeans day to games at a fair. It’s easy and a fun way to team build with your family, friends or coworkers!
We’re in your community at BBQ’s, concerts, festivals and more. Come and see us soon!
Volunteer
There are so many great volunteer opportunities to help people meet their food needs! You could volunteer in the food bank serving clients, help out in the warehouse, hop on the truck to deliver food, join us at events and much more. Check out our volunteer opportunities.
Make a Donation
Your support directly impacts the lives of thousands of adults, seniors and children in our city and ensures that our neighbours have enough to eat. DONATE TODAY!
Donate Food
You can pick up some extra items and drop them off at your local grocery store or fire hall. Or you can make a donation right to the warehouse (including fresh items) at 116 Industry Street. Not sure what to donate? Check out our list of top suggested food items.
It’s a part of each day, whether we are sharing it with others or enjoying it by ourselves. We make decisions as to whether we want to go to a restaurant to eat, cook something up in the kitchen or just take it easy and order something right to the door.
Whether your favourite food is pizza, salad, cookies or the many kinds of food out there, we all have opinions and preferences about the food we eat.
We can’t live without it.
This is why I find the statistics of hunger in our own backyard so disheartening.
Did you know…?
Over 15,000 people use the food bank in North York every month.
1/3 of food bank users are children.
54% of people using the food bank will miss a meal to pay other bills such as rent and transportation.
33% of the people we serve will go without food at least one day per week.
Recently, I got a chance to speak with Rumsha Siddiqui, a student at York U. She heard about hunger statistics in her class and was shocked that this is such a prominent issue in a city such as Toronto. Hearing about this problem made her motivated to make a difference.
“We are all part of one big community and it bothers me that some of us go to bed with a full stomach while others don’t. I felt the need to do something.”
Rumsha and her classmates banded together to raise awareness in the community and help their neighbours in need.
They visited schools to do presentations, teaching others about hunger in the city.
They approached local stores to sponsor their food drive.
They even ran a cotton candy event with the local student clubs to raise awareness.
Rumsha and a few of her fellow students also joined us in the warehouse to volunteer sorting thousands of pounds of food. She told me how she had a great time helping out. She said she admired the dedication of the volunteers and staff.
In total, the York University students managed to raise 5800 lbs. of food for their neighbours in need! With that incredible donation, 580 people in Toronto will receive a hamper full of good healthy food and be able to put food on the table tonight.
What advice does Rumsha have for anyone wanting to fundraise for charity?
“Reach out to local businesses – even if you get rejected, don’t give up! We ended up having 3 stores sponsor us and raised a lot of food. Don’t forget to reach out to your local community and give them the facts. Just like we had no idea how big of an issue hunger is in our city – most people are also shocked to find out.”
Rumsha had a great time fundraising for a cause she cares about and so can you!
The Every Plate Full Campaign is on right now and it’s such an easy and fun way to get together with your friends, classmates, coworkers or even just as an individual to raise money for people in need! Click here to find out more!
We love our volunteers! Without their dedication and heart, we wouldn’t be able to provide food for over 13,000 people in Toronto every month! THANK YOU!
To celebrate their commitment, we have put together a slideshow of many of our fantastic volunteers in action!
One of the best ways of getting involved with your community is by holding your very own food & funds drive! This is an awesome way of collecting money and non-perishable items that will go towards providing many meals for your neighbours in need!
Did you know that there are MANY ways to raise food and funds that are exciting and fun?
Check out some of these great ideas!
Host a talent show!
Invite the entire school including parents and the surrounding community! You can charge 2 cans for admission and have us come and support you! Don’t forget to live tweet everything!
Have a street or parking lot party!
Put out a food collection bin and run a carnival and BBQ. Game tickets can go towards NYH!
Cram a bus!
Cram a bus with as much food as (safely) possibly and join us at the food bank! We would love to give you a tour and show you how we sort the food!
Dress Down (or Up) for Work
In order for an employee to come wearing something other than usual, they must bring two cans of food or a monetary donation.
Host a Competition for Who Brings in the Most Food & Funds
Give out prizes like:
most food collected per site/office/classroom
collected the most money
best photos of the food collection staging
Host a Silent Auction or Raffle
Funds raised from your event will help support over 13,000 people a month with their food needs!
Host a Dance
Attendees can bring food or a donation to the food bank as their entrance fee. You can even have a dance off to find out who has the best moves!
Have a Garage Sale
Clean out your unwanted items (one person’s trash can be another’s treasure!) while raising money for your neighbours that are hungry!
Ready to have a great time and provide meals to your neighbours that are hungry? Contact Leslie at leslie@northyorkharvest.com or 416-635-7771 ex 21 TODAY!
Every groundhog day, Canada patiently waits to see what Wiarton Willie has to say about how much longer we have to wait out the winter.
Well… as of February 2, the little critter said we had six more weeks to go and if you’re like me, you can’t wait! It’s almost time to break out the spring jackets and put away the toques and mittens for another year! It’s time to walk around in the sunshine surrounded by trees and flowers blossoming and the smell of fresh cut grass.
Another thing to be excited about is the annual Spring Food Drive! It kicks off on February 24 and will propel us into the spring season!
You make this important event possible each year! With the food and funds raised during this drive, your neighbours will have enough food to help them get by through off peak times such as the summer. When kids are on summer vacation, they lack access to the breakfast and lunch programs run by their schools. But with your help, they will have enough food to give them the energy needed to be healthy and active kids all summer long!
Don’t let your neighbours in need go hungry! Help us raise $100,000 & 100,000 lbs. of food this spring and make sure no one in our community goes without food!
Not sure what food to donate? No problem! We have a handy list of all of the top needed items at the food bank! If you’re looking through your pantry for items to donate, be sure not to donate anything expired – please check out this blog post on best before dates for more info.
Because of your generosity, we are able to provide food for over 13,000 parents, children and grandparents every month!
Thank you for making a difference today and every day!
Isn’t it wonderful when you see people working together and committing to a cause with great passion? I’m lucky because I get to see that kind of enthusiasm each day at North York Harvest. One of the companies that we have been grateful to work with is BrandActive.
BrandActive has been a very important partner with North York Harvest for years. They have quite a suiting name as well because they are very active in helping others and making a big impact. We are constantly amazed by the commitment and passion shown by this group of wonderful people.
I recently had the chance to sit down and talk with Robynne Budish, who is a cofounder of BrandActive. As a long-time supporter of her community, Robynne always knew that channeling her values through her business was important. I loved hearing her energy and passion as she shared how her company is involved in making a difference.
For the past two years, BrandActive has collaborated with NYH to hold a Back to School event for the community.“I know I could write a cheque or come in to sort food once in a while. But because of the resources I have through BrandActive, I am able to make a bigger impact,” says Robynne. As an outreach activity, her team purchased school supplies and packed them in backpacks for over 500 kids in the community. “I loved overhearing how excited people were to see what was in those backpacks.” Most families have to stretch their limited budget when their kids go back to school. Often it means less food for mom and dad. “It might only be a backpack but that’s $60 they can save and spend on food.”
BrandActive is also one of the top food sorters in the warehouse! When they come in you can just feel the positive vibes that these employees have. They were most recently in to sort food in the warehouse in December and they sorted an amazing 10,068 lbs. of food! To put that into perspective – that food will make up hampers of food for close to 1,000 people.
The outreach activities with BrandActive also resonate with the employees at the organization. “A lot of people don’t realize how large the issue of food security and hunger is in our own backyard,” Robynne says of engaging her employees in community giving. “I am happy I can raise that awareness. Some of my employees have also told me that they plan on coming back on their own time with their family.”
But it wasn’t just motivating her employees that drew Robynne to the food bank. “NYH does more than just provide food. It’s trying to meet a deeper need for food security. They are trying to have a greater impact. That resonates with our company.”
“You realize that whatever you have in life is determined by what opportunities you are given,” Robynne told me. “But I believe that everybody deserves respect no matter what walk of life you come from, no matter what opportunities came your way. One of the first things I heard when I was here was about the dignity and respect that choice model food banks provide.”
“If everybody had dignity and respect for each other, imagine how much better of place the world would be?”
Because of entrepreneurs like Robynne and companies like BrandActive, more and more people in the community are being engaged and becoming aware of the growing issue of food insecurity. We are thankful for all of their hard work making a difference in their community.
I remember college fondly. Leaving home, living in a new place, and fun with friends. I think I even remember some learning and planning for the future somewhere in there. What most of us don’t think of when we think of university or college is not having enough food to eat. I mean I didn’t exactly eat the best food. There was a lot of mac and cheese, microwave dinners and some other weird combinations of food I cringe to think of now. But never was there not enough. I never had to stress about where my next meal would come from.
Unfortunately today, more and more students across our country are finding themselves in university thinking more about how they will afford to eat than about their studies. Right here in our city all our universities have had to open food banks right on campus. More than 800 York University students need to access the Food 4 Thought campus food bank weekly in order to feed themselves.
I had the chance to talk with Niraj Maharaj, Student Rights and Support Services Coordinator for the
York Federation of Students about this the other day. You see back in 2010, Niraj and his friend Kemba, working at York, realized many of the students they were working with were also food insecure and they knew they had to do something about it.
Growing up, Niraj shared with me that he felt he was lucky. Even though he came from a single parent household, they always had enough food on the table and did not go hungry. His mother felt it was very important that he and his siblings were grateful for everything they had. Many weekends and holidays were devoted to volunteering in the local soup kitchens and participating in food drives. This is a lesson that Niraj has taken with him throughout his life.
Niraj’s job in Advocacy Services was to advocate for students who facing disciplinary action for misconduct, connect students with tutoring when they were struggling in classes or support them for other issues that would arise at school. Niraj was there to lend a helping hand. He eventually began to notice a trend among the students that he was working with. Many of confided that even with OSAP, scholarships and jobs, they were not able to afford enough food to get by. The combination of hunger and their incredibly busy schedules was leading many students to make poor academic choices.
Niraj and Kemba began running food drives to support their fellow students. Their efforts quickly snowballed. They were surprised to see how many people at York rallied together to ensure their fellow classmates could get access to enough food. The Food 4 Thought York University Food Bank was born.
Today the program sees 40-50 students in need of food every day.
When the food bank was just beginning, Niraj told me that many students were embarrassed to use the program. “They were worried that their peers or teachers would find out. But as the years have gone by the students at York University have been having open discussions regarding food insecurity. This has helped with the stigmatization many people feel about using a food bank. Students are realizing that they are not alone when it comes to hunger. If someone is still uncomfortable, I will refer him or her to a food bank that is off campus.”
Niraj told me that the best part of the job is seeing how grateful people are for the help they have received. “Many students stop by in their cap and gown after graduation, some with their families, to express thanks for the service. I’ve been told by many people that they wouldn’t be able to graduate if it weren’t for the food bank”.
However, graduation does not necessarily mean an end to food bank use. Unfortunately, many students will need to continue using food banks for years to come. “It used to be that once you had an education you could go out and get a job and support yourself and your family. But these days an education doesn’t guarantee you a job anymore,” says Niraj.
As students are graduating, they find it difficult to secure well-paying jobs to cover rent, other expenses and the new debt incurred from attending university. Continuing to use a food bank until one can hopefully find a job that pays enough is not uncommon for many students, especially those without strong family support. Even those with families in the city, often come from homes where parents are just making ends meet.
“The issues around food security, income, and tuition are vast and not going away any time soon but in the mean time we will be here to support our student community so that people who need food can access it.”
Without your help, community food banks just like Food 4 Thought would have to close their doors. Hundreds of students would go hungry and be forced to drop out of school.
Niraj saw the need to help others in his community and you can too. Not all of us can start a food bank, but there are many ways to contribute to make an impact.
I had the chance to talk with Niraj Maharaj, Student Rights and Support Services Coordinator for the
