Top Foods to Donate
Comments Off on Top Foods to DonateWant to help your neighbours in need but not sure what food is best to donate? Check out this handy infographic we put together to help!
Tag Archive: hunger
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Who is Donating?
Comments Off on Who is Donating?Who’s donating to the food bank? You and wonderful people in your community are working together to make a difference in the lives of people that are hungry!
Want to join in and make a donation to support people that are hungry? Click here!
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Happy Halloween!
Comments Off on Happy Halloween!Happy Halloween!
We hope you enjoy all the tricks and treats you get today!
Make this Halloween a little less scary for people that are hungry by providing meals in your community. Each donation of $1 provides 3 meals for people in your neighbourhood!
Scare hunger away today!
Provide 30 spooky good meals for $10
Scare away 150 empty tummies for $50
Boo!
Together we can make Toronto a less scary place for people that are hungry!
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Sharing What We Have
Comments Off on Sharing What We Have
Guest blog by Lynne
“We take a lot of things for granted,” Lynne, long-time donor of the food bank shares. “Basic things like clothes, blankets and especially food.” This is one of the reasons that drew Lynne to the food bank. This is her story.
For the longest time we didn’t have a refrigerator. I would take my toy buggy with me and walk with my mom to the grocery store every day. Food was scarce but I don’t remember going super hungry. We lived by the waterfront and there were always men asking my grandparents if we had work for them. “We share what we have,” was my grandma’s philosophy. She would always invite them in and even when there was no work, she would make them some lunch before they left. Kids were always coming to our house for lunch. Food and community were a big part of our lives. That was a long time ago. But even today food and community are still an important part of my life.
I eventually went on to study home economics and early child education at university. Eventually I started working in the inner city supporting moms with prenatal care and nutrition. There are a lot of families that were financially compromised and we spent a lot of time focusing on the importance of healthy food – where to get it, how to make it economically and what they could use to make healthy meals without spending too much. But it wasn’t only about food. After all, community is a big part of the equation. After my first husband passed away I was a single mom trying to work, take care of my children and make ends meet.
I often would share food with my neighbours who were also struggling, often because life was hard and lonely and sharing food brought us together and brought so much joy.
It’s no surprise that the same focus on sharing what you have, food and community was passed from my grandparents through my family to my children. When our kids were growing up, food and giving was a part of the family culture. We tried to eat dinner together as much as we could and during the holidays we would come together to make Christmas hampers. It was a family tradition. Even now, though my kids are older we still come together, four generations of family and they do it every year.
I started to support the food bank because it simply made sense. There are so many families out there without enough food to eat.
I may not be able to give to all of them directly but I can partner with an organization that is working to do that. You don’t have to be wealthy, you just have to share what you have. I tell my kids that all the time. Because none of us exist on our own.
We are part of something bigger, bigger than just ourselves and giving is a part of that, a part of our lives.
And that is exactly what North York Harvest Food Bank, with the generous support of Lynne and donors just like her are doing. Like the philosophy that Lynne’s grandparents lived by whatever we have we share. Join Lynne and the other amazing NYH supporters to ensure that no family in Toronto goes hungry this fall.
Donate a generous gift of $500 or more and join Lynne in the Harvest Circle – our leadership donors paving the way for a Toronto where no one goes hungry.
Want to make another gift? Every $1 donated provides 3 meals for someone that is hungry! Click here.
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Changing Lives Through Food
Comments Off on Changing Lives Through FoodSometimes we don’t realize how much our actions make a difference to people we’ve never even met. But I want to take the time to share with you how your actions of supporting your local food bank have changed lives and come full circle.
Mr. and Mrs. Perez moved here with their family over a year ago fleeing a very difficult situation back home. When they arrived, they found themselves needing to go to the food bank to help them get back on their feet.
Not long ago I had a chat with them as they were spending time volunteering with us. They told me that the reason they now volunteer in the food bank is because they want to pay it forward.
“I want others to know that someone out there cares for them. Coming from the situation in our past – it can be hard to understand that there are people who actually care.”
When the Perez family came to Canada, they struggled to find jobs because they didn’t speak English – which in turn meant they struggled to put food on the table for their children. “It wasn’t until we came to the food bank that we realized people really cared, from volunteers, to staff and donors – everyone wants to make sure that no one goes hungry. In a country like Canada, no one should have to.” Mr. Perez told me.
Unfortunately, the number of food bank users in our city keeps growing. According to the latest Who’s Hungry report, there were over 900,000 visits to Toronto food banks last year. That is a 48% increase in the suburbs since 2008.
Mrs. Perez told me that on their first visit to the food bank she was surprised at the kind of options they had, “I was able to find ingredients to make recipes that I used to make for my family back home. It really helped my children as a lot of this new Canadian food was strange to them”. Personally when I see the kind of donations that come into the food bank, I am also surprised by the vast variety and selection that sometimes gets donated. I think it is great that just because a person needs to use the food bank they still are able to have a choice as to what goes into their food hamper, just as they would if going to a grocery store. It’s also important that we have choice to accommodate dietary restrictions and allergies.
It’s great know that Perez family have adjusted to Canada and glad to be a part of our community. It can be really hard picking up and changing your life. There are many worries that one can have in a situation like that – whether or not you’ll be able to have a meal shouldn’t have to be one of them.
These days Mr. Perez works at a full time job and speaks English very well. His kids go off to school each day having had a healthy breakfast and he just wants the same for people that are now where he was. Each week the Perez family go to the food bank they used to use but now they do to stock shelves and help others pick out groceries to feed their own families.
Mr. Perez loves giving back to his local food bank, “I am very grateful that I can give back to people that are just like I once was; worrying about whether their children are going to have something to eat that day or not. If not for the food bank, I might still be worrying.”
More than 16,000 people will use a food bank in your community this month. Because of you they will be able to leave knowing that their kids (and themselves) will not have to go without a nutritious meal to help them get back on their feet.
Please consider making a generous donation or volunteering to help our new neighbours get back on their feet.
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Winter Public Sort
2 CommentsTHANK YOU FOR YOUR INTEREST IN THE WINTER PUBLIC SORT!
This year’s winter public sort takes place on December 10th!
Every year we welcome families looking to give back and help their communities during the holiday season.
To get involved this year, please contact Jane at 416-635-7771 x 31 or email jane@northyorkharvest.com
We will have 2 sorting sessions: 10am to noon and 1pm to 3pm.
Please check out the pictures from last year on Facebook (and make sure you like the page)!
Learn more about available volunteer opportunities and how you can give time to make a difference.
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Hunger Awareness Week
Comments Off on Hunger Awareness WeekCanada is such an amazing country, there is so much freedom and liberties we have that many countries don’t. This is why I always find it shocking when I see the statistics of people that go hungry in our country.
Hunger Awareness Week takes place from September 19-23. This is a week where Canadians like you and I band together to raise awareness for the people in our Canada that have to go without something to eat.
In fact, on September 16 Hon Laura Albanese, MPP joined us at North York Harvest Food Bank to help us sort food during the First Annual Great MPP Food Sort!
Did you know?
Each day children in our communities may go without a meal. Poverty can lead to poor nutrition and that can affect a child’s grades and quality of life in the long run.
Every province and city in the country is affected by hunger.
Who uses the food bank in Toronto? They range from many ages and backgrounds.
- 1/3 of food bank users are children
- 15% are seniors
- 40% are on long term disability
- 40% have graduated from college or university
But what can we do?
We can all take a stand and make a difference in the lives of people that are hungry!
Get involved with your local food bank and the issue of hunger in your community in the following ways:
Make a Donation A donation of $1 provides 3 meals
Run a Food & Fund DriveGet your friends, family and coworkers together. Be creative and have fun while giving back.
Donate FoodGreat items to donate are canned fish, canned beans, canned tomatoes, rice & baby products
VolunteerThere are many ways to volunteer! Join us in the food bank, warehouse, on the truck, at events or in the office.
Get SocialSpread the word on all of your social media accounts about hunger in Canada! Find some Hunger Awareness Week tools here.
You can make a difference for the people that are hungry in your community!
Check out more photos from the Hon Laura Albanese MPP visit on Facebook
Find out more about Hunger Awareness Week!
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2015/2016 Stakeholder Impact Review
Comments Off on 2015/2016 Stakeholder Impact ReviewThe Joy of Food
This has been one incredible year. We want to celebrate YOU and all you do for people in your community with the release of our 2015/2016 Stakeholder Impact Review. Because of your support, thousands of people are able to experience the #joyoffood! In fact, almost 5 MILLION meals have been served and it wouldn’t have happened without you by our side.
Click here to see your impact!