Volunteers: Vital to Our Community!
Comments Off on Volunteers: Vital to Our Community!Without the help of our INCREDIBLE volunteers it would not be possible to serve over 13,000 people every month!
Tag Archive: neighbours
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Amp Up Your Food & Funds Drive!
Comments Off on Amp Up Your Food & Funds Drive!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!
Still not sure what kind of fun ideas there are when helping your community? Check out this great list of 87 IDEAS!
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!
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Eight GREAT Reasons to Volunteer!
Comments Off on Eight GREAT Reasons to Volunteer!Volunteers are incredibly important to their community! I get to meet fantastic volunteers of North York Harvest every day and they always have a smile on their face and a great story to tell.
Volunteers are the lifeblood of any nonprofit organization! Without your help, charities like North York Harvest would not be able to collect, sort and distribute millions of pounds of food that serves over 16,000 people each month!
Did you also know that there are many benefits in becoming a volunteer?
1. Learn a new skill. Did you know NYH volunteers learn skills such as safe food handling, cooking, building a budget and much more?
2. Make new friends and meet interesting people. Meet new people with similar interests or people from different walks of life. Bond with others while helping out in your community.
3. Boost your resume. Volunteering is a job even though you aren’t paid to do it. Many employers and colleges find the skills you gain from volunteering very important when looking for a person to hire.
4. Increase self-confidence. When you do good in the community, it really gives you a feeling of accomplishment and pride. These feel good feelings will go with you into other areas of your life such as work or friendships.
5. Stay physically fit. Many of the volunteers at North York Harvest lift boxes and are on their feet moving around to sort food or serve food bank clients. But even if you have limited mobility there are many other ways to get involved such as making phone calls and helping in the office!
6. Set a good example for your kids. Steffi volunteers with her family sorting food in the warehouse. “We serve as examples for children through our actions more than our words. We have not ever used a food bank and many need to. So I want my children to understand this is a reality for many people in Toronto”.
7. Minimize stress. Move beyond your day-to-day troubles that can arise from your job or stress at home.
8. Make a difference! Volunteers are essential to maintaining a thriving community! It wouldn’t be possible without you!
When you volunteer, it is a gift to yourself and your community!
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North York Harvest’s Most Wanted
Comments Off on North York Harvest’s Most WantedWe are incredibly grateful for the thousands of pounds of food items that you have donated! Most donations that come into the food bank are non-perishable. These non-perishable items go a long way to ensure that our neighbours have enough food to eat.
You might be wondering what non-perishable items are used and needed the most. Well, all donations made to the food bank are important, but there are some items that are requested more by food bank clients.
Most requests are for canned fish, pulses (beans and lentils), canned tomatoes and rice.
But why are those items requested more so than others? Here’s a little more about information and some awesome recipes!
Canned Fish
When it comes to non-perishable meat products, canned fish can’t be beat. Fish is high in Omega-3 fatty acids, which aid in brain health, lower blood pressure and reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease. It is also a great source of lean protein, which is essential for cell growth and maintaining one’s muscle tissue. Reduced sodium varieties are preferred as canned fish can contain too much salt for some people. Canned fish can easily be added to salads and pastas for a convenient way of incorporating it into a diet.
For a tuna salad without the mayo and the added health benefits of avocado – try this Avocado Tuna Salad
Make a quick and delicious dinner using items from the pantry with Garlic Salmon Linguine for just 67 cents per serving
Pulses
It’s official! 2016 has been named the year of the pulse. It’s not hard to see why; these economical beans and lentils are nutritional powerhouses. The are extremely high in fibre and vitamins and minerals including zinc, iron, magnesium and B vitamins. Pulses can also reduce “bad cholesterol” which decreases one’s chance for heart attack or stroke. They are also a fantastic source of protein.
Warm up when it’s cold outside by making this super simple Lentil Soup
Brownies made with beans? It’s true – delicious and healthy; try this Black Bean Brownie recipe!
Try something a little different with these Chickpea Burritos
Canned Tomatoes
One of the best canned produce items is canned tomatoes. Unlike other canned produce, canned tomatoes can retain their flavour, allowing them to be used in many recipes for breakfast, lunch and dinner. These are a great staple for soups, sauces, chili and many other recipes. They are also high in lycopene, which is a powerful antioxidant.
Have some comfort food with this Creamy Tomato Mushroom Pasta
This Potato and Cauliflower Curry is a great way to try out some spices in your spice rack.
Use your beans and canned tomatoes in this Vegetarian Chili
Rice
Rice is a very conventional and easy to prepare food item. It is also a great source of vitamins and minerals such as niacin, vitamin D, calcium, fiber, iron, thiamine and riboflavin. These vitamins and minerals promote a healthy body by supporting the immune system and regulating a person’s metabolism. Rice is also a great source of energy.
Impress your family and friends with this Creamy Risotto
Try your hand at making your own Sushi, it is economical and a lot of fun to try!
For a basic and easy dish for any night of the week, try this Brown Rice Tofu Stir Fry
Families right in your neighbourhood are always in need of these basic pantry items. If you would like to donate groceries, please visit one of your local fire halls or grocery stores. Aside from the items mentioned above, you can check out our list of suggested food donations here.
Curious about what else goes into a food hamper? Learn more about the Build a Hamper Food Purchasing Program that helps all children, parents and seniors have access to items like fresh fruits, vegetables, eggs and more.
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The Amazing Winter Food Drive!
Comments Off on The Amazing Winter Food Drive!As the Winter Food Drive wraps up, we are absolutely astounded by how the community came together to support your neighbours in need! Your holiday spirit and eagerness to make a difference in the lives of people that are hungry was nothing short of incredible!
All of your efforts raised $270,000 & 250,000 lbs. of food!
From the food drives…
To generous financial donations…
To even some really creative fundraising ideas…like Ferrero holding a product sale in the lobby of their building. It sold out quickly and had a line up right out the door!
It’s amazing what a group of generous and community minded people can achieve when they get together!
You even booked the sort room for every session available to help sort the groceries coming in from the drive!
Our friends from Brand Active sorted a whopping 10,068 lbs. of food for families in need!
Our Winter Public Sort was booked to capacity with volunteers more than a month before the event!
Including City Councillors Shelley Carroll & Frank Di Giorgio
Even Mayor John Tory stepped in to help!
Your time and effort was absolutely awesome!
Because of YOU we can provide almost 1 MILLION meals to people right here in Toronto!
Kids will enough enough to eat…
Shelters for teens will be able to provide well rounded meals…
Community members can get together to bond over the joy of food…
…And SO much more!
Thank YOU for lighting up the holidays with food!
It’s not too late to make a gift to provide meals for people that are hungry! You can still organize a food and funds drive or make a financial donation here!
Don’t miss out on more great news from North York Harvest! Sign up for our E-News!
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What’s in Store for 2016?
Comments Off on What’s in Store for 2016?New Year’s resolutions are very common to make at this time of year. I have definitely thought of a couple for myself, and it has probably crossed your mind as well. Most of the popular resolutions are to get out of debt, volunteer more, get fit, quit smoking or save money.
As a new member of the North York Harvest family, I was curious about our New Year’s Resolutions for a city where no one goes hungry. I sat down with our Executive Director, Ryan Noble, to chat about what is in store for North York Harvest Food Bank in 2016. These are some of the main things we will be partnering with our donors, community and agencies in 2016
Find a new home for the Lawrence Heights Food Bank
Our Lawrence Heights Community Food Bank, used to be at our old location in Lawrence Heights. We were unable to have the food bank come with us to 116 Industry Street. It needed to stay in that area to provide service to the many clients who relied on it for food support. With space in our old neighborhood difficult to find, we were able to find a home nearby that promised to be a good solution. Yet two major issues that our food bank clients face is the cost of transportation and disability. The majority of the 2,000 clients who access this food bank living in Lawrence Heights found it difficult to get there. We quickly recognized that to ensure clients would be able to access the food bank it would need to move back to the Lawrence Heights community. With the support of our staff, volunteer leaders and the Lawrence Heights community, we have been working on a solution that would provide us with an accessible space right back in the community. With the continued support of donors like you and our dedicated community, our goal is to move back within the next 6 months without interrupting service. We want to ensure that in the cold winter months ahead, everyone will be able to access the food they need.
See that the Poverty Reduction Strategy is Implemented
Recently the Poverty Reduction Strategy (PRS) was passed during a Toronto city council meeting. The PRS aims to eliminate poverty in Toronto by 2035 with implementations starting in 2016. The goal is to address immediate needs such as housing, transportation and food insecurity. NYH has been a big supporter of this strategy since day one and we would like to see it take shape. The only issue now is what funding will be available for this plan.
What does North York Harvest want to see addressed as soon as possible? Public space for food programming. Many people living in poverty do not have access to healthy food because of where they live. We want to be able to provide our programs in more communities, but there is a lack of public space for us to run our programs (like our issue with Lawrence Heights).
The PRS recommends increasing the number of emergency food programs such as food banks in neighbourhoods that have food insecurity and poor food access.
This would significantly help us serve over 13,000 people each month and would increase access to these programs for our clients. Click here to find out more about the Poverty Reduction Strategy.
Increase our Industrial Partnership with The Learning Enrichment Foundation (LEF)
When we moved into our new home at 116 Industry St, one of the things we were most excited about was the potential for partnerships with many of the great organizations also located here. One collaboration that we were able to implement right away was allowing students working on their forklift-driving license to use our forklifts and warehouse. This has helped them complete their training in a live warehouse thus building real work experience. As we enter 2016, we have some plans to see that partnership expand. We’re hoping to create an apprentice program for on the job training while supporting our warehouse distribution. This will ensure we can move more food through our warehouse to the clients who need it.
Increase our Food Purchasing Program
In an effort to make sure that our community has enough healthy food to eat, we have further developed our food purchasing program into the Build a Hamper Program. The goal of this program is to take our food hampers to the next level by adding more fresh and healthy food. Many of our food items come through donations from food drives or corporate donations and consist of non-perishable foods. We would like to increase our food purchasing budget so we can provide more items such as fresh vegetables, dairy, eggs, meat and milk to ensure a more balanced meal for those that access our food banks. If you would like to learn more about our Build A Hamper program, click here.
We are definitely looking forward to achieving these goals in 2016! What are your New Year’s Resolutions?
Keep in Touch this Year!!
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We Had a Great 2015!
Comments Off on We Had a Great 2015!2015 was a great year at North York Harvest Food Bank and it couldn’t have been done without you!
Enjoy our 2015 year in review video!
We can’t wait to see what 2016 holds!
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Seniors Bonding Through Food
Comments Off on Seniors Bonding Through FoodI remember when I was a kid, we would always take the long journey (at least it seemed at the time) to
my Grandparents’ house to spend the holidays. My grandmother would always cook a large family dinner for all of us including my aunts, uncles and cousins. There was always a scent of fresh baked bread throughout the house; I can still remember it to this day.As the Holiday Season quickly approaches, you’re probably thinking about what kind of delicious food to make and share with your friends and family. Perhaps your grandparents passed down some holiday traditions and recipes that you can’t wait to use.
Thinking about my grandparents and family around the holidays makes me think of the seniors that are alone at this time of year. My heart goes out to the thousands of senior citizens that access a food bank every month; just this year alone there has been a 35% increase in usage of food banks among seniors*.
One of our largest Community Food Spaces, Bathurst-Finch, reflects the rise of seniors using food programs. Many seniors living in the Bathurst-Finch area do not have a family or friends to spend time with; many have emigrated from other countries. Sometimes they feel as though they have no one and nowhere to go.Because of the support of community members like you, we are able to help these seniors by providing healthy meals and a sense of community. Bathurst-Finch runs a community kitchen program that is a great way for them to get together for companionship and bonding over the joy of food. The seniors reach out to one another to make sure that they are not alone and isolated, especially around the holidays. A wonderful program that shows kindness and inclusion to those that need it most.
As part of the Community Kitchen program, many of the seniors would share with each other recipes
from their home country that they taught their children as they grew up. The community even recently put out a cookbook of most loved recipes!The main goal of the Hot Pot Cookbook Project was to support socialization of seniors as well as learning from each other culturally. The name was inspired by a traditional way of cooking in Asia that gathers community members around a simmering “Hot Pot” to cook together. The cookbook really showcases the amazing people, culture and food found in the neighbourhood.
Support the Bathurst Finch Community
In the holiday spirit of sharing recipes through generations, I wanted to share with you some amazing dessert recipes from the Hot Pot Cookbook to enjoy with your loved ones for the holidays.
Make sure you let me know how your baking turns out!
