Tag Archive: north york harvest

  1. Income Security: A Roadmap for Change

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    Recently the Ontario government released a new report in an effort to deal with the issue of income security, something that affects all of us.

    North York Harvest is the primary food bank for all of northern Toronto, representing more than 1/3 of the geography of the city. Each month we ensure that more than 16,000 individuals receive vital food support. Over the 30+ years our organization has been serving this community the demand for emergency food support has never been as high as it is today and we believe numbers will only continue to increase.

    We are so happy to see this type of report coming out of government.  This is the first report during our 30 years supporting our community that recommends major investments in and improvements to programs that affect the lives of low-income people in Ontario. The report demonstrates a commitment to a fundamentally different approach to supports and services, putting people, and their needs and rights, at the centre.

    We ask you to adopt these recommendations, but, especially where OW and ODSP rates are concerned, ten years is too long to wait.

    We see clearly, at our food banks and beyond that far too many Ontarians need support immediately; people are going hungry, losing their housing and suffering unnecessary health crises at this very moment because they simply do not have enough money to live a healthy and dignified life in this province.

    At North York Harvest we are deeply concerned with the current state of the income security system in Ontario.  1 in 8 households in Toronto are food insecure meaning that they lack the access to the food they need to properly feed themselves or their families. Thousands of children, seniors, single parents and adults are going hungry each day in Ontario.

    Food is one of the very few “flexible” costs in the lives of people on low-incomes. We know people are skipping meals, or going whole days without food, so that they can pay for housing, prescriptions and so their children can eat. This is unacceptable anywhere, but especially in a province as progressive and wealthy as ours.

    The reason for this is quite clear. People cannot access the food they need because of inadequate incomes.

    29% of food bank clients in Toronto are on OW and 35% are on ODSP. The fact that the majority of people we see coming through our emergency food programs are receiving social assistance clearly shows that the rates are unacceptably low.

    Food banks provide an undeniably important support to thousands of people. But food banks do not replace an adequate social safety net and cannot solve the problem of food insecurity. Simply put, food bank clients will never be able to access the food they need to feed themselves and their families without sufficient incomes.

    We support the vision, principles and recommendations in the Roadmap and know that, if acted upon, they would have a deep impact on the well-being of people on low-incomes in northern Toronto and would do so with dignity and respect.

    We urge the province to adopt these recommendations and to do so as quickly as possible. Government must take action now to make life better for low-income people in Ontario.

  2. 2017 Round Up

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    Because of supporters like you, we spent 2017 working with our community to help our most vulnerable neighbours meet their food needs, and find long-term solutions to poverty and food insecurity.

    Here are some of our favourite moments.

    Gardens Galore!

    We had our first ever garden since moving to Pengarth Crt in Lawrence Heights, and were able to run multiple harvest festivals throughout the city.

    A joint garden-kitchen program with youth in partnership with PACT at the Lawrence Heights site, teaching kids about the importance of fresh food and healthy eating.

    We supported the first ever farmers market at the Bathurst Finch hub, and now there is a weekly good food market on site every Wednesday.

    Ensuring consistent service throughout our network of partner agencies

    All of our food banks and member agencies are different, but it’s important that no matter where people live in North York that they receive the same standard of service.

    This year we also took on a major network wide evaluation of our 19 catchment food banks, based on our Standard of Service. Clients at each site were surveyed and the programs were assigned a score out of 5 on areas such as accessibility, quality and quantity of food, customer service etc. We hope to repeat this assessment on an annual basis.

    Our AMAZING donors

    As always, our donors blow us away with incredible generosity and support of their community!  Young Zack is no different, in just the first grade he’s making a difference for his neighbours.  This past holiday season he popped by with cans of tuna that he purchased with his gift money.

    Stronger Together: Increasing Services and Impact

    We worked with many community agencies to bring enhanced programming and services to our members, including:

    • Toronto Public Health dental bus at Oriole Food Space.  This bus offered free dental care to those who otherwise would go without this necessity!
    • Smoking cessation workshops
    • Hearing tests for clients
    • Diabetes prevention and management programs
    • We launched the Community Food Works program in partnership with Toronto Public Health’s food strategy at Oriole; a program that teaches food handlers training and food skills to low income individuals. Our pilot at OFS was targeted to Arabic speaking newcomers.
    • A resident based advocacy and food security program
    • Several community kitchen programs

    Healthy Food Matters! Focusing our Food Drive on Priority Items

    This year we worked more intentionally with our fabulous food drive organizers to improve the quality of food we offer to our members. We asked them to hold single food item drives choosing from a list of 5 priority items: Rice, Oil, Canned Beans, Canned Seafood and Canned Tomatoes. These staples are versatile, nutrient-dense foods our network needs to maintain good health. Thanks to our incredible community who helped us answer the call for healthy food!

    Leadership in Logistics

    With the support from the Metcalf Foundation and The Learning Enrichment Foundation we have launched an exciting new program for individuals currently receiving Ontario Works. Aside from being a stepping stone in breaking the cycle of poverty, the program gives participants a chance to take charge of their own lives with the confidence and training to succeed in promising careers.

  3. Cash VS. Cans

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    There’s been lots in the news recently about how best to support food banks. We’re grateful for all of the ways our community takes action against hunger, and each type of gift is essential in making sure 16,000 people each month have the food and support they need to thrive.

     

    Join the Winter Food Drive today!

    Make a Donation

    Register Your Food & Funds Drive

    Collect Funds Only By Setting Up An Online Giving Page

     

    Together we can make a difference and leave hunger behind!

  4. Light Up the Season

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    It’s that time of year again!  CBC is teaming up with food banks across the GTA to raise food and funds to make sure our communities have the food they need to thrive.

    Sadly, we at North York Harvest, along with other GTA food banks, need your support now more than ever. Local, provincial and national reports are showing alarming statistics regarding food bank use in our communities.

    • Food bank use is up across Toronto, with the greatest increase in use happening in the inner suburbs, like North York. 16,000 people will turn to us this month alone to keep food on their tables.
    • 1 in 3 food bank users are children
    • 35% of food bank users will go an entire day without eating
    • Food bank usage of seniors has skyrocketed 26.5% in the past year

    Here’s how our community is taking action to change those alarming findings:

    Hilltop Middle School has partnered with us throughout the CBC Sounds of the Season Event.  They are focused on collecting the food bank items that are vital to the health of our neighbours struggling to put food on the table: rice, canned tomatoes, canned fish, beans and lentils and cooking oil.

    These amazing students have been working hard to make sure people in their community have nutritious food to eat.  Their activities have included hosting a school assembly, holding a class competition to collect food, and using their school newsletter and class activities to share information about hunger in Toronto.

    One of the students even went Trick or Treating on Halloween to collect items for North York Harvest instead of candy.  AMAZING!

    To celebrate the incredible work done by the students of Hilltop and the other schools participating on behalf of other food banks, we’ll all be having a friendly food sort competition at the Daily Bread Food Bank location on Friday December 8th.

    Want to help Hilltop? Make a donation on their behalf here!

    CBC has been a phenomenal partner in spreading the word about the state of poverty and food insecurity in the city and how food banks across the GTA are taking action on these issues.  Our Forklift Instructor Tammy was featured in an inspiring story talking about her journey from food bank user to working here at NYH and the joy that her family felt about her success – you can read it here!

    Last year you raised $727,226 through Sounds of the Season for GTA Food Banks!

    This year we need you more than ever to make sure everyone in our community can access the healthy food they need to thrive!

    Here’s how you can take action:

    Learn more about Sounds of the Season and pledge your support

    Join our Winter Food Drive and help collect food and funds for those who need us most.

    Help us spread the word about food bank use in North Toronto – follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram and share your commitment to ending hunger in our community.

     



  5. Setting the Table – The Power of a Meal

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    A message from Aniska Ali,  North York Harvest’s New Director of Development and Marketing

    As Thanksgiving approaches, I, like many of you, am preparing to welcome family and friends to my home. Pumpkin printed napkins have been fished out of storage containers, recipes have been bookmarked, and shopping lists have been made. My daughter has been collecting leaves for weeks for our table’s centerpiece, her part of our family’s annual tradition. On Monday, she’ll help set the table, and I’ll fuss in the kitchen, bickering with my husband and my sister about how much sage to add to the stuffing and how frequently to baste the turkey. These are our rituals, these are the acts that make Thanksgiving familiar and special – these are things I’ll remember as time goes by.

    Food is a big part of my life. Talking about the power of it, and sadly, the lack of it for so many in our community fills my days. What often gets lost in our rush to make sure there’s enough is an understanding of the role food plays in uniting us. The sharing and enjoyment of a meal is a simple, but profound, pleasure that brings us together, across cultures, ages and backgrounds. Eating together is, and should be, a daily experience of connection.

    Unfortunately that is simply not the case for the 15,000 people we serve each month. Skyrocketing housing prices, precarious employment and social assistance rates that have failed to keep up with the cost of the living put the joy food brings out of reach for so many of our neighbours. Sadly, we know all too well that loneliness and isolation go hand in hand with living in poverty.

    That’s why North York Harvest offers programs like community kitchens to give people in our neighbourhood a chance to meet friends, cook together, and share a meal in a welcoming place.

    As Maudlyn, one of our members and a retired caterer told us recently, “This program is a commitment to myself.  It gets me out of the house to socialize with others. My favourite part is actually setting the table, it feels like we are having a real family meal”.

    Thank you for making stories like Maudlyn’s possible. Thank you for believing as we do that, everyone deserves a safe place where they can meet people, build friendships, feel included and eat delicious food regardless of their income. Thank you for investing in programs like these that make North York Harvest so much more than a food bank. We hope you know just how much your support means to us and the community we serve.

    From all of us here, Happy Thanksgiving!

    Looking for a way to make sure everyone has a place at the table? Make your gift here: https://northyorkharvest.com/donateffd/

  6. Childhood Hunger Has No Place At School

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    Every day, people in your community rely on food banks to put food on the table for their families. In fact, North York Harvest helps more than 15,000 people meet their basic food needs each month. Many people don’t know that over 30% of people using our food bank are children – and a growing number of them in our community will be going back to school this year without enough food to be healthy and successful in school.

    Tricia is a teacher at Beaumonde Heights Junior Middle School, one of our local schools. She sees many students coming to school with empty stomachs. Her students understand what it is like to use a food bank – either because their own family uses one, or one of their friends.

    Beaumonde Heights JMS has hosted food drives for North York Harvest for 15 years, and this year is no different. All students get involved in the food drive to support their school, friends and neighbours. They know just how important these programs are.

    Of course, childhood hunger is a symptom of family poverty. North York Harvest and our agencies are on the frontlines of a childhood poverty epidemic: according to a recent report, nearly 27% of children in Toronto live in poverty. In the North York community, that percentage is much higher.  In some of our neighborhoods, almost 44% of children are living in poverty – and are much less likely to have access to enough healthy food to be successful in school.

    We are facing serious challenges in this community. But every day, we are inspired by acts of compassion from people like Tricia who are determined to make a difference in the lives of kids in North York.

    Today you can take action to join Tricia and the students from Beaumonde Heights in making a difference for kids heading back to school this fall.  By making a gift to North York Harvest Food Bank you will be helping thousands of kids and their parents that rely on programs that provide healthy meals and snacks.

    All children, no matter where they live or what their circumstances, deserve the same opportunity to succeed.

    Donate today to make a difference for kids in our community!

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  7. Community Food Spaces

    Comments Off on Community Food Spaces The North York Harvest Food Bank offers a number of programs and services in addition to our warehousing and distribution operations. Our top priority in running these spaces is to have incredible customer service for anyone that comes to our programs.   Find out more about each of these amazing community spaces and those that we serve in these programs. Learn more about Oriole Food Space Learn more about Bathurst Finch Community Food Bank Learn more about Lawrence Heights Community Food Space

    Oriole Food Space

    The Oriole Food Space, located in the Oriole Community Centre at 2975 Don Mills Road West, is a multi-use community food space designed to build a healthy community, together, through food. It does so by offering a variety of programs, including community kitchens, drop-in food bank hours, food skills workshops, gardening workshops, and farm trips.

    Bathurst Finch Community Food Space

    The Bathurst-Finch Community Food Bank supports local individuals and families with food assistance and helps to create connections with other neighbourhood resources. The program also works to foster community participation and action around food-related issues and it will regularly host visiting agencies, deliver workshops and run field trips for participants.

    Lawrence Heights Community Food Space

    The Lawrence Heights Community Food Space is located at 6 Pengarth Ct.  The program provides an on site community food bank, community garden, as well as information and referral services to a wide range of community resources and supports, extending beyond food assistance.  

    Would you like to support these amazing programs?  

    We're always looking for donors to sponsor daily food bank activities, community kitchens, community gardens, farm trips and events that mean so much to our community members!  Contact Leslie to get involved -   416-635-777 x 21 / leslie@northyorkharvest.com  

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  8. Our Favourite Recipes

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    Hungry for some meal inspiration?

    Maybe you’re looking for a great snack, dessert, dinner or potluck idea?

    A cherished recipe can either come down from a long family tradition or even just a favourite cookbook. In search of some new recipe ideas, I asked my fellow foodie co-workers what their favourite foods are to share with friends and family. 

    Hopefully you’ll feel inspired to give them a try and let us know how they turn out!

    Tofu Scramble

    Photo: Hot for Food

    “One of my personal favourite things to make is tofu scramble.  It’s easy, delicious, affordable and it wins over everyone I know that tastes it (even if they say they don’t like tofu)! Usually I make it without a recipe and it’s different each time, but when I first started out I used a recipe.  Try this one from Hot for Food!” – Lauren, Communications (NYH Blogger)

    Get the recipe!

    Pasta Salad

    Photo: Jaime Oliver

    “I’m sharing my secrets with you. I make this pasta salad for literally every potluck.

    It’s super fresh and great for summer because you get to use up so many herbs and tomatoes which I always have a ton of in the garden. Plus it’s vegan.” – Sahar, Community Engagement   

    Get the Recipe!

     

    Lasagna Roll Ups 

    “Lasagna, a more costly dish to make, can be much less expensive w/ tofu and egg and fancied up if rolled instead of layered.  I have tried this recipe with family, friends, and program participants over the years and all loved it.  In fact, all program participants thought the beef lasagna that we also made would taste better.  In the end, all couldn’t believe it how good the tofu was and all liked it more than the beef for its taste and price.” – Irene, Community Engagement   

    Get the recipe!

    Carrot & Lentil Soup

    “Carrot & Lentil Soup has full flavour and texture.  Carrots give the soup its colour.  Cumin gives the soup its wonderful aroma and flavour.  Blending the soup gives it its rich creamy texture but without the fat and is a great way to sneak veggies into the meal of kids (or big kids) who don’t like veggies = )” – Irene, Community Engagement

    Get the recipe!

    Herbed Breaded Chicken

    “This cookbook (Healthy Eating by Anne Lindsay) is my favourite one because my parents gave it to me on the first day of university. It is my favourite recipe because both of the girls like to help with the preparation and they both enjoy eating it as well as their friends when they come over.  It is also quick and easy to capture the interest of the kids.” – Leslie, Fundraising

    Get the recipe!

    Peanut Sauce

    “I love this recipe because it is a traditional popular food which provides me the tropical taste I am missing so much. Also, the ingredients are easy to get wherever you are in the world, it provides several vitamins, and it has been proved that most of the people from abroad are likely to like this recipe than other African food.” – Hawa, Fundraising

    Get the recipe!

    Raw Zucchini Salad

    “This is my dish of the summer because it’s quick, easy, light and DELICIOUS! No cooking involved and makes use of a food that if you have a garden you have way too much of!” Rowena, Operations

    Get the recipe!

     

    Jamaican Curry Chicken

    “Growing up with my grandparents in Jamaica was amazing. My Grandmother would always be in the kitchen handling business. We’d wake up breakfast and come home to dinner. The kitchen is always smelling delicious from the aroma of flavors. I was always the pickiest eater in the house so most things I wouldn’t eat. However, while mama was in the kitchen cooking I would keep her company by reciting Louis Bennett ( A Jamaican poet) poems to her. We were never forced to learn how to cook but she is always willing to teach us. Instead of her cooking extra just for me to eat I would ask her, ‘Mama, what’s the easiest and quick food I can cook that would also be filled with flavors?’ and of course she said curried chicken. Up to this day if you ask my friends what’s the first food I’ll offer to cook them when they visit? The answer would be curried chicken.” – Kadian, Fundraising

    Get the recipe!

     

    Banana Bread

    “Here is my fave recipe, Banana Bread.  It is originally from my friend Lillian.   She is Italian, and the recipe is from her grandma.  She called it Nonna Banana Bread.  Unfortunately, she passed away two years ago from cancer.  Our family loved this recipe from the day I got it from her, which was 28 years ago.  My 2 sons and even my dog Peanut would wait for me to take out from the oven.  In less than 5 minutes, one loaf would disappear.  It reminds me about Lillian every time.” – May, Accounting

    Get the recipe!

    Carrot Cake

    “This is my favourite recipe to bring into work because it always puts a smile on the faces of my coworkers!” – Jane, Administration

    Get the recipe!

    What are YOUR favourite recipes? Share them below in the comments or visit us or tag us on Facebook!

    For more of our recipe recommendations, visit our Pinterest Board!

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