Comments Off on National Volunteer Week: Meet Melina!
North York Harvest Food Bank has hundreds of dedicated volunteers who show up every day to make a difference in their community; by sorting food in our warehouse, serving clients in our food spaces, supporting with events, and so much more. People from all walks of life unite under a common goal: To care for their neighbours and fight food insecurity.
People just like Melina, a volunteer at our Lawrence Heights Community Food Space.
For National Volunteer Week, hear from Melina about what she loves about volunteering, why she thinks everyone should do it, and how everyone has the power to make a difference.
Comments Off on Sonya’s Story: Starting over with community support
When Sonya* arrived in Canada in 2015 with her 11-year-old son Eric*, she was starting over completely.
She was a single mother in a new country, navigating an unfamiliar language, searching for housing, and trying to figure out how to access basic supports — all while making sure her son had enough to eat.
In August 2015 Sonya was connected with our Bathurst-Finch Community Food Space, where right away she felt at home.
“Coming to Bathurst-Finch with a large population of Russian speakers, It was very comforting that someone could communicate with us without a language barrier issue,” Sonya says.
There, she found food and clothing support, support with immigration papers and documentation, and staff helped Sonya figure out how to apply for ODSP.
Eventually they met Elis, our Community Services Manager, who has been a steady support as Sonya and Eric have built their lives here in Canada.
“We have known Elis for 11 years. She has helped us get on a waitlist for subsidized housing, receive lower-income TTC Presto cards, access medical care before we became permanent residents, and during summer heat waves, Elis connected us with a program to receive a free A/C for our home,” Sonya says.
For Sonya and Eric, this support made all the difference.
“We don’t know what we would have done without North York Harvest,” Eric says. “It’s the kind of support that changed our lives here.”
Today, Eric is studying business marketing, a future that once felt out of reach.
But like many families across Toronto, Sonya and Eric are still navigating rising living costs. With rent and food prices continuing to climb, North York Harvest Food Bank remains an essential support.
“If we didn’t have access to these services, we would be in a very different situation right now,” Eric adds. Because I’m a student and my mom’s on ODSP… There’s not much left over after rent and food expenses. Everything that the food bank provides helps us a lot.”
*Names have been changed to protect client identity.
Comments Off on $4M gift from The Sprott Foundation Launches 5X Match
Transformational $4M gift from The Sprott Foundation Launches 5X Match
North York Harvest Food Bank is proud to announce a transformational $4 million donation from The Sprott Foundation in support of its new Community Food Hub, alongside a powerful matching initiative that will multiply community giving and expand impact across Toronto.
This is the single largest donation in North York Harvest Food Bank’s history and a landmark investment in vital community infrastructure in Toronto that supports much more than emergency food access.
The Community Food Hub is central to our bold strategy to address hunger and poverty in our community. This innovative, community-driven space is designed to meet immediate needs today while tackling the root causes of food insecurity. It will significantly expand North York Harvest Food Bank’s capacity to store, prepare, and distribute fresh, nutritious food, while also supporting long-term solutions such as a shared food procurement and distribution system through its social enterprise FoodReach, skills training, and workforce development. The project represents a shift from emergency response toward sustainable, systems-level change.
The Sprott Foundation is dedicated to addressing homelessness and hunger in Canada and is particularly focused on innovative approaches that promote self-sufficiency and dignity. Its support reflects a shared belief that lasting change requires new models, deep collaboration, and a commitment to learning alongside communities.
“North York Harvest Food Bank is building more than a food facility, they are creating an innovative, community-centered model that addresses hunger with dignity and purpose,” said Megan Lorius, The Sprott Foundation. “We are proud to support this bold approach, which not only increases access to fresh, healthy food, but also tackles the underlying challenges that lead to hunger and homelessness. This is the kind of innovation we believe can create lasting impact.”
The Community Food Hub will serve as a central anchor for food access across Toronto, while strengthening partnerships with community-based food programs, the food bank’s social enterprise FoodReach, and training programs that help people build stability and economic opportunity.
“This gift from The Sprott Foundation is truly transformative,” said Ryan Noble, Executive Director of North York Harvest Food Bank. “It allows us to reimagine how food banks operate, moving beyond crisis response toward long-term solutions that restore dignity, build skills, and strengthen our community. The Community Food Hub will change how we support people today and for generations to come.”
Advocacy is a key pillar in North York Harvest Food Bank’s mission. Not only sharing what we know through research including our Who’s Hungry Report, but also providing platforms for our community members to share their lived experience and use their voice for change.
Together we are fighting for a fairer city for all through NOTICE: A community-powered movement supported by North York Harvest. This movement aims to put the drivers of hunger and poverty on NOTICE with a collective voice that can’t be ignored.
Last year food insecurity was declared an emergency in Toronto — so our community sprang into action. Ahead of City Council’s vote on the 2025 budget, we collected 100’s of petition signatures and letters, and brought60+clients with us to City Hall to hand-deliver them to elected officials.
Together we helped to secure increased funding for drop-in meal programs, increased funding for tenant supports, a TTC fare freeze and an expanded School Food program.
That’s the power when community comes together. So this year, we brought two buses full of community members to rally at City Hall, with four of our clients speaking about what it’s like to live with the affordability crisis.
We joined a coalition of community organizations to rally for City Council to fund a more affordable Toronto.
“Seniors need help,” says Joyce, a member of our Community Advocacy Group. “Seniors built this country, they work hard, they pay taxes and they raise families.
“Today too many seniors are struggling, and we live on a fixed income. Seniors are forced to choose between food or rent. Food or medicine. This is not right, and this is not dignity.”
Our community met with Mayor Olivia Chow to discuss how the proposed budget would work toward a more affordable Toronto where everyone has the opportunity to live and thrive.
When policymakers listen to the community members living with the affordability crisis every day — real change can happen.
Because of the joint advocacy of community organizations across our city, and under the leadership of Mayor Chow, in the 2026 budget we won:
A TTC fare freeze for a 3rd year straight AND the first TTC fare cap
An expansion of the Student Nutrition program to help an additional 62,000 children meet their food needs
More investment in the RentSafeTO and Rent Bank programs to protect renters from unsafe living conditions and evictions
There is still work to be done at every level of government to fight the affordability crisis in Toronto and across our country.
But this is what can happen when community speaks truth to power, and elected officials take NOTICE.
Comments Off on Agency Spotlight: Meet Society for the Living!
Meet Society for the Living!
Since she was a little girl, Joyce has been working alongside her mother and three siblings at Society for the Living, a food bank and partner agency of North York Harvest Food Bank.
“I don’t know how many people get to work alongside their family and give back to their community. It’s something that’s really special because at the same time we’re doing this work, we get to connect as a family and connect with our community,” Joyce says.
Joyce works with her mother, known in the community as sister Vee, and siblings Aisha, Sedem, and Immanuel.
Since 1998 Society for the Living has been serving the North York community, with an emphasis on providing culturally meaningful food and a welcoming space for clients to connect with one another.
For 25 years Society called 274 Eddystone Ave. home. But during the pandemic, their rent was raised by 200% and they had to find a new space — at a time when the need in the community was increasing rapidly.
Today, Society operates out of shipping containers at two different sites: Jane and Shepherd, and Oakdale, serving 900 client visits each month.
“It was really sad for us to lose that space and we hope to one day be able to have a space to call our own with our community to connect and share food,” Joyce says.
For now they are continuing to build community however they can, including through a farm project where they grow and harvest fresh food to serve at their programs. Clients have a say in the kinds of produce that is grown and some clients also volunteer to help on the farm.
“It’s very grounding being outside in fresh air with each other and planting, growing, and harvesting food together. It’s really beautiful to see that,” Joyce says.
The next generation in the family are already helping out at the food bank, whether by cleaning up, setting up or packing boxes.
“Like me, they’re learning at a very young age that there’s a need in the community and each of us has the opportunity to give back,” Joyce says.
Comments Off on North York Harvest Food Bank needs a new home
NYH needs a new home to nourish our community for years to come!
Sadly, North York Harvest Food Bank needs to find a new home.
With more than 1 in 10 Torontonians turning to a food bank last year, we have outgrown our space. What was once equipped to serve our community is failing as the demand for emergency food assistance has outpaced the constraints of our warehouse.
At North York Harvest, we are facing daily challenges in our current space due to structural and capacity issues that are hindering our ability to get nourishing food to those who need it most.
Structural Issues: The warehouse roof leaks, creating unsafe conditions and causing damage to critical food supplies.
Cold Storage Deficiencies: There is inadequate cold storage, making it impossible to properly store and distribute enough perishable items like milk, cheese, eggs, fruits, vegetables, and proteins.
Dry Storage Shortages: A lack of sufficient dry storage limits the ability to accept and efficiently distribute donated goods, further complicating operations.
Operational Impact: These challenges are slowing food distribution at a time when the citywide need has reached alarming levels—food banks in Toronto saw 3.49 million visits in 2024, a staggering increase from 935,000 visits in 2019.
Our warehouse is critical to our operations. Not only for our ability to serve nearly 30,000 client visits each month, but also as a hub of innovation, education, and community care, including:
FoodReach: Our warehouse is the distribution centre for our social enterprise, FoodReach, which supports public and non-profit organizations, including schools and other food banks, by providing food at affordable prices for programs across Ontario.
Leadership in Logistics: Our employment and training program utilizes our warehouse as a training ground to provide practical experience and training in warehousing and logistics. Successful graduates are offered full-time jobs with benefits at Canadian Tire. Through this program, we can fight unemployment and underemployment in our communities and provide pathways to financial independence.
Sort and Learn workshops: Every year we host workshops for corporate and community groups to connect with their local food bank by learning about what we do, the underlying causes of food insecurity, and how we can work together toward long-term solutions.
Our lease is up in 2026 and we are feeling increasing pressure to secure an affordable space in time.
With the City of Toronto joining Kingston and Mississauga in declaring food insecurity an emergency, we are calling on the City to provide immediate funding to help us build a safe, efficient warehouse that can handle the growing demand for food assistance.
As students return to campuses everywhere, many are on even tighter budgets than usual. In some cases students didn’t have the same job opportunities during the summer months, making it even more challenging when they return to school. As a result, some of our busiest member agencies operate on university and college campuses.
Over the past year, many of us have enjoyed ordering takeout from our favourite restaurants and dining in the comfort of our homes. These days the simple luxury of ordering takeout after a long week, may not be in the budget for many of our friends and neighbours. As a result of these circumstances, DoorDash recognized the need for additional support in communities nationwide, and has partnered with a number of organizations nationwide to make takeout delivery easier for families and individuals nationwide.
At North York Harvest, DoorDash’s donation of $10,000 worth of gift cards was distributed to Seneca College students in September. For budget-conscious students, having access to a $25 DoorDash gift card, was a wonderful way to give a healthy and hopeful kickstart to the upcoming school year.
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.
food,” Joyce says.
about what we do, the underlying causes of food insecurity, and how we can work together toward long-term solutions.