From: A survey of food bank operations in five Canadian cities
Victoria | Edmonton | Toronto | Quebec City | Halifax | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Name | Mustard Seed | Edmonton Food Bank | Daily Bread Food Bank | Moisson Quebec | Feed Nova Scotia |
Year began | 1975/1985b | 1981c | 1983 | 1987 | 1984 |
Origins & Purpose | Christian charity rooted in Baptist church, to fight hunger and restore faith | Edmonton gleaners association, to reconcile waste with hunger | Sisters of St. Joseph (Catholic Order) and others concerned about impact of growing poverty, to fight to end hunger in Toronto communities | Founder André Mignault, to reduce waste and optimize food aid, and provide alternatives to food banks for people living in poverty | Originally Metro Food Bank Society established by faith and corporate communities to provide emergency food relief in Halifax/Dartmouth; now serving the entire province of Nova Scotia. |
Services | The largest food bank on Vancouver island assisting 7,000 people/ month; They operate a food hamper delivery program for 10 individuals, a week day drop in with clothing bank and home starter kits, a family centre offering 2 family dinners each month, budgeting, cooking, literacy and parenting support and help to access city services; They also run a church and a faith-based residential recovery program | Their main service is food recovery and distribution of donated food to ~200 agencies; They have an onsite food bank and conduct centralized telephone intake directing clients to one of 40 food depots for pick up, They also provide referrals to food buying co-ops, bread runs, gardens, kitchen, and inexpensive grocers | They operate 2 food banks; collect and distribute food to ~200 member agencies and provide operational support/ guidelines; offer training programs for food bank recipients (food service and catering) and drop-in and shelter volunteers and cooks; they partner in the operation of a community garden; run a referral and information centre; and conduct research to inform practice and advocacy | They collect and distribute food to 140 organizations; provide operational support to agencies wishing to start “food security projects/ alternative practices” including collective kitchens, community gardens, food buying groups; and conduct workshops for food bank workers and recipients. | They collect and distribute donated food to 150 member agencies in communities across Nova Scotia (food banks, meal programs, soup kitchens, school programs and shelters); operate a telephone help line to deal with distress and to inform about nearest food assistance; They also run a culinary training/ employment program; and collect data for advocacy purposes |