Metro Vancouver fresh food bank sees 10-fold surge in demand during pandemic
A Metro Vancouver food bank program that provides fresh food to families in need has seen a surge in demand over the pandemic.
The CityReach Care Society’s Food for Families program is now helping 10 times the number of families it once was, and has now had to stop accepting new clients.
Executive director Simon Gau said having to limit the number they help is “heartbreaking."
“Based on our infrastructure, how many refrigerated trucks that we have, our cooler space, our freezer space, our actual footprint here, we can only process so much food every single week,” he said. “We serve 1,000 families every week, which equal(s) about 3,000 people every week.”
Gau said that’s up from 100 families a week before the pandemic.
“I don’t think that the pandemic maybe necessarily caused a ton more need, but it exposed the need,” he said. “The people that were on the edge of vulnerability were just thrust into the deep end of need, and now with inflation rates rising, it’s just nutty, and people are having a hard time putting healthy and fresh food on their tables to support their families.”
The program provides fresh food including produce, dairy, and meat nearing expiration dates and donated by grocery stores and farms.
“One hundred per cent of the food that’s been donated to this program has been rescued food,” Gau said. “This is food that would be ending up in a landfill.”
They currently distribute food at five sites in Metro Vancouver, and have also had to vastly increase their volunteer workforce since they began operations in 2009 to make that happen. They’re hoping for more volunteers, along with financial donations, and would like to expand even more to meet the need.
“We are trying to see if we can branch into other communities, and so we’re looking to buy a warehouse in Surrey,” Gau said. “It’s just a matter of finding the right community partners, the right donors that want to get on board.”
The program has three distribution sites in Vancouver, along with one in Surrey and another in Port Coquitlam. Gau said they are able to refer people to other community partners until they’re able to grow, but they’re hoping to get the help they need to be able to do more.
“We’re dealing with refugees and migrants and we’re dealing with vulnerable seniors…at-risk kids, youth that live in this area that need a leg up in the world, and we’re really trying to provide that kind of hope through a meal to them,” he said. “We’re not just giving out eggs, we’re not just giving out fresh food, we’re giving out hope.”
Correction
CityReach has clarified a majority of the donated food they receive is food nearing expiration that would otherwise end up being discarded.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Indian envoy warns of 'big red line,' days after charges laid in Nijjar case
India's envoy to Canada insists relations between the two countries are positive overall, despite what he describes as 'a lot of noise.'
Stormy Daniels describes meeting Trump during occasionally graphic testimony in hush money trial
With Donald Trump sitting just feet away, Stormy Daniels testified Tuesday at the former president's hush money trial about a sexual encounter the porn actor says they had in 2006 that resulted in her being paid to keep silent during the presidential race 10 years later.
U.S. paused bomb shipment to Israel to signal concerns over Rafah invasion, official says
The U.S. paused a shipment of bombs to Israel last week over concerns that Israel was approaching a decision on launching a full-scale assault on the southern Gaza city of Rafah against the wishes of the U.S.
Former homicide detective explains how police will investigate shooting outside Drake's Bridle Path mansion
Footage from dozens of security cameras in the area of Drake’s Bridle Path mansion could be the key to identifying the suspect responsible for shooting and seriously injuring a security guard outside the rapper’s sprawling home early Tuesday morning, a former Toronto homicide detective says.
Northern Ont. woman makes 'eggstraordinary' find
A chicken farmer near Mattawa made an 'eggstraordinary' find Friday morning when she discovered one of her hens laid an egg close to three times the size of an average large chicken egg.
Susan Buckner, who played spirited cheerleader Patty Simcox in 'Grease,' dead at 72
Susan Buckner, best known for playing peppy Rydell High School cheerleader Patty Simcox in the 1978 classic movie musical 'Grease,' has died. She was 72.
Jeremy Skibicki has 'uphill battle' to prove he's not criminally responsible in Winnipeg killings: legal analysts
Accused killer Jeremy Skibicki could have a challenging time convincing a judge that he is not criminally responsible for the deaths of four Indigenous women, a legal analyst says.
Bye-bye bag fee: Calgary repeals single-use bylaw
A Calgary bylaw requiring businesses to charge a minimum bag fee and only provide single-use items when requested has officially been tossed.
Alcohol believed to be a factor in boating incident after 2 men die: N.S. RCMP
Two Nova Scotia men are dead after a boat they were travelling in sank in the Annapolis River in Granville Centre, N.S., on Monday.