Food Banks in Canada
It is Thanksgiving week here in Canada, so we want to say Happy Thanksgiving to our Canadian readers. For those of you south of the border you will have to wait a few more weeks. It is a time of year when the food industry is in the spotlight, hopefully for many good reasons. For many in primary production it is the end of the harvest, although the work does not stop there. It is a good time to take a few minutes to be thankful we work in this industry to provide food and beverages to people here and around the world.
We decided to take some time to explore our food bank system this week. To be honest I learned quite a bit doing the research to share some insights with you. My outdated impression of a food bank was individual organizations, dependent on donations of food and time from people to support people in their community. It is actually a national network that receives support from many individuals and many large national corporations.
What is the need
The first numbers that drive the structure and organization is the need for food. The following statistics are available on the Food Banks Canada website:
There was a total of 1,935,911 visits to food banks across Canada in March 2023 – up 32%.
33% of food banks users in Canada are children, while only representing 20% of the population.
43.8% of food banks users in Canada are single adult households, while representing 29.3% of the population.
Seniors represent 8% of Canadian food banks users, with the rate of increase far outpacing other age groups.
42.4% of Canadian food banks users are on social assistance or disability-related supports as their main source of income.
1 in 6 of those accessing food banks in Canada are employed.
3,820,925 meals and snacks were distributed through 2,388 food banks in March of 2023.
Food banks Canada
To support the need for food across Canada, the provinces and territories are all connected through Food Banks Canada. This not for profit leads the charge and provides support to provincial Food Banks. They are guided by their vision and mission:
OUR VISION A Canada where no one goes hungry.
OUR MISSION We provide national leadership to relieve hunger today and prevent hunger tomorrow in collaboration with the food bank network in Canada.
The mandate for Food Banks Canada is:
Food Banks Canada provides national leadership to relieve hunger today and prevent hunger tomorrow in collaboration with the food bank network in Canada. We do this by maximizing the collective impact of the network, strengthening the local capacity of food banks, and advocating to reduce the need for food banks.
As you can see the focus of Food Banks Canada is twofold; to relieve needs for food today but also prevent hunger tomorrow. They outline 6 priorities to relieve the needs for food today:
1. Focus on child hunger
2. Focus on fresh to provide nutritious meals
3. Challenge the status quo through innovation
4. Food recovery and the environment
5. Address crisis level food insecurity in northern communities
6. Helping people in need beyond food
Each one of these areas of focus has more detail on their website.
Preventing hunger tomorrow is also part of their mandate. They include 4 areas of focus to make this happen:
1. Rebuilding a broken social safety net
2. Getting serious about affordable housing
3. Support for workers with low wages
4. Northern and remote food insecurity
Revenue
Food Banks Canada outlines their revenue in their 2024 annual report. They receive revenue from the following sources:
Corporate Donations 20,069,249
Foundation Grants 4,829,618
Individual Donations 8,609,931
Government 22,934,540
Other 1,961,962
Donated Food Products 33,359,934
TOTAL 91,765,234
Recognition for support
Food banks would not exist without the generous support from individuals and corporations. There are a number of categories, but they are not defined. It is important to recognize these businesses and individuals. Obviously, there are so many other people and businesses that support these initiatives every week.
We hope you enjoy Thanksgiving with family and friends. It is a time of year to take a few moments to reflect on our industry and how we can all make it better.
Peter
SKUFood Recipes for Success Podcast
The response to our SKUFood Recipe for Success podcast has been great. We want to thank everyone who has been with us as a guest. So many interesting conversations about our industry.
In this episode, we're thrilled to feature Ameen Fadel, Cofounder and President of Cedar Valley, a Canadian food manufacturer known for its authentic style pita chips made with better-for-you ingredients.
Ameen's entrepreneurial journey began at just 16 years old as a high school project. Together with his mother, he has transformed Cedar Valley into a fast-growing business, employing 16 people at their 5000 sq ft facility in Windsor, Ontario. The company has gained national recognition, appearing on CBC’s Dragons’ Den and earning accolades from TELUS Business, Desjardins, and the Food Network.
Recently named to Forbes 30 Under 30, Class of 2024, Ameen continues to drive Cedar Valley's success. Join us as Ameen shares his inspiring story, insights into building a successful food brand, and strategies for navigating the challenges of the industry. Whether you're an aspiring entrepreneur or a seasoned business owner, this episode is packed with valuable lessons and inspiration for achieving success in the food sector.
Produce PLU stickers to become compostable
Nice to see industry coming together to do the right thing. PLU stickers on produce are important and serve a number of purposes. Unfortunately, they were not all compostable and caused a number of issues in the composting process.
This new initiative, agreed while at a meeting in Canada, will be a step in the right direction.
I do have travel coming up to Calgary, Saskatoon, Winnipeg, Vancouver and Lethbridge so if you want to connect or have an even in any of these locations give me a call or send me an email.
