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Support food banks The demand for food banks has never been greater than it is today. We need your ongoing support! Donate Who we are and what we do Food Banks BC is the provincial association of food banks. Our membership is comprised of over 100 hunger relief agencies throughout British Columbia. We support our members and other agencies through the provision of resources that assist their efforts to tackle hunger in communities they represent. Our vision is a hunger free British Columbia. Learn more Did you know? 124,000 to 225,000 Food bank visits have increased by 81% since 2019 31% of all food bank users in BC are children. 1 out of every 3 food bank users is a child 11% of food bank users are seniors, one of the highest proportions across the country 24,283 visits to rural food banks, 11% of the provincial total

Food Banks BC Accessibility Policy At Food Banks BC, we strive to provide support and resources in a way that respects the dignity and independence of all our community members. We commit to giving people with disabilities the same opportunity to access our supports and resources and allowing them to benefit from the same services in the same place and in a similar way as other users. At Food Banks BC, a person with a disability supported by a service dog, a guide, or a support individual will be allowed to have that support resource accompany them while accessing our services. These support persons and service dogs are granted the same access as the person they are accompanying. Under no circumstances will a person with a disability and their support resource be prevented from accessing our services and resources. When a barrier to accessing our support and resources arises, Food Banks BC takes a proactive stance. We actively seek alternative ways to ensure access, encouraging individuals to communicate their specific needs. If there's uncertainty about accessing our services and resources, please reach out to us at info@foodbanksbc.com or 604-498-1798. At Food Banks BC, we celebrate differences and honour individuals’ experiences. We are committed to providing regular education and resources on accessibility and equity, ensuring that our staff and community members are always informed and equipped to promote inclusivity. We also strive to use inclusive language in our verbal and written communication. We encourage our member food banks to: 1. Provide spaces where people are treated with dignity. 2. Celebrate differences. 3. Center accessibility needs of their employees, volunteers, and clients. Accessibility is the work we do to ensure people with disabilities can access our services equally with others. It includes ways to remove barriers to access, including physical barriers, attitudes, communication, systemic, technology, and sensory considerations. Below are some examples of accessibility practices that Food Banks BC encourages our members to implement whenever possible (bearing in mind the limitations some organizations face, such as space and landlord restrictions). Physical Accessibility Practices • Ensuring an area where a HandyDart vehicle or accessible taxi can safely drop someone off. • Ensure the entryway to the food bank is accessible to wheelchairs, walkers, and strollers. • Ensuring there is an automatic door at the entrance and washroom. • Ensuring there is designated accessible parking available. • Ensuring a rest area is available for folks with health conditions that limit their ability to stand for extended periods. • Ensuring there is an area to wait in, protected from weather and the elements. • Ensuring washrooms have grab bars. Attitude Accessibility Practices • Greeting clients as they enter the space. • Collecting client feedback. Communication Accessibility Practices • Use signage or other materials that explain how the food bank runs and what to expect. • Offering options for non-verbal communication. • Communicating changes to stakeholders. • Providing signage or information in languages other than English. Systemic Accessibility Practices • Ensuring service hours are sufficient to reduce wait times and crowding. • Communicating to stakeholders how they can request accommodation for their disability (i.e. home delivery). • Communicating the complaint process and how to report an accessibility issue. • Ensuring employees and volunteers understand and agree with The Ethical Foodbanking Code. • Ensuring food bank operators are trained in de-escalation or other methods for holding safe space. • Providing choice to clients whenever possible. • Providing cooking suggestions for items that may be unfamiliar to clients. Technology Accessibility Practices • Ensuring websites are accessible to screen readers • Ensuring website graphs and charts have text to explain them Sensory Accessibility Practices • Accommodating food restrictions • Ensuring sufficient lighting allows someone with low vision to navigate the space. • Avoiding floors and wall colour contrasting with busy patterns. This website was designed to conform to Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.1 AA. The website was last updated on October 5th, 2023. If you encounter accessibility issues, we welcome your report. You can send the information to info@foodbanksbc.com .

< Back Perishable Food Refrigeration The unnecessary loss of consumable food is a critical issue. Over $6 Billion of food is wasted in BC every year, sent to landfills when it could be redirected to feed hungry families. Seeing the urgent need to reduce this unbearable waste and get more fresh and healthy food onto the tables of British Columbians, Food Banks BC launched the Perishable Food Recovery Program. With the generous support of the Provincial Government, $12.5 million has been provided to food banks in BC to purchase equipment that has significantly expanded the capacity of these agencies to store, transport and distribute perishable food, while allowing our members to create effective local food recovery programs. This in turn means that the tens of thousands of people who access food banks in BC every month have a broader access to healthy, nutritious food items. The secondary impact of this program is the diversion of waste from landfills and the reduction in harmful greenhouse gas emissions from food waste. Food waste produces 3.3 billion tons of carbon dioxide and 56.5 million tons of methane every year; devastatingly harmful emissions that contribute to the climate change emergency we are in. Every pound of food that is diverted away from a landfill is not only helping feed someone facing hunger, but contributing in the fight against climate change. Impact Report 2020 .pdf Download PDF • 8.34MB Previous Next

< Back School Nutrition Pilot Program Did you know that one in three food bank clients is a child? We currently have two school meals pilot programs, operating in partnership with BC Agriculture in the Classroom, and Flourish School Meals. These pilot programs have contributed enormously to giving kids in BC schools access to healthy, nutritious food. They will also inform the development of effective, cost-efficient school meals programs. Through the provision of adequate, nutritious food for kids in schools, it is our hope that we can start to see a reduction in the number of families and children who rely on food bank services, and reduce the strain on our network. Previous Next

< Back Agency Relief Fund In partnership with the Province of British Columbia’s Ministry of Social Development and Poverty Reduction, Food Banks BC administers funding support to non-member, charitable agencies providing hunger relief services in BC communities. This funding is available as a grant that supports the operating costs of helping people who are facing hunger and food insecurity. This past year, the Agency Relief Fund distributed $2.3 million. Previous Next

< Back Emergency Food Support Food banks play a crucial role during times of emergency and natural disaster . This happens through the provision of food, water and other urgently needed supplies to evacuees, people impacted within the community, aid services and non-profits, and frontline emergency service personnel. In 2021, the fire that devastated the town of Lytton resulted in hundreds of people from surrounding communities losing access to a local food source, resulting in a food security emergency across the entire region. Partnering with the Salvation Army, Associated Grocers, and Gordon Food Services, Food Banks BC was able to coordinate and deliver food and other supplies into the community on an ongoing basis. This work continues to this day. In that same year, the extensive flooding that destroyed critical infrastructure and vital connections in BC’s roadways left communities like Hope, Boston Bar and Nicomen stranded. Partnering with Helicopters Without Borders, Food Banks BC was able to fly food into isolated communities to ensure basic needs were met. As the frequency and intensity of weather events such as fires, floods and droughts continues, the work of Food Banks BC and our members will becomes even more critical . Previous Next

Membership Benefits include: Provincial and National voice on hunger issues in BC Networking Funding (Provincial and National) Skill Building and Training Discount Buying Programs Participation in both the National and Provincial Conference & AGM National Food Sharing System (NFSS) Product received from major manufacturers by Food Banks Canada Distributed to members from four (4) hubs strategically located throughout BC Transportation assistance may be provided to rural food banks (communities with a population of less than 10,000) Affiliate membership to Food Banks Canada In order to be eligible for membership, your food bank must meet the following requirements: Focus its main activity on the collection and distribution of food to assist those that require help in their community. Be the only food bank that serves their community, city or region (please check our Find A Food Bank map for current members). Have a current Canadian Charitable Registration Number in good standing with the CRA. Pay an annual fee to Food Banks BC that is based on the number of clients served. Participate and cooperate annually with data capture for Food Banks Canada’s Hunger Count survey and other required data collection. Cooperate with all regional, provincial or national fund or food raising campaigns as required. Agree to and follow Food Bank Code of Ethics. Agree to and follow Food Banks BC’s Members’ Standard of Care. Agree to and follow any other Food Banks BC Membership Criteria which the network may require from time to time. Have been in operation for a minimum of one year. Be a community steward of food donations to share with other member food banks and local food agencies where surplus exists. If you are interested in applying for membership and meet the criteria, please contact info@foodbanksbc.com or call 604-498-1798.

TOP 10 MOST REQUESTED FOOD ITEMS Canned vegetables Canned fruit Canned beans (chickpeas, black beans, kidney beans) Canned tuna Peanut butter Pasta and pasta sauce Rice, oats, barley Hearty soup, stew, chili Small snack items (granola bars, fruit cups, applesauce) Toiletries (feminine hygiene products, baby diapers) Where can I donate food? ​ If you would like to connect with your community food bank to make a donation, or find out their specific needs, please go to the Find a Food Bank page to locate the food bank in your area.

DONATE TO FOOD BANKS BC BC's food banks are facing greater need now than ever before. COVID-19, the climate emergency and the cost-of-living crisis have contributed to an unprecedented demand for food support. Your donation helps us to help our food banks . Your generosity ensures that member food banks have access to the resources that will help them feed their communities. ​ We are very grateful for your generous support. Donate Securities Fundraise Now Your Help Is Urgently Needed DONATE BY PHONE Call us at 604-498-1798 and we can process your donation over the phone DONATE BY MAIL Mail your cheque to: Food Banks BC, Suite 302 – 12761 16th Avenue, Surrey, BC V4A 1N2 DONATE BY EFT Please email us at info@foodbanksbc.com for banking details DONATE BY E-INTERAC Please send to donations@foodbanksbc.com and ensure you email us your information for a tax receipt When donating online, tax receipts are emailed automatically by CanadaHelps , our online donation processing partner. For phone, mail, e-transfer and EFT donations, tax receipts are issued within 2-4 weeks. ​

Find a Food Bank To find a member food bank in your community click on the map for the locations or check by city. ​ No food bank in your community? Check with the nearest location to you. Sometimes our rural members have additional depots in nearby communities too.

Food Insecurity in BC Food banks started operating in 1981 as a temporary measure to provide relief to a small number of people experiencing financial hardship. Over 40 years on, the need for food banks in BC has never been greater than it is today. With 382,000 British Columbians living in poverty according to the Market Basket Measure, B.C. currently has the second highest poverty rate (tied with two other provinces) in the country. This number includes 43,000 children in low-income families and 36,000 seniors. The COVID-19 pandemic and the affordability crisis have had a devastating impact on the household budgets of hundreds of thousands of British Columbians. This has resulted in people turning to food banks and other hunger relief supports in record numbers. Combined with the impact of climate change in creating emergency food access and significant challenges for BC’s farmers and producers, it is clear to see how creating dignified access to food, reducing food insecurity, and strengthening our food systems have to be prioritized. Food Banks BC is committed to this work . The Hunger Count ​ Since 1997, Food Banks Canada has conducted the HungerCount, a cross-sectional, census-type survey of most food bank agencies, organizations and programs within and outside of the Food Banks Canada network. ​ The HungerCount provides a national snapshot of what’s happening on the frontlines of the country’s food banks; how many people are using the services, who’s accessing food banks, and why. This information is critical in helping us understand the trends of food bank usage and the policy recommendations that will move us towards tackling hunger and reducing food insecurity in BC. ​ Read the 2024 HungerCount report here . ​ ​ 2024 Poverty Report Cards ​ Food Banks Canada’s 2024 Poverty Report Cards paint a devastating look at the diverse ways poverty is impacting people in every province or territory in Canada. The full series of report cards provide detailed provincial, national, and territorial analysis and statistics, along with updated interactive, digital maps to hold governments to account. Despite the scale of the crisis, most governments are not responding with the urgency that is needed. The Poverty Report Cards show that almost half of people nationally (44%) feel financially worse off compared to last year and 1 in 4 are experiencing food insecurity. Click here to see how British Columbia scored. ​ ​

The Full Cupboard Vancouver Island Join us in raising food, funds and awareness about the critical issue of hunger across Vancouver Island, Pender Island and Salt Spring Island. The Full Cupboard is a community-based signature cause program established by Island Savings in 2016. Together, with our valued members, community partners and passionate staff, The Full Cupboard has raised $658,643 and 14,014 pounds of food for our food bank partners in the eleven communities where Island Savings operates. ​ Donate now or visit The Full Cupboard website for more details on how you can get involved. All food and funds raised stay in the community where they were donated. Let’s work together to ensure all children and families in our communities have a full cupboard!