You Helped Us Distribute More Food Than Ever
As of February, we have distributed 5.1M pounds of healthy food since July 2021. This is more than what we distributed in the entire year between 2019 and 2020 (4.95M lbs), thanks to your generous support!
We have been seeing an upward trend in new client registrations. In February, we registered 657 new food bank clients, these are the people who have never visited the food bank before. Almost 40% of the new clients claim loss of income, low income, or pension as the primary reason they are relying on the food bank.
This is an example of what a single person would receive at the GVFB.
Of all the people we served in February, 42% are singles, 25% are children, and 34% are families of three or more. We are proud to share that more than 50% of the food we distribute is fresh.
Your support makes our mission of providing healthy food to those in need possible. Thank you!
We Are Moving Away from Food Drives
We are asking our donors to host a Virtual Food Drive instead of a Food Drive.
There are three main reasons why we made the decision. Firstly, the food we distribute is packed with nutrition and it is dietitan-designed; the food we receive from food drives is neither. We take a menu planning approach to our food distribution.
Secondly, we can buy more food and better food with our buying power (averages 2:1), because of the industry partnerships we have and the volume of food we purchase. Each summer, we purchase apples, cherries, peaches and more, straight from Okanagan farmers!
Lastly, the support required for food drives is inefficient and labour intensive, particularly when at least 30% of what we receive is either spoiled, damaged or opened. We want to make sure we are running our operations as efficiently as possible.
Click here to host a Virtual Food Drive today!
Fresh Direct Saves Us Thousands of Dollars Each Year
Fresh Direct Produce is one of our longest fresh produce partners at the food bank. We have 2:1 buying power, meaning for every $1 you donate, we can buy, on average, $2 worth of food for our clients. Partners like Fresh Direct Produce allow us to keep our costs as low as possible.
“Our company motto is Making a Healthy Difference. Supporting the GVFB allows us to contribute to making nutritious and delicious fresh fruits and vegetables more accessible. We are inspired and grateful for the positive impact that staff, volunteers and donors of GVFB are contributing to our communities. We are delighted and privileged to be part of the solutions to food security,” said Davis Yung, President and CEO of Fresh Direct Produce.
In addition to helping us keep our costs low, Fresh Direct Produce has also donated 45,000 lbs of fresh, healthy food since 2015. Our clients are extremely grateful for the fresh produce they receive each week!
Community Agencies Updates
In January 2022, the GVFB welcomed 10 new Community Agency Partners (CAPs). We now support a total of 119 CAPs!
To continue providing efficient support to our growing list of CAPs, we recently launched a BRAND-NEW ordering and inventory platform called Agency Management System (AMS). AMS is an online platform for CAPs to order food each week. With AMS, CAPs can quickly and easily complete an order on their computer or smartphone and get a confirmation email right away. This system also saves hours of work for the CAP team every month.
A thank you letter from KidSafe – a GVFB agency partner
Upcoming Events
Mayors’ Food Bank Challenge
Date: May 1-31, 2022
Location: Virtual fundraiser
Stay tuned and join the Mayors’ Food Bank Challenge and help feed your neighbours this May! From May 1st to 31st, 10 mayors are challenging their communities to help Food Banks feed people in need. Help prove that your city is the very best at taking care of its own in the Mayors’ Food Bank Challenge!
Foodstock
Date: June 26th, 2022
Location: Swangard Stadium, 3883 Imperial Street, Burnaby, BC V5G 4H7
Local Beers, Local Bands, Feeding Local People. Surround yourself with live music, food trucks and tasty local beverages and you will be supporting the GVFB. Spread out on the lawn, challenge your friends to some giant Jenga or Cornhole, and just enjoy the afternoon knowing you’re helping to feed your community! Get your tickets on April 8th, 2022 at foodbank.bc.ca.
Date: Aug 24th, 2022
Location: Golden Eagle Golf Course
Join us in our 2nd annual Fore for Food – A Day of Golf for the GVFB! The day will include 18 holes of world-class golf at Golden Ears Golf Course and power carts, lunch, dinner, auction, prizes and much more!
Registration for foursomes will go on sale in June 2022.
If you are interested in becoming a sponsor or buying a foursome, please contact Terra Paredes at [email protected]
