Elly’s Children Can Concentrate in School Thanks to YOU
Elly, a mother of four, has been struggling to make ends meet with her household’s limited income. The current economy has not made it any easier; with her unexpected rent increase and fixed income, it has become even more of a struggle to ensure that her family has access to fresh food to maintain a healthy diet.
With six mouths to feed, Elly had difficulties setting aside enough of her paycheque for her weekly grocery bill.
“I have three teenage boys, and they are growing like weeds! I need to make sure there’s enough food for them to eat so they can concentrate in school,” shares Elly. Her friend saw her struggle and recommended that she seek out the Greater Vancouver Food Bank (GVFB) for support.
As a client, she relies on the GVFB’s nutritious menus to provide her kids with the necessities, including milk, eggs, and protein-rich foods, all of which are too expensive for her to afford. A few of her favourite food items she receives from the food bank include meats, fresh fruit and vegetables, eggs, and dairy products.
“It’s a great relief to have the support of the food bank. It’s been much easier to ensure that my children get enough of the foods they need to grow big and strong. I make big batches of stews with the meats, beans, and vegetables I receive, and I’m set for the week! Thank you for all your help!”
Support Beyond Food for our Community Agency Partners
Did you know we also support our Community Agency Partners (CAPs) by providing grants? This past winter, we completed the third round of our grant program and provided $313,782 worth of funding towards the 67 CAPs that applied.
We understand that running a program involves more than food, so we encouraged our CAPs to use their funding towards other areas of their operations. The money provided by the grant was put towards kitchen equipment, salaries for staff to run their programs, and food purchasing.
Let’s meet some of the CAPs that were impacted by our grant:
First United Church purchased healthy and seasonal summer foods for their meal program that feeds over 200 people each day in the Downtown Eastside.
A Loving Spoonful created brand new meals to diversify the dishes their clients receive, including beef lasagna roll-ups, beef tacos, goulash, beef stew, chili, and more!
Vancouver Urban Ministries supported 50 children over the summer period by providing tutoring to those most challenged by learning difficulties.
Rethinking Food
In British Columbia, $500 million worth of food is wasted each month. That adds up to $6 billion worth of food waste a year. We were as taken aback by that fact as you were, so we partnered with ReFeed Farms to do something about it.
ReFeed Farms help us address our immediate needs while developing a food system that is scalable, sustainable, and exportable around the world. Through their zero-loss food system called the Circular Nutrition model, they work with the food industry to rescue perfectly nutritious and unused pre-consumer produce and redirect it to the GVFB (Greater Vancouver Food Bank). Last year, ReFeed donated an incredible 461,705 lbs. worth of food! With their consistent high-quality donations, they were our second largest donor!
“Every year, the demand on food banks increases, and every year we work even harder to raise money to feed more people. It is still not enough, says GVFB CEO, David Long.
Watch this one-of-a-kind 9-minute documentary and learn how the locally created ReFeed Farms model can be part of the global changes that are needed to feed generations to come.
Upcoming Events
Date: May 1-31st
Location: Virtual Fundraiser
Throughout the month of May, the Mayors of the Cities of North Vancouver, West Vancouver, Burnaby, and New Westminster, will be coming together for the third annual Mayors’ Food Bank Challenge. We are challenging the mayors in each of these cities to rally their communities to raise funds for the Greater Vancouver Food Bank.
Together, we can feed our cities and help those in need. Learn more.
Date: Sunday, June 18th
Location: Swangard Stadium
Foodstock (19+) is back for another amazing year, celebrating live music, local vendors and more, all while giving back to your community!
This year’s Foodstock celebration will be headlined by Canadian artist, Said The Whale! There will be a delicious roster of local beer, wine, and food trucks, including Dageraad and Burgerholic.
Date: Wednesday, July 19th
Location: Northview Golf and Country Club
Join us for our third annual Fore for Food Golf Tournament! The tournament will include 18 holes of world-class golf at the Canal Course with power carts, lunch and dinner, auctions, prizes and more!
Many sponsorships are available, and any Interested golfers may purchase a foursome spot for the day.
Contact Terra to buy a foursome or become a sponsor.
