GVFB Launches Campaign to Buy Permanent Home
March 26, 2025, Burnaby, BC: The Greater Vancouver Food Bank (GVFB) has launched a Captial Campaign to purchase its current Vancouver facility at 3454 Lougheed Hwy, Vancouver. In July, the GVFB will have an opportunity to purchase this building to serve as a permanent home for its life-saving operations. To make this purchase possible, the GVFB is asking for public support to raise $2.5 of the 15 million campaign target.
Before moving into the Lougheed location, the GVFB moved to multiple locations, each presenting new logistical challenges. With the new space on Lougheed Hwy, the GVFB has improved and expanded its services for clients. The Vancouver facility features over 19,000 cu. ft. of refrigeration and over 7,000 cu. ft. of freezer space, ensuring proper storage for fresh, healthy food clients receive weekly. This location also allows the agencies department to operate under the same roof as client distribution, eliminating the need to lease multiple locations and create a more efficient workflow.
“We envision a future where food banks are no longer needed. But until then, we need resilient food systems to meet the growing need. The opportunity to buy this building represents more than a permanent home for our services. It is a strategic step towards a future where food banks provide not just food – but solutions to the root of food waste and food insecurity that are so prominent in our communities.”
– David Long, CEO of the Greater Vancouver Food Bank.
The new Vancouver location is home to the FRESH Start Program, a new pilot project that offers onsite connections to third-party partners to address the main drivers of food bank use. As of January 2025, the GVFB has integrated WorkBC, the Canadian Mental Health Association, and the Immigrant Services Society of BC into the new facility, connecting clients with life-changing resources. The program focuses on long-term solutions to complement the immediate relief food support provides.
Christine Gould, Centre Manager of WorkBC Burnaby, sees the FRESH Start Program as a model for meaningful change, “[The] GVFB’s vision of bringing community services in-house to support their client needs is such an honour to be a part of. They have considered our program needs and were able to accommodate them to ensure participation is as seamless as possible. We have been able to meet with multiple job seekers and can see the immediate impact this collaboration can offer short and more long term.”
To learn more about the Fresh Future’s Capital Campaign, please visit freshfutures.ca.
About the Greater Vancouver Food Bank (GVFB): The GVFB provides food to people living in Vancouver, Burnaby, New Westminster, and the North Shore each month through direct distribution. We also provide food support to 150 Agencies throughout these communities, such as housing agencies, women’s and children’s shelters, transition houses, and after-school programs, providing meals and snacks to thousands of people each week. With a mission to provide healthy food to those in need, the GVFB is BC’s largest food bank.
Media Contact: Emma Nelson, Communications Manager, Emman@foodbank.bc.ca. 604 841 0982.
