A place at the table for all
Food banks and community meal programs do more than fill plates. They hold communities together. Whether donating, volunteering, or helping build something new, there is a place for everyone at the table.
Key points
- Food banks have served Canadians since 1981
- Their clients come from all walks of life
- The need for assistance has been steadily growing to 2,200,000 visits per month
- Many more community-led initiatives are run by volunteers
- The table is long enough for everyone. It just needs more hands to set it.
Food banks were never meant to be permanent. The first one in Canada opened in Edmonton in 1981 in response to a severe economic recession which caused massive job losses and hunger across the country. Since then, the need has only grown!
Food banks don’t serve fringe groups. Their clients include seniors on fixed incomes, families where at least one adult is working, students, and people navigating illness, disability, or job loss.
There is also growing momentum around community-led initiatives that go further than emergency food relief, such as community fridges, community gardens, gleaning programs, soup kitchens, ‘Love Kitchens’, and ‘Cuisines du Coeur’. All operate on the principle that food security is a shared responsibility, and that good food should not go to waste while people go hungry.
Volunteering at a food bank or community meal program is one of the most direct ways to help. No need for special skills or training, just a willingness to show up to sort donations, pack hampers, staff distribution days, and serve meals.
The barrier to starting a food program is fairly low. A community fridge can be set up for a few hundred dollars with the cooperation of a local business willing to host it. A neighbourhood meal program can begin with a handful of people cooking together once a month in a church hall or community centre.
Here are some organizations to connect with, for those who need help and those who simply want to make a difference:
- **Food Banks Canada:** The national network connecting over 4,700 food banks and community food programs across the country. Find local food banks, learn about volunteering, or explore advocacy and policy work.
- **Food Banks Alberta:** Provincial network supporting food banks across Alberta. Includes a food bank locator, volunteer opportunities, and information on starting a new program.
- **The Stop Community Food Centre (Toronto):** A community food centre that models what food programs can look like when they go beyond emergency relief to build community, dignity, and advocacy.
- **FoodShare Toronto:** A food justice organization running community kitchens, good food markets, school programs, and urban agriculture initiatives.
- **Leftovers Foundation:** A volunteer-driven food rescue organization that recovers surplus food from restaurants, caterers, and events and delivers it to social service agencies across Canada.
- **Second Harvest:** Canada's largest food rescue organization, redistributing surplus food from the food industry to charities and non-profits nationwide.
- **Breakfast Club of Canada:** Supports school breakfast programs across the country.
- **Gleaners Food Bank (Alberta):** A volunteer-powered food processing facility that turns surplus produce into dried soup mixes distributed to food banks across Canada and internationally.
- **211 Alberta:** Call, text, or chat to find local food programs, emergency hampers, community meals, and social services anywhere in Alberta.