As you Fall into this issue of Fresh News, I hope you are inspired in the same way that I am by the amazing things that YOU help to make happen.
Learn about how we’re adapting and innovating to provide fresh, nutritious food in the ways that best serve our neighbours, including partnership programs in Georgetown and Hamilton. Plus, get to know fellow supporters who are doing GOOD – for people and the planet.
Be inspired when you read about the insights our dedicated research team has been gaining into our local impact thanks to support from the Gould Family.
When you give to Food for Life, YOU are making outcomes likes this possible!
A gift of just $10 allows us to provide $62.50 worth of food and groceries to a household each week.
It’s GOOD to know that your donation has impact!
Graham Hill, Executive Director
Food for Life Halton & Hamilton is the regional leader in rescuing and distributing GOOD fresh and frozen food. We support the community by supplying healthy food directly to neighbours and to a network of non-profits and partners who offer food support programs. Food for Life is a thought leader that is built on a unique supply chain model driven by environmental sustainability.
We believe that in order to deliver the best service and greatest impact possible, our practices must be rooted in expertise and knowledge.
That’s why research is integral to informing what we do each day and allowing us to bring relevant and timely data back to action tables, committees, and community partnerships across the social services sector. We’re grateful to the Gould family, and partners like Sheridan College, McMaster University and Ontario Trillium Foundation, for supporting this critical work.
Food for Life remains committed to our philosophy of providing services without a need to qualify or mandating the sharing of information.
So how did we do it?
Trust and inspiration. We have been able to show our neighbours that the more we know the more we can directly help or refer people to additional supports in the community. A win-win! This is why we are so proud to share some key findings with you in this issue.
To get to where you want to be you need to understand where you are now. This premise is what engaged us in using the internationally adopted Food Insecurity Experience Scale (FIES) as a key part of our research process. Moving from Severely Food Insecure to Moderately Food Insecure, for example, has financial impacts and health impacts for individuals and society.
Visit the Resource section of our website to learn more about FIES.
Food for Life also relies on data to ensure our practices are sustainable and GOOD for people and the planet. We can now begin to quantify our impact by using a Social Return on Investment process that uses a continuous listening approach, collecting and reporting on real-time data to assess our own environmental impact. It considers all organizational activities that have inputs and outputs impacting greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.
We look forward to continuing to redefine what impact truly means, as we move beyond simply reporting on how many pounds of food we rescue and redistribute. Our research allows us to better understand the deeper impacts that rescued food has on people and the planet!
of households say their food needs are being met each week
of our neighbours feel that fresh food items from Food for Life positively impacts their overall health
“It saves me time and money as a youth in care to have this program available and it’s easy to use. Not having to worry about what I’m eating and how I’m going to get it every week has been a huge stress reliever.”
-Youth supported by state-of-the-art GOOD Food Locker located at the Main Branch Milton Public Library
Most recently, we opened the doors to our Mountainside Market, which offers GOOD rescued food at our 2258 Mountainside Drive location in Burlington. A first-of-its-kind space, it encourages connection and communication between neighbours accessing food support. It allows friends and neighbours to choose the food they need or want from our inventory in a grocery-style setting. We look forward to rolling out similar concepts in other communities we serve.
Did you know? Each week, a neighbour visiting the market takes home an average of 30 lbs of food valued at more than $100 to support their household.
Self-Serve Checkout! Thank you Sodexo for asking “How can we help?” and answering with an innovative solution.
Bob began volunteering at Food for Life in 2020 and has been meticulously sorting food, helping people and the planet ever since. Click here to read all about Bob and his valuable contribution to the community!
We know we can’t do the work we do alone. Collaborative partnerships with agencies in Halton and Hamilton are integral to better understanding the communities we serve. Working together means combining our resources and expertise, resulting in stronger, better-supported communities.
One example is our partnership with Georgetown Bread Basket, a non-profit organization looking to end hunger in the Georgetown community. Georgetown Bread Basket now joins us every Friday at one of our senior programs in Georgetown and provides non-perishable items and other staples, while Food for Life provides the fresh food. Together this results in a more holistic food basket serving seniors in Georgetown.
In Hamilton, Food for Life provides GOOD food to Hamilton Housing and St. Matthew’s House to support their mobile fresh food markets for seniors. We are also proud of a new partnership with Indwell, providing fresh food support that allows them to provide more healthy food to the people they support.
A decade ago, shortly after Linda Dunn moved to Burlington, she stopped at her local Fortino’s store to pick up some groceries. That’s where she first heard about Food for Life, during our annual Turkey Drive.
Linda purchased and donated a turkey to support a family in Halton, but she wanted to contribute more. She became Food for Life’s first monthly donor and has been supporting our organization ever since!
“You can give any amount, even if it’s small, but in the end it’s a considerable contribution,” she says, adding that she’s fortunate to be able to donate to charity. “I’m a person who budgets,” she says. “I prefer planned expenses. It’s better for me.”
Linda’s approach to giving involves identifying causes she is passionate about and then doing research before she selects which organizations to support. “You’d like to give to all charities,” she says. “But you can’t do that, so choosing a cause and giving regularly through monthly donations makes you feel that you are doing your part.”
After learning more about Food for Life and the work we do, Linda knew that by donating each month, her support would help us plan ahead and have long-term impact.
To become a Monthly Food Hero, just like Linda, please visit our donation section.
If you prefer to set up your monthly support with a staff member, or if you have any questions about monthly giving, please contact Laura at 905.635.1106 ext. 240 or lauram@foodforlife.ca.
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Food for Life Canada Office
2258 Mountainside Drive
Burlington, ON L7P 1B7
905-635-1106
