Grant helps food bank increase fresh food capacity

Loblaw and Food Banks Canada partner to provide grants to food banks across Canada, including Queens County Food Bank in Liverpool

There’s a stereotype about food banks that they only accept shelf-stable, nonperishable food. That’s false. In fact, 40 per cent of all food distributed by Canadian food banks is fresh — meals made by volunteers, fresh produce, meat and frozen items. What is true of many food banks, however, is that they often lack the infrastructure needed to effectively distribute as much fresh food as possible. To help address this issue, Loblaw Companies Limited and Food Banks Canada have partnered to help Canadian food banks distribute fresh food to those in need, through a series of grants totalling $200,000.

To help Queens Country Food Bank in Liverpool provide those in need with a greater variety of nutritious foods, including perishables, Loblaw Companies Limited — through its ongoing commitment to advance social equity throughout Canada — has provided the funding for a grant totaling $45,905 through Food Banks Canada to the local food bank. With this grant, Queens County Food Bank will be able to purchase a new walk-in freezer to help keep perishable foods fresher for longer.

In recent months, the local food bank’s client numbers have increased, and the number of people accessing the food bank is expected to rise even more in the months ahead. The new walk-in freezer allows the food bank to increase frozen food supply by 25 per cent every week — through food distribution from Feed Nova Scotia as well as donations from local stores. Until now, store donations could not be accepted because of limited space.

“Loblaw operates in virtually every community across Canada and as such, we have a responsibility to the communities we serve,” says Alain Brandon, vice president, sustainability, social impact and government relations at Loblaw. “That includes maximizing our ability to donate perishable food to local food banks and in turn, maximizing the food bank’s ability to provide Canadians with nutritious, fresh food from coast to coast to coast.

Kirstin Beardsley, CEO of Food Banks Canada, says, “Providing Canadians with fresh, quality food is critical to our mission. With these grants we are able to take another important step in supporting local communities by providing food banks with the critical infrastructure and capacity they need to continue their great work and we appreciate Loblaw helping to make this happen.”

These funds are the latest in a series of financial and in-kind donations made by Loblaw as it works to create positive social change in communities big and small nationwide. This year alone, Loblaw has donated $825,000 and 8.3 million pounds of food to various food banks and food reclamation agencies in the country, while customer donations and point-of-sale campaigns have topped $1.1 million. Combined, these efforts enabled over 12 million meals for those in need. To learn more, visit www.loblaw.ca/en/responsibility.