A Guide To Toronto’s Food-Centric Charities

As a young girl, my nana would often scare me with stories about how if I don’t finish all the food on my plate that I would end up marrying a man with dimpled skin – or as the children aptly dubbed it: crater face. There was never a shortage of food at our house, because as a great hostess my nana’s mantra was always “more is better than not enough.” I often found myself eating last night’s dinner for breakfast. Yeah… we don’t do anything small in our household.

As someone whose life has been centred so much around food, my annual budget for charitable donations is naturally geared towards food-centric organizations. I once heard the phrase, “Eat good, do gooder,” and that mantra has always stuck with me. So here are some great charities that are making yummy and nutritious food accessible to all…

Second Harvest
Second Harvest was started in 1985 by two women who saw good food going to waste. They would drive around town in their car and ask local businesses to donate any excess food they had, and the rest, as they say, is history. Since then, the organization has rescued and delivered over 90 million pounds of food and serves 215 agencies across the city, delivering some 19,000 meals a day.

You can give to Second Harvest in three ways: food, funds, or time. In addition to their core food rescue program, Second Harvest runs their Harvest Kitchen which trains adults and youth with barriers to employment in food preparation; an annual Turkey Drive in partnership with Loblaws (hey, Mirvish ain’t the only joint in town!); and a summer Feeding Our Future program in conjunction with Sodexo that feeds hungry kids in city camps. They’re also doing their part in reducing their carbon footprint with their Hunger Squad, comprised of volunteers that pick up small food donations on foot from local vendors. Their biggest fundraiser is the much lauded Toronto Taste, which just completed its 24th year, and funds raised go towards their food rescue program – at $250 per ticket, I’m starting a piggybank, STAT! 

The Stop Community Food Centre
The Stop Community Food Centre, a branch of Community Food Centres Canada, is most famed for their annual Night Market which has foodies clicking away at their mouses to get a ticket. They have been selling out every year in under an hour. That’s no surprise seeing as the $50 price point gives you access to some of the city’s best chefs and restaurants – it’s a steal! Some real enthusiasts even attend both nights (wearing stretchy pants we imagine). If you were one of the unlucky ones who couldn’t grab tickets to the Night Market, the Stop also has various fundraisers throughout the year.

What’s On the Table is their fall fundraiser which is a more formal affair and usually draws in a slightly older demographic (though the format is similar to the Night Market). As well, the Stop’s spring fundraiser, Big Night at the Green Barn, is a sit-down evening with dinner served communal-style; it makes for less fumbling around with napkins, glasses, and plates.

In addition to its various food-related initiatives – such as drop-ins, a food bank, and urban agriculture where they grow their own produce at The Green Barn – the Stop also offers an after-school program and summer camp for children ages 8 to 12, as well as a social advocacy program that empowers community members to defend and understand their rights. Not surprisingly, this NFP is totally busting out all the stops.

FoodShare 
FoodShare, which coincidentally was also founded in 1985 like Second Harvest, has a mantra of “healthy food for all,” which seems to be a central theme across all organizations. They host two major fundraisers a year, namely their fall fundraiser Recipe for Change, which for the past two years has been held at the historic St. Lawrence Market, and Taste of the Food Terminal, which for one day a year allows the public to descend upon the Ontario Food Terminal where some of the restaurants’ top chefs wake up at the crack of dawn to grab the day’s freshest produce. This is a very family-friendly event with clowns, jugglers, face painting, and stilt walkers (dressed like chefs no less) parading around to keep the little ones happy. It is very unique to see the juxtaposition of grocery chains and local producers alike come together at this annual event.

Daily Bread Food Bank
You’ve probably bumped into a Daily Bread Food Bank volunteer on the subway collecting donations. While they don’t host many showy fundraisers, save for the Ultimate Food Challenge, they are a household name in the world of hunger relief programs. They are also a provincial distribution centre for the Ontario Association of Food Banks, and a major hub for the GTA.

The Growing For Change Community Garden has some serious bragging rights, reaping some 1,200 pounds of fresh vegetables, herbs, berries, and other foraged goods last year – it also makes for a vibrant frontage for their New Toronto Street location. Four years in the making are their Creating Health Plus Workshops, which provide training to cooks and volunteers in drop-in programs and shelters.

In addition to food-related initiatives, Daily Bread offers a wide range of social assistance programs ranging from disability support to crisis counseling and housing issues through their Information and Referral Centre. You might also want to have a look at their Catering Kitchen for your next corporate event as a way to give back to the community. On a more personal level, Daily Bread’s Storefront hawks all things pickled and preserved, as well as prepared foods that need no other kitchen appliance other than your microwave. You can find them at the Montgomery’s Inn Farmer’s Market every Wednesday, and Thursday’s in Daily Bread’s cafeteria.

So now that you know all about these awesome charities, it’s time to start putting your money where your mouth is…

What are some of your favourite food-centric charities in Toronto? Let us know in the comments below or tweet us @ViewTheVibe.