Daily Bread Food Bank bringing more food to 20 priority Toronto neighbourhoods

Continuing to practice what it preaches, the Daily Bread Food Banks is bringing local Ontario produce to five lower-income sites in Toronto this summer.

Beginning this past weekend, and continuing through the end of September, the Daily Bread Food Bank is taking a donations of excess farmer-donated vegetables, fruits and herbs to lower-income areas in the city, providing the produce to them for free.

The mobile produce market is piloting the program in Scarborough, but has plans to serve 20 neighbourhoods over the next year by delivering 20 per cent more food.

According to a press release, Daily Bread Food Bank chief executive officer Neil Hetherington states: “With our network of front-line agencies and food banks across the city, Daily Bread is uniquely positioned to help these 20 neighbourhoods address the immediate needs of their most vulnerable residents by increasing our food shipments to them by 20 per cent.”

Scarborough was initially chosen after the city realized a 30 per cent increase in food bank visits in 2017.

Through the pilot program, produce is being distributed at no cost to the consumer, providing residents of the areas to have unimpeded access to fresh, healthy produce.

The neighbourhoods designated as priority by Daily Bread are Mount Olive-Silverstone-Jamestown, Elms-Old Rexdale, Kingsview Village-The Westway, Islington-City Centre West, Thornecliffe Park, Flemingdon Park, Taylor-Massey, Oakridge, Kennedy Park, Eglinton East, Dorset Park, Woburn, Scarborough Village, Agincourt South-Malvern West, Morningside, West Hill, L’Amoreux, Agincourt North, Miliken and Malvern.

The Daily Bread Food Bank has 15 member agencies that serve these areas; each will receive 20 per cent more food delivered to them, including shelf-stable products as well as fresh produce, milk, eggs and proteins.

About Daily Bread Food Bank
Daily Bread Food Bank works towards long-term solutions to hunger and runs innovative programs to support people on low incomes. Daily Bread distributes fresh and shelf-stable food, as well as fresh-cooked meals to more than 130 member agencies and 170 food programs across Toronto, including food banks and meal programs for shelters and drop-ins. Daily Bread also publishes the influential Who’s Hungry Report, an annual survey that provides qualitative and quantitative data and analysis about food and income insecurity in Toronto to all levels of government and sector stakeholders. To learn more about Daily Bread Food Bank, visit www.dailybread.ca.