In 2018-19 Feed Ontario received a three-year grant from the Ontario Trillium Foundation to launch a brand new food transformation program, Farm to Food. In partnership with our member food bank in Windsor, the Unemployed Help Centre, and Food Banks Canada, Farm to Food will rescue excess vegetables from farms and turn them into nutritious meals for people facing hunger. This year we laid the groundwork for the official program launch in 2019-20.

• Secured 3 partnerships with large farms and food producers to rescue healthy food that would otherwise go to waste
• Installed 1 new walk-in freezer to safely store food during the program
• Projected 3,750 lbs of produce a week that will be transformed from waste to nutritious meals upon program launch

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One of the key priorities in our strategic plan is to grow the Ontario food bank network’s capacity to serve their communities.

This year, we surveyed the network’s infrastructure and capacity for distributing food and serving clients. With this information, we will be able to determine a baseline for growth, set achievable targets, and strategically invest in the development of capacity building programs and opportunities for food banks.

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Food banks work hard to provide expert care and service to everyone who walks through their doors. However, in a province as large as Ontario, the types of programs and processes often differ significantly between communities.

In an effort to develop best in class service, while equally recognizing the unique needs of Ontario’s diverse cities and towns, we created a new, member-led committee to develop a ‘Standards of Care’ guide for our network.

This guide will help provide food banks with up to date best practices on administration, operations, service, and community engagement, and act as a tool for food banks to self-identify areas in which they would like to grow or progress beyond the existing standards required to be a Feed Ontario member.

The 2018 Hunger Report focused on Ontario’s senior population and the challenges that they face when trying to balance living on a fixed income with the rising cost of housing and basic living expenses. It also included a feature on Ontario’s cancelled Basic Income Pilot. The report’s findings included:

• 10% increase in food bank use among senior citizens in Ontario in the last year
• 52% of households served by Ontario’s food banks were single-person households
• 33% of food bank clients were children

As part of our new strategic focus on public education and advocating on behalf of evidence-based solutions to hunger, this past year, Feed Ontario committed to releasing a new research report on issues impacting hunger each quarter. These reports focus on timely issues that matter in the current social and political climate.

• Election Report Card – outlined the major parties’ platforms on key policy items impacting food bank clients ahead of the 2018 provincial election
• (Un)Affordable Housing – explored how housing affordability is one of the primary drivers of food bank use in Ontario
• Social Assistance – analyzed the Government of Ontario’s proposed changes to Ontario’s social assistance programs

The annual conference gathered 138 leaders from 68 food banks across Ontario for “Bridging the Gap,” our provincial conference in Sarnia. Delegates discussed new ways to collaboratively bridge the hunger gap in their communities through workshops, plenary sessions, and networking.

Topics included:

• Emergency Preparedness: The Food Bank of Eastern Michigan talked about their multi-pronged response to the Flint water crisis, which included providing bottled water to prevent further lead exposure, as well as nutritious food to limit its effects. Food Banks Alberta spoke about how they handled the aftermath of the devastating 2016 Fort McMurray wildfire.
• Affordable Housing: A panel of experts discussed the federal government's National Housing Strategy and the implications on food banks.
• Workshops on new models of service, creating inclusive environments, program ideas for small food banks, and much more!