'Food rescue' initiative aims to provide more fresh food for Londoners in need

The 22nd annual London Cares Curb Hunger Food Drive kicked off with the announcement of a new initiative — a 'food rescue'.

Through partnerships between the London Food Band and local grocery stores and Urban Roots London, the aim is to direct more fresh food to Londoners in need and less to landfill sites.

"There has to be other choices beside just canned food," said Glen Pearson, co-executive director of the London Food Bank. "What this is doing is placing an importance on nutrition."

Pearson said 43 per cent of all donations the food bank has received lately is fresh, which is a significant increase compared to about three years ago when that number was only 10 percent.

"People are getting into this because they realize, the more [nutritional] foods we can give, the better."

How to Donate

Between June 1st and 9th, people can make a donation at any grocery store or fire station, or by placing a bag of non-perishable items marked with "food bank" beside their bluebox on recycling day.

But residents can also sign-up for 'Grow-A-Row', a program where gardeners grow an extra row of veggies for the food bank alongside their own. The group Urban Roots London will also be donating a portion its crops.

Grocery stores in the city will provide unsold produce to the food bank. 

"When we want to reduce food waste, the first thing to do is to eliminate waste at the very beginning of the chain ... this is exactly how we do that," said London Mayor Matt Brown.

The anticipated influx in fresh food donations means the food bank will need to find an additional warehouse and more trucks to transport donations, said Pearson. 

Food bank use in London 'holding its own'

While food bank usage in other parts of the province continue to rise, London's situation is looking slightly less grim, according to Pearson. 

"In the last year, [food bank usage in London] has levelled off, but this also doesn't change the fact that it's not going down."

Pearson said he attributes this levelling off to various provincial and federal government initiatives that were implemented within the past year or so. 

"The government has made a number of interventions that have helped, including raising minimum wage — we immediately saw a levelling off there — and the child tax benefit. These kind of interventions do make a difference."

Summer months a slow period for donations

While the food bank seeks donations all year around, it's in particular need of both perishable and non-perishable items over the summer months.

"The types of people that usually donate are often up at the cottage or off on a trip over the summer months so donations go down. They aren't as strong then even though the demand is still high," said Pearson. 

Pearson also spoke about the changing demographic of food bank users in recent years. He says the old stereotype used to be that only the poor or people with mental illnesses came to the food bank, but "now more and more of the people that come in are seniors ... or people that were, up until last year, working." 

Pearson says the food bank sees a lot of hard working individuals who are just down on their luck, like single moms who are working two minimum wage jobs while going to school part-time so they can get a better job to support their families.

"It's a microcosm of the whole community, and that's a deeply troubling thing," said Pearson. "[Donations] can't end. [They] can't end until hunger ends."