Community Knowledge Centre - Toronto Community Foundation

About this organization

Mission

Our mission is to help feed hungry people by picking up and preparing excess fresh food and delivering it daily to social service agencies in Toronto. Our vision is that no one need ever go hungry in the communities we serve.

History of Organization

25 years ago, in 1985, Ina Andre and Joan Clayton were two Toronto women who saw hunger in our city and excess food as a solution to the problem. They began asking restaurants and small stores at the end of the day for excess food that owners were willing to donate. Using a hatchback, they picked up food from donors and dropped it off to agencies around the city. It was from this simple start of seven willing food donors that Second Harvest was born. By the end of that year, these industrious women had attracted 46 volunteers, 60 food donors and delivered over 250,000 pounds of food. 2010 marks 25 years of rescuing fresh, excess food and delivering it to those in need across Toronto. Today, through the hard work and commitment of our volunteers, supporters and staff, we are serving over 200 social service agencies, receiving food from 600 donors and delivering more than 6 million pounds of food a year. All of those numbers add up to the most important figure of all – providing enough fresh food for over 16,000 meals for hungry people every single day.

Accolades and Accomplishments

In 2005, Second Harvest was honoured with the City of Toronto Environmental Award of Excellence for keeping millions of pounds of food from landfill and preventing methane gas from entering the atmosphere. In 2009, Second Harvest was proud to be recognized for our efficiency and impact on the community, by an independent research group called Charity Intelligence Canada. Second Harvest became a Recommended Charity for 2009 for having proved to be a top performing charity, making a real difference to the lives of Canadians in need. Charity Intelligence Canada is a non-profit organization that researches and analyzes Canada's charities to enable funders to make informed and effective giving decisions that reward charities for their results.

Programs

>Second Harvest’s Direct Delivery Program
>Harvest Kitchens
>Hunger Squad

Second Harvest’s Direct Delivery Program

Second Harvest is Toronto’s largest perishable food recovery organization and uses a common-sense approach to hunger relief. Our seven refrigerated trucks collect donated food from manufacturers, distributors, grocery stores, and other food purveyors – good food that would otherwise go to waste – and deliver it to over 200 social service agencies working on the front lines of hunger – community centres, shelters, meal programs and drop-in centres. These agencies provide food to children in need, the working poor, seniors on fixed incomes, women fleeing domestic abuse, homeless people, psychiatric patients and thousands of others who have fallen on hard times.

Program Impact

We deliver service that goes beyond food. At the end of our most recent fiscal year (August 31, 2010), Second Harvest distributed 6.4 million pounds of food. As a result our agencies were able to save millions of dollars in food costs. In fact, our food deliveries save each agency about $60,000 per year. Thus, we enable our agency partners to direct these saved dollars to their core programs. We also deliver environmental stewardship. Last year alone, over 3 million pounds of greenhouse gas emissions were prevented from entering our atmosphere because of the food we diverted from landfills.

Toronto's Vital Signs® indicator(s) addressed by Program

“The average cost of basic nutritious food for a family of four in Toronto rose by 9.4% over two years. This same family on social assistance would need to spend 33% of its income on food and 72% on rent – that’s more than they have and doesn’t include other basic needs.”

“More than 30% of children five and under are in families that are below the Low Income Cut-off and the median employment income for families in 2006 was 20% below the provincial median.”

(Toronto’s Vital Signs®, 2009)

Participant Vignette

Breaking the Cycle
receives food from Second Harvest through our Direct Delivery program.  "Every day Second Harvest makes a difference in the lives of our clients," says an employee of Breaking the Cycle (Mothercraft). "The children, moms and moms-to-be at our centre enjoy and appreciate the nutritious food that Second Harvest provides. Here is just one example of how Second Harvest has made a difference in the lives of our clients: "When our Food Program Manager asked a young boy if he would like to have some milk with his lunch, he looked to his mother and asked for permission. His mother went on to explain that he loves milk but because they cannot afford much milk at home, he cannot always have it. When his mother told him that he could drink milk any time at our centre, this young growing boy lit up with excitement and a huge smile came across his face. At a later visit that same mother said that her son loves to come to our centre because he can have all the milk he needs. "Thank you Second Harvest for providing the foundation of our Food Supplementation Program, as well as our Community Kitchen Program." – Employee of Breaking the Cycle

Harvest Kitchens

Each day, Second Harvest picks up donated food and transports it to our four Harvest Kitchen partners. In the Harvest Kitchens, individuals facing difficult barriers to employment are trained under the supervision of food service professionals. They learn the skills of the culinary trade while turning rescued food into nourishing prepared meals. The following day, Second Harvest picks up the prepared meals and delivers them to agencies who in turn supply these nutritious meals. In total, the Harvest Kitchens produce 6,500 meals a week and delivers the food to 29 agencies across the city. Harvest Kitchens’ graduates have a job placement rate of between 75% and 85%. Harvest Kitchens provide a benefit to the community at large by providing a highly sought after skills-building and educational opportunity for people who want to improve their career opportunities. Further, the food used in the program is food that would have otherwise gone to waste and ended up in the landfill.

Program Impact

The Harvest Kitchens program remains a vital component of Second Harvest’s hunger relief efforts, which address the food insecurity that thousands of Torontonians face every day. The agencies which receive Harvest Kitchens’ meals are those which do not have the facilities to prepare and serve meals. These agencies were receiving shelf-stable products from other hunger relief organizations, but lacked the essential, perishable components of a healthy diet such as protein, dairy and produce. Additionally, many of the clients of these agencies lacked kitchen facilities to prepare the food in their food hampers, and so even with some food support, they were still not able to eat as frequently or as healthily as one would hope. With the delivery of Harvest Kitchens’ meals, the agencies were able to offer meal programs, and thus their clients are now able to eat hot, nourishing meals in addition to taking home a food hamper.

Toronto's Vital Signs® indicator(s) addressed by Program

“The average cost of basic nutritious food for a family of four in Toronto rose by 9.4% over two years. This same family on social assistance would need to spend 33% of its income on food and 72% on rent – that’s more than they have and doesn’t include other basic needs.”

“More than 30% of children five and under are in families that are below the Low Income Cut-off and the median employment income for families in 2006 was 20% below the provincial median.”

(Toronto’s Vital Signs®, 2009)

Participant Vignette

"It was a great challenge at first working with so many kinds of food. I realized that being creative is huge part of working in the hospitality field. The opportunity to get so much hands-on training has given me the confidence to find a job in the catering field which will hopefully lead me to having my own business. I feel that working with the YMCA and Second Harvest has prepared me to take the next step in my career." - Testimonial from J.D., a graduate of YMCA’s Harvest Kitchens program.

Hunger Squad

Hunger Squad is a program that enlists corporate volunteer teams to spend a portion of their lunch hour picking up surplus food that would otherwise go to waste from local bakeries, cafes, restaurants and retail stores in the downtown core. Teams place the food in insulated bags and deliver it, on foot, to nearby social service agencies.

Program Impact

On average, each team rescues about 200 pounds of food every month and delivers it to social service agencies in the downtown core. Currently, we have 8 teams participating in the Hunger Squad program which translates into roughly 1,600 pounds of food monthly. This program helps to strengthen employee engagement within companies, while feeding those who are hungry in our city. Furthermore, in the face of rising fuel costs, we can continue recovering small quantities of food in a more efficient and environmentally friendly way on foot rather than using trucks.

Toronto's Vital Signs® indicator(s) addressed by Program

“The average cost of basic nutritious food for a family of four in Toronto rose by 9.4% over two years. This same family on social assistance would need to spend 33% of its income on food and 72% on rent – that’s more than they have and doesn’t include other basic needs.”

“More than 30% of children five and under are in families that are below the Low Income Cut-off and the median employment income for families in 2006 was 20% below the provincial median.”

(Toronto’s Vital Signs®, 2009)

Participant Vignette

“Concerning my Hunger Squad experience, I find that it is a sobering and impactful experience to see and speak with those folks who are struggling to get by in our city and who receive much-needed assistance from their agency (and Second Harvest). It is also very gratifying to hear how grateful both the clients and the staff at the agency are for the food we deliver. I would recommend that anyone who is in a position to become involved with a Hunger Squad do so - for the people that need assistance and for themselves.” – Scotiabank Volunteer