The Madawaska Valley Food Bank is extremely grateful to hear that Food Banks Canada was selected to disseminate quality surplus food throughout their established, national distribution system, in partnership with the food banking network across Canada. Thanks to their existing cold chain capacity, retail food reclamation programs and National Food Sharing System, they
are well positioned to effectively deliver food in a safe and timely manner from coast to coast to coast. In the Madawaska Valley, we are also well positioned to distribute that food to the needy in our community.
Since 2010, as a system, Food Banks Canada has sourced and shared almost 1.5 billion pounds of food and has shared over $100 million in funding to help maximize collective impact and strengthen local capacity of food banks, all while advocating to address the systemic issues related to poverty and ultimately reducing the need for food banks. In Madawaska Valley, we use these contributions to boost the donations received by people and businesses in the community.
“We can’t do it alone,” says Terry Newcombe, a food bank volunteer and board member. “This is a great example of meeting local needs with both local and federal help.”
Prior to Covid-19 and in addition to its food reclamation program, the food banking network purchased over $30M of fresh food such as produce, meat, dairy and core staples to round out the offerings of food banks. In fact, more than 40% of the food offered by food banks is fresh.
With thanks to the generosity of Canadians, corporate donors and the Federal Government food banks are significantly increasing the amount of perishable foods with clients. Food bank warehouse hubs exist in every province to safely receive, store, and distribute product throughout the food bank system. Each hub includes dry, refrigerated, and frozen storage. In Madawaska Valley, we ensure we supplement this with fresh meat, dairy and produce purchased from our local grocers.
The Madawaska Valley Food Bank serves Barry’s Bay, Combermere, Wilno, Palmer Rapids, Madawaska, and Whitney. We operate out of 8 Martin St., Barry’s Bay, on the 2nd & 4th Tuesdays of every month, 9:30 to 11:30 a.m.
For 40 years, food banks have been dedicated to helping Canadians living with food insecurity. Over 3,000 food banks and community agencies come together to serve our most vulnerable neighbours who – last year – made 1.1 million visits to these organizations in one month alone, according to Food Banks Canada’s annual HungerCount report.
Our vision is clear: Neighbours Helping Neighbours.
Newcombe,T.(2020,Aug.14) MV Food Bank Welcomes the Federal Government’s Investment of $11,358,529 in the Purchase and Distribution of Surplus Food [media release]