The Food Stash Foundation aims to limit food waste and provide quality access to nutrition to local Canadians. We spoke to Anna Gray, the Communications specialist, to get insight on the community’s needs and sustainable support for families facing food security.
Describe your charity/non-profit/volunteer work in a few sentences.
Food Stash Foundation is a registered charity that prevents good food from going to waste and provides dignified food access to promote a thriving planet and a healthy community. We rescue over 130,000 pounds of surplus perishable food a month from local grocery stores. Our team then redistributes this food to other community organizations, and the remaining food is used in our in-house programs, which include a grocery delivery box for folks with disabilities or chronic health concerns and a low-barrier market.
What problem does it aim to solve?
We aim to address two critical issues: food waste and dignified access to food. A significant amount of good food goes to waste, even as one in four Canadians experiences food insecurity. Our programs serve as a temporary solution to minimize waste and ensure that we provide nourishing meals to our community.
When did you start/join it?
I started at Food Stash in June of 2021
What made you want to get involved?
I was looking for work that was making a positive impact, plus I was passionate about the sustainability side of Food Stash’s mission.
What was the situation like when you started?
When I started, Food Stash had just moved into its own warehouse space, which offered up the opportunity to serve more people and start new programs. Our Rescued Food Market is an in-person, low-cost and low-barrier shopping experience that we launched in October 2021 as a response to our leftover food at the end of the week.
How has it changed since?
Since I started, we have moved warehouses and have added new trucks and staff, which have allowed our programs to grow. An example is the Rescued Food Market, which has evolved into a 3-month membership program, with time slots to eliminate lineups and dedicated part-time staff to oversee operations.
What more needs to be done?
Food programs like ours are a temporary solution; we aren’t addressing the root cause of food insecurity, which is poverty. We need government support for things such as affordable housing and living wages from employers, so that fewer Canadians are relying on food programs like ours.
How can our readers help?
If you are able, donate! Food Stash Foundation is always looking for individual and corporate support so we can keep feeding over 11,000 people each week.
Where can we follow you?
Website | Instagram | Facebook | LinkedIn | TikTok
PAY IT FORWARD: What is an awesome local charity that you love?
Growing Chefs! They work with kids to educate them on where their food comes from while at the same time making sure they have access to nourishing, culturally-relevant foods.
