Friends in Need Food Bank
  • External link opens in new tab or window 604-466-3663
  • External link opens in new tab or window administration@friendsneedfood.com
  • External link opens in new tab or window #8-22726 Dewdney Trunk Road, Maple Ridge, BC, V2X3K2 CA
Menu
  • Link Icon Link Icon Link Icon Home
    • External link opens in new tab or window Link Icon Link Icon Link Icon Getting Help
      • External link opens in new tab or window Link Icon Link Icon Link Icon Volunteering
        • External link opens in new tab or window Link Icon Link Icon Link Icon Donate
          • External link opens in new tab or window Link Icon Link Icon Link Icon Events
            • External link opens in new tab or window Link Icon Link Icon Link Icon Perishable Food Recovery
              • External link opens in new tab or window Link Icon Link Icon Link Icon School Programs
                • External link opens in new tab or window Link Icon Link Icon Link Icon About Us
                  • External link opens in new tab or window Link Icon Link Icon Link Icon Contact Us

                    Ensuring That No One Goes Hungry In Our Community

                    Contact UsContact Us



                    Overview of Friends in Need Food Bank Society Related to the Perishable Food Recovery Program

                    The overall purpose of our organization is to assist in the relief of hunger and poverty by providing food hampers regularly to people on low income or in an emergency situation. Further, we work to provide an environment of inclusion by providing volunteer opportunities that promote a better understanding of the families or individuals who require support from the community. We have committed to remaining non-secular and non-political and excel in creating partnerships with other organizations and companies that share our commitment to improving the lives of those in need. All of our efforts are made within a framework of low overhead to maximize every dollar to our clients’ advantage. We are very proud of our dedicated group of volunteers and staff who are frontline workers during the COVID-19 pandemic. Through these challenging times, they have embraced the expansion of the Perishable Food Recovery Program to serve not only our clients but also the wider spread of people in our community in need of food security. We believe the Perishable Food Recovery Program is the way of the future from a social, economic and environmental perspective because it is the right thing to do.


                    Present Status With the Perishable Food Recovery Program

                    Column

                    Friends in Need Food Bank Society already has an outstanding track record of ensuring their clients are being provided with quality food through established relationships with food retailers and wholesalers, as well as strong relationships with local farmers to ensure food is provided to fresh farm feed when it is not fit for human consumption. However, the perishable items, especially dairy and meat, have always been a challenging product area due to the requirements of ensuring the “cold chain” (being able to maintain safe internal temperatures during the handling of products) is maintained during transport and storage to ensure product safety.

                    Column

                    We have been able to upgrade all of our transportation vehicles and on-site refrigeration through grants from Food Banks BC, the Government of BC, Food Banks Canada, Enterprise Canada and the Wal-Mart Foundation. We have all the necessary equipment to maintain the “cold chain.”
                     
                    We have also established a stand-alone Perishable Food Recovery Facility located in the Maple Ridge downtown core. After one year of operations, using the FoodMesh tracking app, we have hard data that supports the success of this program. Using that data, we have been able to obtain a grant for expansion to bring more of our grocery stores into the program. This grant is funded through Food Banks Canada and the Wal-Mart Foundation. To date, we have six of the nine major grocery chains participating in the program.

                    We Are Here To Help If You’re
                    Experiencing Food Insecurity

                    Contact UsContact Us

                    Data Supporting the Success of the Program

                    In June 2019, the Perishable Food Recovery Facility opened, and we began picking up totes every day from the four Save-On-Foods stores in Maple Ridge and Pitt Meadows. The food is sorted, weighed and recorded using the FoodMesh Data Collection Program. In July 2020, Thrifty Foods became part of the FoodMesh data collection program, and in August 2020, NoFrills came on board. As of December 31, 2020 we have repurposed 747,093 kg of food previously destined for landfills. Of that 392,880 kg of food has been distributed to clients of the food banks in Maple Ridge and Pitt Meadows as well as a number of our community organizations and agencies dealing with food insecurity. Using industry accepted calculators, the following can be reported.

                     

                    ·       $2,239,416 is the Charity Donation Value ($5.70/kg donated value)

                    ·       1,419,477 kg. of CO2 Emissions have been saved

                     

                    Column
                    Column


                    Benefits of the Program

                    Column

                    • Improving the health profile of our communities
                    • Diverting food from landfills, repurposing it and reducing the carbon footprint of our communities
                    • Supporting food retailers in improving their performance in the area of waste reduction, which is beneficial to society as a whole
                    • Improving educational outcomes for youth by ensuring they are adequately nourished, allowing them to concentrate on their classroom studies

                    Column

                    • Providing further leadership within the area of establishing and maintaining strong inter-agency partnerships
                    • Providing our volunteers with an improved workspace to support our clients better
                    • For a short video on Friends in Need Food Bank Society’s Perishable Food Recovery Program, please visit External link opens in new tab or windowhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SAH2iI_0hPc.
                    • For further information, please contact Mary Robson, Executive Director at Friends in Need Food Bank Society at Director@FriendsNeedFood.com.

                    Contact Us

                    Invalid Form properties detected




                    Friends

                    in Need Food Bank Society


                    • External link opens in new tab or window 604-466-3663
                    • External link opens in new tab or window administration@friendsneedfood.com
                    • External link opens in new tab or window #8-22726 Dewdney Trunk Road, Maple Ridge, BC, V2X3K2 CA
                    close lightbox