Rescuing and redistributing food during COVID-19

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Food for vulnerable children, families and seniors during COVID-19 means food rescue and food redistribution is more important than ever. Long-time United Way community partner, SOURCES Community Resources in Surrey is building on their expertise to help ensure area residents are getting the support they need. 

Since June 2019, the SOURCES Food Hub has rescued nearly 122,495 kg of food headed for landfills. With a 0.544 kg average weight per meal, that’s equivalent to about 225,174 meals. This food goes to seven programs through SOURCES partner or spoke agencies like Kekinow Native Housing Society, which supports vulnerable women and their families and the Surrey Urban Mission, serving people who are homeless among others.  

Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, over 400 meals were served daily to vulnerable Surrey residents. Today, that number stands at more than 700. In April, British Columbia’s unemployment rate rose from 7.2% to 11.5% according to Statistics Canada.

“More people are being pushed to need, while our partners’ abilities to  serve them have been restricted,” says Denise Darrell, Executive Director at SOURCES. “We’re [working] to quickly expand our partner network and develop new opportunities to maintain our flow of food to agencies that are able to use it, and into the hands of the people who need it.” 

Dollars at work in our communities 

United Way Local Love Food Hubs like SOURCES provide perishable and non-perishable, culturally appropriate food and/or meals as well as other items such as household goods that are simply too costly for families and individuals who are struggling during this challenging time. 

Thanks to funding from the initiative, SOURCES is helping meet increased demands – hiring an additional driver, purchasing food bins and other tools to expand their reach to assist families not usually impacted by food insecurity.  

“We are so very grateful to be receiving items from the Food Hub. It has allowed us to offer healthier foods to our clients and at the same time helping us reduce our food budget. In this time that we are going through the women are so thoroughly thankful to receive some extra food,” says Velma, a program cook at the Maxxine Wright Community Health Centre, a partner agency serving at-risk new mothers. 

“In partnership with United Way, we can reduce the burden on the health care system, improve food security, and contribute to strengthening our declining local economy, a result of this pandemic,” Denise says.  

The crisis has meant some of the organization’s key collaborators in rescue and redistribution like farms and large scale food processors, have not been able to ship their products to the restaurant chains they normally partner with.  

Local collaboration works 

Photo: Bartłomiej Jacak/Unsplash

“Like the rest of North America, Surrey’s food system has shown its vulnerability. Between the farm and the table, it is reliant on just a few, very large processors and distributors, and any disruption of these facilities is crippling to the whole food chain. It’s already resulting in shortages and rising prices for certain foods, even while other food, stuck somewhere along that chain, is piling up,” Denise says. 

This has led to more food businesses to getting in touch. 

“We’re already adding new grocery retailers and food processors as they find out about our program,” Denise says. “We’re also working on a new gleaning service for farms to help…make sure that labour shortages and other problems affecting farms don’t result in more wasted food.” 

“People in communities across the Lower Mainland and Fraser Valley are going hungry. Rescuing food from processors and retailers to redistribute to organizations serving vulnerable families and individuals in Surrey, especially now when processors and retailers may be struggling to find a market is a win-win for everyone,” says Kim Winchell, Senior Director, Strategy & Operations at United Way British Columbia. “It’s a great example of community coming together in a time of crisis in a way that helps everyone.” 

Currently, there are almost 20 Local Love Food Hubs operating in neighbourhoods across the Lower Mainland and Fraser Valley. United Way is working with SOURCES Food Hub to implement a second Local Love Food Hub in Langley. 

Working together, we can make a difference. Help us raise $1 million to feed our friends and neighbours.