To help your local food bank, open your wallet

Thinking of donating that can of beans in your cupboard to a food bank? Nova Scotia food banks say the donation that helps them most is money. 

“Our buying power is much stronger as an organization than an individual’s,” said Corrina Parent, communications manager at Feed Nova Scotia. “A person can take $20 and go to the grocery store and get three things. But we can take that $20 to one of our wholesale partners and get a lot more for that.”

Not only can food banks stretch your money further than you can, they can also stock up on exactly what they need and survive donation dry spells.

For those who prefer to give physical donations, or want to do so in addition to donating money, Parent says the most-needed foods are “always going to be protein sources . . . beans, chickpeas, lentils, canned fish, canned chicken, that sort of stuff.”

Non-perishable dairy products are also “always in high demand,” such as canned or powdered milk.

She says food banks are looking for “foods that can actually make up the components of a main meal” such as pasta and rice, because they typically offer more sustenance than snack foods.  

‘Ask them what they need most’

Where you donate may influence what you choose to give.

“I always tell folks, if they want to donate directly to their food bank, reach out and ask them what they need most,” Parent said.

“The items that the food banks can distribute to their clients might be a little bit different than something that we would distribute from [Feed Nova Scotia’s warehouse],” she said, “because they offer different programming and they might have a better understanding of specific needs that their communities have.”

The food bank at St. James United Church in Dartmouth, one of Feed Nova Scotia’s locations, provides hygiene kits and winter clothing in addition to food. 

Brian McLeod, a food co-ordinator at St. James, said their monthly hygiene kits “have made a really big difference.”  

He listed toothbrushes, toothpaste, deodorant, razors, shampoo, soap, menstrual products and toilet paper as helpful donations to these kits. 

In addition to non-perishable proteins like canned fish and peanut butter, McLeod emphasized their location’s need for “thick mittens,” tuques and “warm winter socks.” 

Parker Street Food and Furniture Bank in Halifax’s north end, which is part of the Community Care Network Society, has the facilities to store donations from carrots to couches. On Tuesday, the core foods running low were eggs, pasta, cereal and canned fruits and vegetables. 

The organization’s client services director, Brigitte MacInnes, also said that while all donations are welcome, their organization can stretch money further than food because of discounts they receive through large partnerships. 

Mandi Holness, who’s been volunteering 40 hours a week at Parker since August, said it’s always difficult to meet the demand for baby supplies and menstrual products. 

“We have a lot of people that ask for formula and diapers and baby wipes,” said Holness. “And we can’t keep up with the amounts.” 

Holness said maintaining a range of diaper sizes — including adult sizes for those dealing with incontinence — is an important goal that’s difficult to achieve. 

The size issue also applies to menstrual products. “Sometimes we just have massive pads. Right now, we have barely any tampons left.” 

The no-no list

There are a few things that food banks across the board can’t distribute.

The main one is pharmaceutical products, even if they’re over the counter. That means no Advil, Nicotine patches, or vitamins.

They also can’t give out food that has not been prepared in a professional kitchen. So share your famous wild blueberry jam and home-baked shortbread with your friends and neighbours instead.

Food that has been removed from its original packaging also won’t find its way into a giveaway box. And while food banks can distribute non-perishable food that’s past its “best before” date, they can’t distribute anything past its expiration date. So when food banks purchase food that expires quickly, such as baby formula, it gives them a bigger window to distribute it than when those same items are dropped off by donors.

‘Don’t forget about us in January’ 

According to the Canadian Income Survey 2022 released by Statistics Canada earlier this year, Nova Scotia had the highest provincial rate of food insecurity at 28.9 per cent. 

Parent said that at the end of the day, the food bank donation that will go furthest is always money.

“We have really great relationships with wholesalers, producers, manufacturers in the province,” she said, “so we can get more for our buck through those partnerships than an individual can by going to the grocery store to make purchases.”

She also said that while donations to Feed Nova Scotia “really drop off” after the holidays, the supports that people need do not.

“Don’t forget about us in January,” said Parent. “Everyone wants to give this time of year, and unfortunately food insecurity doesn’t go away after Christmas Day.”