Annual Report
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AnnuAl RepoRt September 1, 2009 – August 31, 2010 NYH AR 2010.indd 1 11-01-28 5:22 PM ouR Vision A community where all members are able to meet their food needs. ouR mission • to provide dignified food assistance and support to community members in northern toronto; • to raise public awareness and provide education regarding hunger and its causes; • to engage the community in meeting its members’ food needs. ouR VAlues Access and inclusion Collaboration integrity e xcellence Contents 1 Message from the Executive 6 Member Agencies Director and Chair 7 Food Donors 2 Highlights of the Year: 10 Financial Supporters We’re on Track with Five Goals 11 Our Incredible Volunteers 2 Incoming and Outgoing Food 12 Financial Information 3 How We’re Funded 13 Who We Are: Staff, Board and 4 Two Families Make a Go of It Corporate Advisory Board 5 Trethewey: Neighbours Helping Neighbours NYH AR 2010.indd 2 11-01-28 5:22 PM Message from the Executive Director and Chair n a Tuesday, a couple of months Throughout the year, we were gratified by the ago, if you were to walk into a outpouring of community support for North food bank agency near the Bridal York Harvest. We extend our heartfelt thanks Path — one of 60 community to the thousands of volunteers and donors O food programs that we support in who contributed to our organization. And northern Toronto — you would see volunteers we look forward to working with you in our providing food and information to dozens of quest for a community where all members are people. A dad from Sri Lanka was looking able to meet their food needs. through his hamper of food – maple syrup, chick peas, jam and other food for the week. He and his family of four had just moved to Toronto three months before. “I’m struggling to find a part-time job,” he said. “I’m studying for a license exam. I was a medical doctor back home, working in a national hospital in Colombo.” His hamper of food was one of the 150,000 we distributed this year. Poverty is still a reality for too many people. This year, we saw demand remain at historic highs of about 10 per cent above 2008, pre-recession levels. As recent reports have shown, poverty is clustered in high rises in the inner suburbs of Toronto, where the Sri Lankan doctor settled. A worrisome picture is emerging of a Toronto that’s becoming increasingly divided by income, ethno-cultural factors and by socio- economic status, with poor neighbourhoods surrounding a wealthier core. As poverty becomes more entrenched, we must look for creative ways to alleviate it, as well as getting at the root causes, according to reports from the United Way and the University of Toronto. In the coming year, North York Harvest will continue focusing on making food assistance available to people in need. We’ll also work for a more inclusive and comprehensive income-security system that supports our residents as they weather financial crisis. “We’re part of the solution in With a grant from the Heart and Stroke Foundation, we’ll develop a coordinated northern toronto.” approach to improving access to food in three neighbourhoods. And lastly, we’ll launch our exciting new project that will examine the With your help, we’re on track to achieve all feasibility of bringing a food and distribution five goals in our three-year strategic plan. hub to the Lawrence Heights neighbourhood Read more about our accomplishments in the – courtesy of the George Cedric Metcalf following pages! Charitable Foundation. Anette Chawla and Morley Katz 1 AnnuAl RepoRt 2010 n oRth YoRk hARVest Food BA nk NYH AR 2010.indd 1 11-01-28 5:22 PM highlights oF the Y eAR Highlights of the Year: We’re On Track with Five Goals more than 90 Goal #1: Building enhanced food distribution per cent of n the past two fiscal years, we increased the this year. As a result, our operating revenue was i amount of food distributed to communities in more than $1.1-million – which we used to help our funding need, with 150,000 hampers of food distributed families and individuals in northern Toronto. comes this year alone. Events, such as four major food drives and through Our food bank is unique among charities in that the Scotiabank Toronto Waterfront Marathon donations nearly all our food and funds come from non- (which raised $44,200), brought in record amounts of food and funds, reflecting the from governmental sources (and only seven per cent of funds come from government). In spite of increased need in communities during a individuals, living through a recession, our donors increased recession. businesses, their support; fundraising rose by 10 per cent The food donations filled our warehouse. foundations and the Food donations rose to 1.5 Million pounds, an increase of 60 per cent over two years community. > inComing Food outgoing Food > Corporate: 51% member Food drives: 33% Agencies: 87% Change in FBC,* oAFB* inventory: 6% & others: 10% other Food purchases: 4% Banks: 4% Farms: 2% *Food Banks Canada Waste: 3% and ontario Association of Food Banks. noRth YoRk hARVest Food BA nk AnnuA l RepoRt 2010 2 NYH AR 2010.indd 2 11-01-28 5:22 PM highlights oF the Y eAR Goal #2: A major achievement this year was re- We ensured Building great food programs organizing our small warehouse for educational food-sorting sessions with elementary and fair and high-school classes. Nearly 1,200 students e ensured fair and dignified food dignified food Wdistribution to 42 member agencies – participated. In addition, the sorting area and to the folks who visit our food banks. is larger, safer and results in faster sorting distribution Harvest Academy helped. Launched in January sessions. to 42 2010, the Academy is a series of North York Harvest workshops that provides professional Goal #4: member development for our agencies and prospective engaging the community agencies. volunteers. e contributed to the Lawrence Heights Also, this year, a group of visionary women WInter-Organization Network, the Bathurst- at Trethewey, one of our 42 agencies, took on Finch Network, the Black Creek Food Action new leadership with the supplementary food Group and the Fairview Food Security Network. program there. The program is now 100 per We also joined three Local Immigration cent run by the community, for the community. Partnership councils that address issues that (Please see page 5 for more about Trethewey.) newcomers to Canada face. And we continue We and our partners added five community- to work as steering committee members on the kitchen programs this year. People at the kitchens Community Cooking Connections project, which prepare and eat meals together. Many who use has helped to start and support 21 community our programs are marginalized and isolated — kitchens (www.cookingconnections.ca). lost in apartment buildings, so to speak — and During the summer and autumn months, farm the social benefits of the community kitchens are visits with our partner agencies to “glean” equal to the food benefits. produce from fields were highly successful, and a Live Green grant from the City of Toronto Goal #3: allowed us to support six community gardens in Creating public awareness and northern Toronto. education none of our Goal #5: goals would ur agency network supports 60 food developing our team be attainable o programs, and a large part of our mandate is to create awareness about what we’re doing hanks to grants from the City of Toronto, without to support them. After we reached out to the t the Ontario Trillium Foundation and our army of media earlier this year, we saw a large increase the Gateway Café, we hired eight part-time in mainstream media coverage, beginning in staff members to handle the increased need volunteers April – seven television news spots, three radio in programming this year. During a summer – more than broadcasts, and 12 newspaper stories for our retreat and throughout the year, we saw that 2,200 people Spring Food Drive alone. Coverage in ethnic a coherent, well-functioning team of staff and media and visits to our website also increased. volunteers was crucial in expanding programs. who donated 16,000 hours of their time hoW We’Re individuals: 42% this year. Funded Corporations: 20% Our total operating Community organizations and Foundations: 19% revenue was $1,108,499. special events: 11% government grants: 7% other: 1% 3 AnnuAl RepoRt 2010 n oRth YoRk hARVest Food BA nk NYH AR 2010.indd 3 11-01-28 5:22 PM highlights oF the Y eAR Two Families Make a Go of It “When someone n a sunny day last autumn, at one of North York Harvest supports, a woman with a oour food bank agencies near the Bridal baby stroller sat on a chair with tears in her first comes Path, a father of four was looking through his eyes. She approached a table, and a volunteer to a food food hamper, when one of our staff members handed a box full of food to her. “When bank, they’re asked him how he was doing. He was looking someone first comes to a food bank, they’re for a part-time job, he said, while studying stressed, sometimes in tears, so volunteers are stressed, for a licensing exam to become a doctor. “I here to be sympathetic,” said Terry, one of the sometimes was a medical doctor back home, working volunteer organizers nearby. Five churches in tears, so in a national hospital in Colombo, in an of volunteers are involved in running the ophthalmology department.” Now, after three Community Share Food Bank, which is open volunteers months in Toronto, he and his family were two days a week.