In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, food distribution organizations across Delta have come together to help those struggling with food security.
Earlier this month, United Way of the Lower Mainland announced an extension of a funding appeal for their Local Love Food Hubs. The hubs served one million meals to people in the Lower Mainland and Fraser Valley since their creation in April.
According to a new release, the hubs were developed as an emergency response to the pandemic with the goal of curtailing the sudden increased food insecurity experienced by 15 per cent of people across the province.
Out of United Way’s 136 Local Love Food Hubs, two are located in Delta. The first was with the Delta School District, which started when schools shut down due to COVID-19 and continued operating through the summer months. Since the school year has resumed, the food hub with the district concluded.
The second food hub operates through Delta’s Earthwise Farm and Garden, the leading agency in the Delta Food Coalition.
Since July, Earthwise has created and delivered 705 food hampers to residents across Delta. The produce that goes into the food hampers is sourced through various organizations affiliated with Earthwise. The shared harvest program for example, coordinates between people with an excess of fruit produced by their backyard farms. The shared harvest program alone has accounted for almost 907 kg (2,000 pounds) of produce.
“The majority of it recently has come from farms just because of the volume they have but this summer I would say the majority came from people in the community,” said Aubrey Bird, program coordinator for Earthwise.
Seeing as one of Earthwise’s main initiatives is education, simple recipes are included in the hampers so people aren’t left wondering what to do with vegetables they may not have come across before.
“There's a joy in being able to provide people with actually nice meals that otherwise, during a vulnerable time, especially during this pandemic, they would have access to,” added Emma Frostad the food security coordinator for Earthwise.
Additionally, Earthwise, the Delta Food Coalition and United Way have come together to support a food rescuing initiative organized by FoodMesh, a network which helps grocery stores reduce their food waste.
In a three-month pilot program which started in September, rescued food is picked up at Save-On-Foods locations in Tsawwassen and Ladner and is delivered to various organizations in Delta like the Boys and Girls club and the KinVillage Association. In the first month of the program more than $13,000 worth of food was rescued and donated.
Bird says the increased demand is inexorably tied to the COVID-19 pandemic.
“I think a lot of people were pushed over the edge into being food insecure when COVID-19 happened because a lot of people who might not have had to access food banks before lost their jobs,” Bird said.
Together, the United Way Local Love Food Hubs at Earthwise and the Delta School District have provided more than 13,000 meals and/or food hampers to Delta residents.
