Churches-on-the-Hill Food Bank (COTH)
Food Buggy Program with Grace
The COTH Food Bank is a coordinated effort on the part of 8 churches including Grace Church-on-the-Hill operating out of the basement of Timothy Eaton Memorial Church. It currently serves over 1500 households per month with each person per household being provided with 3 days of food. Households range in size from 1-6 persons.
In 2022, the food bank distributed the equivalent of 23,000 meals but those numbers doubled in 2023 to over 45,000 meals. Our Food Bank is the only one in the city that has a shift that is open in the evening.​
Increases in inflation with food and housing have led not only to a dramatic increase in the number of clients, but also in the size of households being served. The majority used to be 1-2 person households, but that has changed to 3 and 4 plus households.
The vast majority of clients use the TTC to reach the food bank. We are extremely fortunate to have a relationship with Second Harvest which provides produce, but these fresh fruits and vegetables are heavy, and larger households often struggle to carry their bags of food. In some cases, food is returned because clients cannot manage the load.
In special project partnership with Grace, the Food Bank would like to be in a position to provide grocery buggies to the larger families to make it easier to transport their food on the TTC. Each buggy costs $50 and we are hoping to raise sufficient funds to purchase 8-10 buggies. ​
Donations can be made at http://www.cothfoodbank.ca
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If you would like it to go towards the food buggies please stipulate that at the time of donation
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Otherwise you can make a general cash donation
Despite having 60% of our food donated through Daily Bread, the Food Bank still purchases a significant fraction of its own food which is funded through generous private contributions. Cash donations help as it allows the Food Bank to purchase in bulk at preferable rates and ensure a balance of food groups.
No one chooses to use a Food Bank and the need continues to be great. All donations are deeply appreciated.
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Rosalind Vanderhoof, Grace Church on-the-Hill representative for Churches on-the-Hill Food Bank
