GUEST SPEAKER: Ben Earle Executive Director of Feed the Need Durham
Introduced by Janice Coupland, Ben gave a very informative and interesting review of Feed the Need which is recognized as the Regional Emergency Food Hub.
Feed the Need in Durham believes that food insecurity should not prevent anyone from fulfilling their potential or participating fully in the life of our community. It is our mandate to work with our member agencies to alleviate hunger by providing fresh, frozen, and non-perishable food to those who need it most in our community
Food donations come from a variety of sources such as distribution centres, store recovery programs, retail stores, food drives, manufacturers, individuals and families. We also have a bulk food purchasing program if our member agencies need specific items that we do not have in stock. Besides food, we also accept personal hygiene items, and household cleaning products.
We address food insecurity using a collective impact approach, leveraging our network and common infrastructure to collect and distribute food for those who face food insecurity in Durham Region. This allows Feed the Need in Durham to distribute 1.44 million pounds of food each year, equivalent to 1.2 million meals to 60 Food Banks in Durham Region (since March 2020, that number has grown to 70 food banks).
Recent hiring of a Warehouse Manager has increased efficiency as has the purchase of a second truck. He also provided interesting statistics some of which are the result of the impact of COVID on the need.
Due to social distancing in the warehouse, their volunteers were let go so that they could run safely. The food handling increased but the number of touches decreased, due to some efficiencies put in place a lot sooner than they expected to implement them (such as PPE and warehousing equipment).
They have been able to purchase $100,000 worth of food (including fresh milk) from Feed Ontario. In addition, they have been able to purchase $60,000 in Loblaws gift certificates at a reduced rate thru Feed Ontario as well.
Ben showed the difference between March thru August 2019 vs March thru August 2020
38% increase in food distribution
31% increase in food bank visits (a total of 47,307 visits on the March thru August 2020 time period)
74% increase in first time users of the service
182% increase in No Income users (that’s 587 households)
12% of the population in Durham is food insecure but 70% do not use the food banks. They make ends meet.
Ben worries about those living paycheque to paycheque
Several questions were asked by those present – one re rental cost for distribution warehouse is $100,00.00 annually
Ben was thanked by Dave Andrews.
NEXT SCHEDULED MEETINGS:
Topic: District Governor Mark Chipman’s Official Visit to 5 Rotary Clubs:
OCT 6 : 6 PM Start – Special Zoom Meeting LINK https://us02web.zoom.us/j/81628513394?pwd=V2w2cERLTDM5VnZNMFdwNytTZzlhUT09
Meeting ID: 816 2851 3394
Passcode: 999866
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NEXTSCHEDULED MEETINGS:
Topic: Rotary Club of Oshawa-Parkwood Weekly Meetings on ZOOM, UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE
Time: 07:00 PM Eastern Time (US and Canada)
Tuesdays,
Oct 13, 2020 07:00 PM
Oct 20, 2020 - – No Meeting – INSTEAD - Please tune in to World Polio Day in Durham Region on Oct 22.
Oct 27, 2020 07:00 PM
Nov 3, 2020 07:00 PM
Nov 10, 2020 07:00 PM
Nov 17, 2020 07:00 PM
Nov 24, 2020 07:00 PM
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