New food bank packing centre opens in Brampton
Published August 3, 2022 at 10:15 am
Two organizations have teamed up to help fight food insecurity in Brampton.
GlobalMedic, a registered charity in Etobicoke, and Regeneration Brampton announced they have opened a new packing location in Brampton.
The two organizations are working together at the new centre at 253 Queen St. E. in Brampton. Five students, hired through the Canada Summer Jobs grant, are working at the site to pack food staples to distribute to the local community.
“By employing Brampton youth for this program, GlobalMedic is creating local jobs, empowering youth and tackling food insecurity in the region,” the organization said in a press release.
The GlobalMedic is utilizing its Grassroots Revolution McAntony’s Menu program. The program uses existing supply chains to create 500-gram bags of pantry staples like rice, lentils and kidney beans. Volunteers fill these individual bags with food from large 50-pound bags. These bags are boxed up and then delivered to food banks and clients. A 500-gram bag of food costs a third to a quarter of the retail price.
The food bags will then be distributed through Regeneration Brampton’s Marketplace, which offers food and resources to individuals and families.
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Founded in early 2020 in response to the food insecurity caused by the pandemic, Regeneration Brampton supports hundreds of families and individuals each week. The Marketplace aims to care and provide for neighborhoods in times of need.
The new program comes at a time when consumer inflation reached a record high of 7.7 percent in May 2022, the highest yearly rise since January 1983.
“Canadians have continued to suffer the effects of rising costs of basic necessities, and as a result, more and more people are experiencing hunger and food insecurity,” GlobalMedic notes.
Food Banks Canada finds one in five Canadians are reporting going hungry, which is an estimated seven million people in the country.
Food banks across the country report a 25 per cent increase in new visitors in the past six months.
For more information visit the GlobalMedic or Regeneration Brampton websites.
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