Island Food Caring

Let’s take hunger off the table.

You see them every day and don’t even know it. Our hidden hungry, the over 50,000 people in Greater Victoria that are food insecure, living with fear and worry not knowing where their next meals may come from, unable to afford healthy food options.

Island Food Caring is a 3-week campaign run by participating local grocery retailers to raise funds in support of programs that help to get fresh foods into the hands of those in need. Participating grocers include: Country Grocer, Fairway Market, Red Barn Market, The Root Cellar & Thrifty Foods.

By changing the way we look at food, and how we distribute it, we can create a more sustainable community and provide hope and dignity to those who need it. We can take hunger off the table.

3,120,000 lbs

of food from grocery stores diverted from the landfill annually.

50,000

people in Victoria are food insecure.

Help give Island families the gift of fresh food

Funds raised in the 2020 Island Food Caring Campaign will support the Food Security Distribution Centre (operated by Mustard Seed Street Church) and the Food Share Network.

The Food Share Network, a collaboration of over 70 not-for-profit organizations, created The Food Rescue Project with grocery retailer partners to collect and redistribute fresh healthy food through the Food Security Distribution Centre. The Food Rescue Project has resulted in a substantial increase in food reaching families and individuals in need.

More than 35,000 people access fresh food through the Food Rescue Project across the capital region.

More than 55 organizations are participating in the Food Rescue Project, distributing food to people accessing their programs and living in their communities.

4,550 kg/day (10,000lbs) of fruits, vegetables, and dairy products are recovered and redistributed 6 days/week.

8% of recovered food is composted or given to farmers to use as animal feed.

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The partners of Island Food Caring

The Food Rescue Project provides over 35,000 people in Greater Victoria with access to fresh and healthy food, while diverting over 4,550 kg (10,000 lbs) of food waste from our landfills each day.

Food insecurity occurs when people do not have reliable and regular access to quality, healthy, culturally appropriate, affordable food. It affects approximately 50,000 people in the capital region and around half a million people province-wide.

14% of people in the capital region (approximately 50,000 people) identify as food insecure, slightly higher than the national food insecurity rate of 12.7%
20,000 residents (approx. 30% of which are children) use food banks or meal programs, meaning that there are 30,000 people in the region who comprise the ‘hidden hungry’
1 in 5 children in BC live in poverty

The partners of Island Food Caring understand that individuals and families need access to nutritious, safe fresh food like fruits, vegetables, and dairy. These partners believe that hunger should not exist in our community and that everyone should have the energy to work, learn, and play. These partners have come together to take a stand against hunger and include:

The Mustard Seed Street Church, and the agencies of the Food Share Network, which have been doing this work for years and have profound expertise and understanding of community need and how to help our region become more food secure.
Country Grocer | Fairways Market | Red Barn Markets | The Root Cellar | Thrifty Foods: Participating grocery retailers in the Island Food Caring campaign came together because they understand the importance of ensuring all members of our community have access to fresh, quality food. Their fundraising power, as a collective group, helps to ensure that programs operating in the region are funded and sustainable for many years to come.
Rotary Clubs of South Vancouver Island are also keen to step forward and support food security. Their commitment of time, treasure and talent to the execution of the Island Food Caring campaign helps to ensure that fundraising dollars are maximized and put directly into food security efforts.
The Victoria Foundation believes food security is central to the well-being of people, which makes it a priority for our region and the province. The Foundation’s expertise in facilitating community discussion and collaboration is what enables it to connect donors and people in the community with this important issue.