Recently the Government of Canada announced an investment of $100 million in support of food banks and local food organizations to allow food organizations to purchase food and seek the infrastructure required to respond to Covid-19.
Two sources of support for the sector: a COVID-19 Emergency Response Fund to assist with immediate needs not covered by government programs, and a new stream of the Social Innovation Fund, Organizational Rebuilding, to help in the rebuilding period which will be required in the coming months.
Funding during COVID-19 for community organizations directly reaching vulnerable Canadians and helping them access healthy and affordable food.
Grants from the Community Response Fund (CRF) are intended to support qualified donees in BC whose staff, volunteers, programs, and operations have been disproportionately impacted by COVID-19 in the following streams: 1) Health and Social Services – This stream of granting is intended for front-line health and social services charities 2) Arts, Culture, and Community Benefits – This stream of granting is intended for charities offering arts, culture, and other community programming and services that are not considered front-line health and social services.
Food Banks BC has been asked by the Provincial Government to distribute $3 million in special funding to assist food banks experiencing an emergency need during the Provincial State of Emergency declared in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. These funds include directives from government to remove barriers to food bank recipients and to allow drive-through and delivery opportunities, larger hampers, increased home delivery capability, and to remove the requirement of means’ testing.
Indigenous Services Canada has a food security team whose responsibility it is to support communities in ensuring food security needs are met.