Spring has sprung in Parkdale and we have some very exciting events and activities planned to help you celebrate! Let's shake off those winter cobwebs together and jump into a season of renewal and connection!
Operational Updates
Increasing Demand
The demand for our services has steadily increased in the past few months, a trend that can be seen across all food banks in the city.
We extend our deepest gratitude to our invaluable donors, volunteers, and supporters whose unwavering dedication and generosity have been instrumental in helping us to sustain and expand our services as the needs of our community have continued to grow.
Expansion of Hours
In order to meet the growing needs of our community, we have expanded our hours!
Our new hours are as follows:
Wednesday 10:00AM to 4:30PM
(Senior & Disabled Only)
Thursday 10:00AM to 4:30PM
(Services Open to All)
Friday 4PM to 8PM
(Services Open to All)
Saturday 10:00 AM - 4:30 PM
(Services Open to All)
Join our Client & Volunteer Advisory Committee
We are currently accepting applications for new members of our Client & Volunteer Advisory Committee. The mandate of the committee is to provide client & volunteer input and perspectives on matters that impact the operations and strategic priorities of the food bank.
Minimum Requirements:
All members of the committee must be above 18 years of age
All members must identify as a client of the Parkdale Community Food Bank, a volunteer of the Parkdale Community Food Bank or both.
Selected members will receive an honorarium of $50 per meeting. Meals will be provided at all meetings. Travel required to participate will be covered in full.
Contribute to our Community Cookbook!
We are thrilled to announce that we are currently accepting submissions for the second edition of our Community Cookbook!
Participants whose recipes are selected will receive a $50 gift, generously donated by some of our favourite local businesses, Ruru Baked and Barque Smokehouse.
Send in your recipes by May 10th for the chance to win a prize and be featured in our recipe zine. You can submit your recipes in person at 263 Dunn Avenue or online at www.pcfb.ca/communitycookbooksubmit
Our first edition was a hit thanks to the delicious contributions and incredible support of our community! Check out the interviews below to learn more about the inspiration behind the project.
Good luck and happy cooking!
Join us at the Spring Run-off!
Join us in High Park this April 6 for our largest fundraising event of the year!
The Spring Run Off, hosted by Canada Running Series, celebrates the return of spring in Toronto’s beautiful High Park, welcoming runners of all ages to participate and thaw out after a long Canadian winter.
Last year, we raised over $20,000 through the event, and this year we have set our goal at $35,000.
It’s not too late to sign up to run, donate to a team, or show up to cheer our community on!
GoFundMe Partnership
We partnered with GoFundMe and Proof Media to participate in a campaign to share how GoFundMe and independent fundraising is currently sustaining community organizing amidst an increase in reliance on community support organizations and a lack of sustainable government funding.
The story is available to read on the National Post and also appeared in 87 other national news outlets including the Vancouver Sun and the Ottawa Citizen. Make sure to also look out for the in-person interview with our Executive Director, Kitty, and tour of the food bank being released by CityNews in coming weeks!
Community Spotlights
While nothing we do could be possible without the support of every single individual in our community, we wanted to take a moment to say Thank You to some individuals and organizations that have gone above and beyond these past few months!
A massive thank you to the 2023-24 Tibetan Canadian Cultural Center Youth Committee! During their Tibetan New Year celebration in February, the group collected nonperishable food and personal care items in support of the Parkdale community. The whole Youth Committee also stopped by the food bank earlier this month to personally deliver the donations they had collected.
Rachael is one of our Friday night Team Lead volunteers supporting our warehouse operations, ensuring a smooth and steady flow for our service users. When Rachael isn’t in the warehouse, she provides peer support to the rest of our Friday volunteers. Thank you for everything that you bring to the PCFB table, Rachael!
Rosemarie has over 10 years of volunteering with PCFB, and was part of the trailblazing team that started the original PCFB on King St! She is one of our Team Lead Volunteers in our warehouse. Rosemarie’s years of commitment and passion to provide healthy, accessible food to our service users is a testament to the core of our mission. Thank you Rosemarie!
A huge thank you to Sud Forno for their ‘dough-nations’ of delicious pizza slices!
A toast to Brodflour for their ongoing donations of bread to our community. “Kneadless” to say, we are incredibly grateful for their support!
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