Toronto Community Champion Awards

We are thrilled and deeply honoured to share that the Parkdale Community Food Bank has been recognized with the Toronto Community Champion Award!

The Toronto Community Champion Award recognizes the extraordinary contributions that community organizations make to support health, interests, and well-being of Toronto residents, particularly those from Indigenous, Black, and other equity-deserving groups. This annual program is unique as it provides an opportunity for individual residents to recognize the hard work of community "champions" through their own lived experience by nominating an organization they feel is worthy of an award, rather than organizations or groups putting forth nominations themselves.

This award means so much to us. We are honoured to have received this recognition alongside so many incredible and invaluable organizations and programs. To know that a community member took the time to nominate us is incredibly exciting, and reinforces that what we're building together is truly making an impact in the lives of individuals and families.

At the Parkdale Community Food Bank, our mission has always been rooted in equity, access, and community care. We believe that access to diverse and culturally appropriate foods is a human right. We have worked hard to develop a shopping model that respects autonomy, programming that reflects community voices, and a volunteer team that mirrors the diversity of the community we serve. Receiving this award is recognition that we are headed in the right direction, while also reminding us that there is still so much more that needs to be done to address food insecurity in Toronto.

The awards ceremony took place in the evening of May 15th at the Bram and Bluma Appel Salon at the Toronto Reference Library. A group of our staff, volunteers, and board members were in attendance to receive the award and celebrate this exciting honour. We were also excited to get the opportunity to attend a Toronto Blue Jays game on May 16th with the other award recipients. It was a wonderful opportunity to connect and share knowledge with community organizations from across the city.

Thank you to the City of Toronto, Mayor Olivia Chow, and most importantly, the person or people who nominated us.

Watch the video below to learn more about the other organizations that received awards in the Downtown Central category.