FAQ

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Early in 1983, a number of concerned people began meeting to look at how to address the escalating poverty and hunger in Toronto. After much deliberation and consultation, it was decided that a centralized organization to solicit and distribute food was needed. This organization, although incorporated, was meant to be temporary as the founding group would continue to press for changes in public policy to alleviate the problem of hunger. The driving force in the beginnings, and the first Executive Director, was Sister Marie Tremblay, a member of the Sisters of St. Joseph, a Catholic order. Incorporation occurred in the fall and the first food was received at Christmas of 1983.

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Agency Relations
Provides support to Daily Bread's 160 + member agencies.

Development
Ensures Daily Bread's fundraising and food raising goals are met.

Finance & Administration
Covers financial controls and reporting, computer systems and facilities maintenance.

Food Services
Controls the food inventory and ensure that member agency food orders are filled.

Human Resources & Volunteer Services
Meets staff HR needs and runs the volunteer program.

Operations
Runs the distribution operations, including warehousing, food sorting & reclamation, and trucking operations, handling about 1 million pounds of food each month.

Research & Communications
Conducts research about the root causes of the hunger crisis in the GTA and communicates Daily Bread's work to the public.

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Daily Bread Food Bank has about 50 paid staff.

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The following statistics are from 2008-2009

• Children: 35%
• Working poor: 30%
• Self-identified disability: 47%
• Newcomers: 49%
• Single parents: 18%
• Welfare/ODSP recipients: 65%
• Low income is a key factor in food bank use
• A food bank client's median monthly household income is $980
• High cost of housing: 76% of income spent on rent
• Barriers to the labour market
• Onset of a disability or illness
• Not enough hours at work to cover the cost of living

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Daily Bread Food Bank's logo features an illustration inspired by Inuit art, and represents abundance, life and diversity. The egg, apple and bread reflect how we strive to provide our clients with nutritious food, while the vibrant person reminds us that we are about people and signifies a feeling of optimism in our fight against hunger.

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Daily Bread Food Bank is a network of food banks and other food relief programs based in Toronto and serving the GTA. It is Toronto's largest network of food relief programs for people who are struggling with hunger. Food and financial donations are delivered to Daily Bread, which represents the hub of the network, and resources are distributed equitably among member agencies.

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Daily Bread's member agencies place food orders based on the number of people they serve. Daily Bread has a fleet of 7 trucks and drivers who deliver the food to the programs across the GTA.

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Food relief programs fall into two categories:

1. Food banks, where clients receive a 2-3 day supply of unprepared, non-perishable food (often supplemented with staples like bread, milk and vegetables). Food bank type programs include:

• Neighbourhood food banks.
• Tenant food programs: These member-run programs are operated for small communities, normally a building or group of buildings, where clients may be facing challenges getting to their regular neighbourhood food bank.
• Food staples programs: Targeted for newcomers, along with other foods, clients receive rice and pasta, dried beans and oil, which are items they may be more familiar with cooking.
• Prenatal Programs: These hampers, for young expectant moms, include nutritious items like milk and fruit.
• Mobile food bank: Elderly people and people with disabilities who experience mobility challenges have food delivered to them

2. Meal programs, where clients who are usually marginally housed, receive prepared meals. These programs include:

• Hostels & shelters
• Drop-in centres
• Mobile food delivery for youth
• School food programs for children living in low-income families also received prepared food.

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People experiencing poverty and hunger are often facing a range of issues. Clients receive information and advice on how to resolve issues, other than hunger, such as housing,
immigration, access to social benefits, and employment by trained staff or volunteers.

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Through the operation of an institutional kitchen at the New Toronto Street facility, Daily Bread both uses perishable food prior to expiry for various meal programs and creates a training opportunity for people at risk who have experienced barriers to the labour market.

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When someone asks for food from a neighbourhood food bank there is an intake interview to assess if that person fits the eligibility criteria. Part of that interview requires that the client bring some form of documentation that indicates their financial and home situation. We do this to see how much money they have left over after they have paid their rent to meet the rest of their needs— including their most basic needs, such as food. The process respects the dignity of those involved. The interview is necessary so that food is getting to people who need it. It also ensures that the people who have the least income have the greatest access to food. Those with the fewest resources are eligible to come to a food bank up to four times a month, while some who comparatively have more may only be eligible to come one, two or three times.

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Daily Bread keeps salary costs down by having a large number of volunteers support our efforts in administrative positions, in our warehouse and sorting food. Over the course of a year we'll have over 10,000 volunteers who work over 85,000 hours to help us ensure food and resources get to the people who need them.

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Daily Bread raises food and funds to support our mission. With the support of the public and the food industry, Daily Bread is able to raise nearly 13 million pounds of food annually, which is then distributed to over 150 member agencies. Daily Bread raises funds in order to supplement food donations (both for quantity and most-needed items),
to get food out to those in need, to provide public education, conduct research, and provide additional support in other critical areas.

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• Food & fund drives
• Third party & other special events
• Corporations & family and corporate foundations
• Individual donations

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• Daily Bread purchases food when the type and quantity of food donations are not adequate.
• Daily Bread has a fleet of 7 trucks to get food out to those in need.
• Daily Bread also has 50 full-time staff to conduct its mission, as well as a large warehouse to maintain.
• Daily Bread's programs that receive funding include public education, research and advocacy support as well as member agency support.
• Administrative costs include general and financial management, salaries, audit fees and governance expenses.
• Fundraising costs include salaries, expenses to run events and public drives, and other tasks and projects required to raise money.
• Program costs include the support necessary to maintain programs including salaries and resource materials along with providing resources and food to member agencies equitably.
• Donated food is not reflected in the financial results of the organization.

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• The general public contributes at least 50% of Daily Bread's annual revenue earnings.
• The rest is made up of commitments from individuals and corporations, third party & special events, and bequests.
• Daily Bread is not a United Way agency and does not receive United Way funding. Membership with United Way would limit Daily Bread's ability to fundraise independently due to United Way member agency black-out periods for fundraising.
• Daily Bread does not rely on government funding.

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By gathering relevant statistics through an annual survey of food bank clients and communitybased research, Daily Bread creates reports that increase public awareness and political responsiveness to the issues of hunger and poverty. Understanding the root causes of hunger allows us to offer realistic policy solutions to reduce it.

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We believe that the more people understand hunger and poverty, the more they will be moved to support our work in creating social change. Our drive campaigns allow us to educate the general public about issues facing people who live on low-income. Educating youth empowers them to make a difference in their community, so more recently Daily Bread's public education for youth has become a multi-faceted and interactive program that explains the sensitive issues of poverty in an age-appropriate manner and provides tools for making change.

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Hunger is an outcome of poverty. Daily Bread advocates for effective, innovative, and doable government policies that reduce poverty and improve income security for our clients. Daily Bread believes it has a responsibility to the people accessing food banks to work constructively with governments of all political views to achieve real policy results. We engage in community-based research to develop a strong fact base and involve the people we serve to ensure the voice of those with lived experience with poverty is present in all our work.