Richmond Hill Community Food Bank

100% of all donations go directly to helping the residents of our community of Richmond Hill. canadahelps.org/en/charities/r…

Mark Sat, Mar 28 on your calendar for Mayor West’s free Maple Syrup Fest at Richmond Green, and pls bring a food item or $ donation for our @RHFoodBank volunteers and help feed your neighbours! #GiveWhereYouLive!

Dennis has been a dedicated food bank volunteer since he retired 5 years ago - and he's become more and more concerned about how many young people - with jobs - need to turn to the food bank for support. Noah is one of them. He's a recent graduate who's working in a coffee shop to get by, but he just can't get enough hours to put food on the table. Noah’s story is another reminder of how many young people – who are just starting out and who want to work hard - don’t have the same opportunities that were once available. And now, food banks need your help to be there to offer support when they have nowhere else to turn. Find out more about how you can help food banks be there for workers like Noah here: ow.ly/Y5YI50Ytu6R

For #InternationalWomensDay our @RHFoodBank salutes a longtime, dedicated volunteer – Liz Duffy-MacLean! In addition to many volunteer roles, she helps us apply for prov & fed grants to boost our @RHFoodBank & help our clients. Thx Liz! You truly #GiveWhereYouLive!

When food bank visits go up, homelessness follows - and with over 1 million Ontarians who need to turn to a food bank to get by, a rise in homelessness may be on the horizon. Learn more about the connection between these issues in the @globeandmail here: ow.ly/gLC450Y8iov

“As more Ontarians fall deeper into poverty, healthcare costs for the Province will rise and everyone will face longer wait times for the care they need. While the link between food bank use and strain on the healthcare system may not seem clear at first, a closer look shows just how connected they are.” Read our latest blog post to find out how poverty doesn't just impact the wellbeing of people across the province – it’s impacts the healthcare system as a whole: ow.ly/43nx50XZREt

Big thx to @FeedOntario for its Feeding Possibility grant, allowing our @RHFoodBank to buy 5 new refrigeration/freezer units to replace old equipment and add more storage capacity. This helps us safely store more fresh food and serve more families facing food insecurity.

The recent discussions on social media about 2016 are a reminder of how drastically food bank use in Ontario has grown in the past 10 years. In 2016, 335,000 people visited a food bank, and since then – as the cost of living has continued to rise and wages and social supports haven’t kept pace - the number of people struggling to get by has tripled. Over 1 million people needed to turn to a food bank this past year. This is a threshold we hoped we’d never reach – but change is always possible. Making strategic investments and policy changes to ensure affordable housing is accessible, our social assistance programs are strong, and that quality jobs are available in Ontario can work to address the root causes of poverty and reduce the need for food banks in the first place. Find out more in the Hunger Report 2025: ow.ly/o9Ab50Y1moN

Without the help of a food bank, more people, families, seniors and children in Ontario would lose their homes. Unaffordable housing is one of the root causes of food insecurity in the province, and nearly a third of food bank visitors say they need to turn to a food bank to get by because of the cost of housing. Solutions like bringing back real rent control and investing in building more social housing are steps that could also support those hurt by hunger in Ontario. Learn more here: ow.ly/J8SX50XVPVb

Food banks were never meant to be a long-term solution to food insecurity. But today, they’ve become the last line of defence for over 1 million Ontarians who are at risk of falling into deep poverty or homelessness. Compounding this issue is the very real concern that food banks are being pushed to the breaking point. After nine years of rising demand, donations have not kept pace, with many Ontarians who were once able to give no longer in a financial position to help, often leaving food banks with no choice but to reduce the amount of food and services they can provide. If food banks fail the consequences will be significant – not just for the people and families that need their support – but for all our communities and our province. Learn more: ow.ly/HEPH50XU2VZ

This duo from Wit & Wisdom Social Club, meeting in Richmond Hill, recently brought food donations to our @RHFoodBank. We thank them and King’s Zander Sod Co, for donating $5 from each returned BigYellowBag, and dividing proceeds with regional food banks, including ours! Big thx!

One year after their initial groundbreaking report @AMOPolicy, the Ontario Municipal Social Services Association, and @NOSDA2 have released the update of the 2025 Homelessness Report. The report explores how homelessness has worsened in the past year, which signals more Ontarians are falling into deeper poverty. This finding is mirrored by our own data, showing a 13% growth in food bank visits over the past year. The persistent, high food bank use we’re seeing in Ontario is also an early warning sign that homelessness is likely to rise even more, a prediction aligned with the data in the report. Hunger and poverty are hurting our province, and we echo these organizations' call for a coordinated response from all levels of government to address these challenges. Read their report at the link in the post below to find out more:

Food bank visitors often have to make the incredibly difficult choice between paying their rent and putting food on the table. These experiences reflect what we found in the Hunger Report 2025: that increases in food bank use often come before spikes in homelessness. As over 1 million Ontarians exhaust all other options and fall deeper into poverty, if the cost of living continues to rise and incomes remain the same, more and more people and families are likely to lose their housing. Learn more about how high food bank use is an early warning sign that the province may face a rise in homelessness in the future here: ow.ly/G4iH50XTF8J

When food bank visits go up, homelessness follows. High food bank use is a warning that some of the province's biggest challenges could get even worse – and food bank visits growing by 13% over the last year is a sign that even more Ontarians are likely to lose their housing and face homelessness in the future. Learn more: ow.ly/uun350XTpYI

Before the pandemic, those hurt by hunger needed to turn to a food bank 6 times per year to get by. Today, that number has grown to 9 times per year. What the alarming growth in the amount of visits to food banks in Ontario can tell us is that the affordability crisis has pushed more people and families who were once getting by with a few food bank visits per year deeper into poverty—and in need of more frequent support. Read the full story in our blog post here: ow.ly/8aT850XLJ5x

Beauty First Spa reps at Hillcrest Mall encouraged shoppers to drop food items in our @RHFoodBank collection bin & Wild Strawberry Salon on Bathurst also hosted one of our donation bins. Thx to both businesses; you help residents #GiveWhereYouLive & #GiveWhereYouShop!

Ho ho ho! @DeputyMayorChan arrived at our @RHFoodBank today bearing a holiday gift – a generous cheque to help us purchase much-needed food! Extra funds at this time of the year allow us to feed so many people turning to us for help! Thanks, Godwin, you truly #GiveWhereYouLive!

THANK YOU Richmond Hill! Your generosity made our Holiday Donation Drive a HUGE success! With donations collected across 20+ City sites and fire stations, we filled three trailers and one truck for @RHFoodBank, @salvationarmy, @yellowbrckhouse and @yorkhills.

Our @RHFoodBank is closed Thurs & Fri, Dec. 25 & 26, for Christmas & Boxing Day. We re-open to clients Mon thru Wed, Dec. 29 to 31, then will close Thurs, Jan. 1, 2026 for New Year’s Day, & re-open Friday, Jan 2, 2026. Happy holidays & Happy New Year to all clients & donors!

‘Elves’ from @myrichmondhill brought many boxes of food donations to our @RHFoodBank warehouse as the city’s annual toy and food drive ends. Thx to all residents in our generous city! You're helping to feed your neighbours and you #GiveWhereYouLive!

Over 1 million Ontarians needed to turn to a food bank last year, and this number represents 1 million people who are facing nearly impossible choices just to get by. Parents who skip meals so their kids can eat, seniors choosing between groceries and medication, or workers doing everything they can to make ends meet but still falling short. The reasons for needing help may be different, but the impact is always the same. Hunger hurts people and families. Listen to the stories food bank visitors shared with us, and find out how you can help here: ow.ly/GsAJ50XLEAw