Daily Bread Food Bank's Thanksgiving Drive starts today!

TORONTO, Sept. 23, 2015 /CNW/ - The kids are back in school, the weather is turning colder and Daily Bread is looking to stock the shelves during its annual Thanksgiving Drive. The drive runs from September 23 to October 16 with goals of $325,000 and 225,000 pounds of food.

"We distribute millions of pounds of nutritious food through a network of 136 member agencies right across Toronto and we can't do that without the support of the community," said Gail Nyberg, Daily Bread's executive director. Those member agencies include food banks and meal programs that are located in the inner suburbs of Toronto, an area that has seen an increase in food bank visits according to the Who's Hungry report Daily Bread released earlier this week. Since 2008, the city core has seen a 16% decrease in food bank visits, while the inner suburbs, including Scarborough and Etobicoke, have seen a 45% increase.

"A decrease in the city core is not a good news story when you see there's an increase somewhere else in the city. Poverty and a lack of affordable housing are pushing people out of the downtown core and into food banks," said Nyberg.

The donations from the Thanksgiving Drive will mean that Daily Bread can stock its shelves and continue to provide nutritious food until the Holiday Drive in late November. Daily Bread provides food for almost 60,000 food hampers a month as well as thousands of meals served at hostels, shelters and other food programs.

Online donations can be made at www.dailybread.ca. Donations of healthy, nutritious non-perishables can be dropped off at any local fire hall in Toronto. Not sure what to donate? Some of Daily Bread's most needed food items include canned fruits and vegetables, tomato pasta sauce, baby food and formula and food that is high in protein such as canned fish and meat, peanut butter and canned or dried beans.

SOURCE Daily Bread Food Bank

Sarah Anderson, Senior Manager, Communications, E: [email protected], M: 416-450-2196