Visiting the Food Bank

MonkeyMedia visits the Vancouver Food Bank.

Across North America, there are over 200 Food banks - organizations that gather, store, and distribute food to the needy. The food goes to depot visitors as well as food pantries, soup kitchens, senior centers, homeless shelters, community kitchens, and youth programs.

From their 16 depots, Vancouver 's Food Bank helps feed more than 9,000 people each week. They feed an additional 16,000 people, through over one hundred agencies. In a single year, they move over 8 million pounds of food in and out of their city warehouse.

They are vulnerable. In 2008, Reuters News reports, non-profit groups feeding the urban hungry have been hit hard. With prices of cereal products up in some cities by 60% and milk up 77% over the previous year, food banks need support.

Thanks to Arlene Kravitz of the Vancouver Food Bank