While access to healthy food was already a concern for many residents in the Stonegate neighbourhood, it is clear that food insecurity in our community has now reached crisis proportions. The local food bank at Christ Church St. James recently reported food bank attendance is up by over 300% since the start of the pandemic.

Stonegate Community Health Centre actively works to reduce barriers to accessing healthy food. We use a multi-service approach, working closely with community partners such as Christ Church St. James food pantry, and running food programs that build nutrition literacy, reduce social isolation, and increase access to food and food knowledge.

One such program is our weekly Good Food Market that is active year-round. The Market ensures residents, many of whom are on fixed incomes, have access to fresh fruit and vegetables at cost. We also run a “prescription food” program, prescribing Good Food Market credit to food-insecure clients with pre-existing health conditions in order to access fresh produce.

Thanks to generous donations to our annual Holiday Drive, Stonegate CHC has been able to provide Good Food Boxes to local individuals and families dealing with food insecurity and hunger during the holidays, as well as offer access to fresh produce year-round to those struggling to put healthy food on the table. Since we began our annual Good Food Box Holiday Drive in 2010, we have given out over 3,500 boxes to those in need in our community and supported a variety of Stonegate CHC food based initiatives.

With the rise in food costs, the price of FoodShare’s Good Food Box has also risen. However, a donation of $25 is still able to provide a local family a large size Good Food Box brimming with fresh produce. The Good Food Box is a non-profit fresh fruit and vegetable distribution system operated by FoodShare Toronto. Every Good Food Box is filled with top-quality fruits and vegetables from local farmers and the Ontario Food Terminal.

$50 provides Good Food Boxes to 2 families in need

$100 provides Good Food Boxes to 4 families in need

$250 provides Good Food Boxes to 10 families in need

$500 provides Good Food Boxes to 20 families in need

100% of donations go towards providing fresh healthy food for those in need. Charitable tax receipts are available for every donation over $10.