GIVE WISELY

TOP 10 NEEDED DONATIONS 1. Peanut butter 2. Canned fruits and vegetables 3. Dried pasta 4. Tomato sauce 5. Lentils and beans 6. Powdered, canned or Tetra Pak milk 7. Baby formula and baby food 8. Canned fish and meat 9. Canned soup and hearty stew 10. Macaroni and cheese

MONEY GOES A LONG WAY Cash donations enable food banks to purchase perishable items such as milk, eggs and meat and to augment food donations. “Financial donations make sure that hampers have all the components of a good meal,” says Gail Nyberg of the Daily Bread Food Bank.

Nearly 850,000 Canadians rely on food banks every month, according to HungerCount 2014, Food Banks Canada’s report on hunger and food-bank use. Here’s how you can help. BY ROBIN STEVENSON

Of those helped in 2014, 37 percent were children and youth, five percent of adults were over the age of 65 and 48 percent of households also received social assistance.

Every little bit helps, even canned soups and macaroni and cheese, which are particularly useful for those who live in rooming houses and don’t have cooking facilities, says Gail Nyberg, executive director of Toronto’s Daily Bread Food Bank. “If you’re a single male, a box of macaroni and cheese or a can of stew is nutritious and filling. It’s hard to make a homemade version on a hotplate.”

If donating items from your pantry, you can contribute foods close to their best-before dates (the cutoff for guaranteed freshness and flavour), but items past their expiry dates won’t be accepted. It’s also important to ensure that any packaging seals are intact.

A few hours can make a difference. Here are three easy ways to help out. • Host a food drive with a community group or coworkers. • Take part in a public food sort. Many organizations hold holiday food drives to stock their shelves for the winter months. Volunteers help sort donations and repackage bulk-food items. Children as young as eight may also be able to take part; check with your local organization for age restrictions. • Plant an extra row of vegetables in your garden this spring and donate the harvest to your local food bank.

 FIND A FOOD BANK

NEAR YOU AT foodbankscanada.ca.