Healthy Eating Toolkit for Food Banks

Food banks play a very important role in the health of our communities. Many people rely on food banks to provide a large part of the food they eat. Research shows that people who live in poverty are more at risk for health problems than the average Canadian. Healthy food items like beans and lentils often remain on the shelves at food banks because many people don't know how to cook with them. The purpose of this toolkit is to provide food bank coordinators and volunteers with resources that promote ways to use healthy foods offered at their food banks. This toolkit was developed by Horizon Public Health Dietitians, in collaboration with local food banks, and is intended to support and build on the great work that food banks are already doing. The resources in this toolkit can be used separately or in combination. To have the biggest impact, we recommend that your food bank uses as many of the resources as you can at the same time.