Volunteer Update: June 3

Carly packing food boxes

It's been a few weeks since our last update. While we never like to be late with our posts, a lot has happened behind the scenes as we continue to support those who are experiencing food insecurity across our province. The last few months of the pandemic have forced us to take a critical look at our volunteer program, helping us discover the best possible way to serve our community. As a result, we have so much to share with you!

On May 25, we launched Feed Nova Scotia’s COVID-19 Food Box program, a short-term initiative to provide home delivery of food to Nova Scotians who lack the means to access any other form of food support, largely because they can’t leave their home and they don’t have the funds, friends, or family to help get food. Anyone facing this situation can call 211 on weekdays between 8am and 8pm and they’ll help determine if this program is a good fit.

We're working to pack 20,000 food boxes for this program, and to make it happen we've opened a temporary offsite warehouse. So much planning went into this initiative, it was surreal to see it all come together and to successfully distribute our first home deliveries. To help facilitate the many moving parts of a home delivery, we established a temporary phone bank, staffed by a team of Emergency Food Support Navigators who help connect callers with a resource in their area. In the first week, we made 68 home deliveries. We're looking forward to supporting more households as awareness of the program increases.

This work and more is possible through the generous funding we've received from the community and our provincial and federal governments. Our partnership with the NSLC has been a special highlight. We’re incredibly grateful for their support. When COVID-19 hit and we asked for their help, they came through in a big way—raising almost $183,000. Watch our video to see all the details.

Watch video

This is just one example of the generosity we've experienced. It's been truly humbling to see the way Nova Scotians are caring for one another. We’ve been recognizing some of the generosity on our social media channels and we'll continue to do so. We hope you’ll take a look and celebrate with us.

As you can see, this time of reflection has uncovered some critical lessons and areas of opportunity for us. As we move closer to a time where restrictions start to lift, we'll keep you updated with where we are in the development of a volunteer program that supports those in need in the best possible way.

We miss you all more than you could possibly imagine. Hope you are well; stay safe!

Carly & Ashlan