The Eden Community Food Bank (ECFB) has announced a year of change for the organization in order to better serve the western Mississauga community. As the poverty rates in the community have been increasing, ECFB have acknowledged that as a community, they need to grow into the next phase to support the growing community and its members.
The ECFB’s Board of Directors have adopted a new vision and mission statement to transition themselves into a more long-term, sustainable “community food centre” model which will incorporate awareness, education, skills development and practical experience for food bank clients and to better engage the community.
The new mission statement states, “Eden Community Food Bank is committed to increasing access to good food in a dignified manner, developing food skills to encourage healthy eating and empowering the community through education, outreach and advocacy.”
“As a board we are excited at how this transition will allow us to help our food bank clients even more with improved kitchen and shopping skills,” says Michelle Martin, chair of the ECFB Board of Directors. “This will also allow people from all walks of life to engage with one another over something as universal as food. We really believe that this can be a great meeting place for a truly integrated community where everyone is treated with respect and leaves feeling empowered.”
Initiatives by the ECFB also include cooking courses for clients and other community organizations like Peel Children and Youth Initiative, and the fresh produce box program which is open to anyone in the community and provides 8-10 different fruits and vegetables for $10. (A larger box is available for $20 and is able to feed a family of four to five for a week.)
Over the next year, ECFB hopes to help hungry families even further by providing tools and skills to access and maintain healthy diets no matter the financial constraints.
For nearly 25 years, the ECFB has been serving the community providing access to good, nutritious food to families with financial difficulties. Founded in 1989 by volunteers, the ECFB continues to help hungry families in western Mississauga largely in part of the generous volunteers who tirelessly help out on a regular basis. For more information on the ECFB and what they offer, visit their website.