FRESH FOOD.
FRESH FUTURES.
The Greater Vancouver Food Bank is launching the most extensive campaign in our history to establish a permanent home for our life-changing operations, and we need your help.
Watch our Fresh Futures Video
Why do we need this building?
1
Increasing cold storage to ensure continued distribution of fresh and nutritious food
2
Offering onsite connection to Wrap-Around Services that address the main drivers of food bank use
3
Securing the future of food security for the people of Greater Vancouver and beyond
Help us reach our $15M goal to secure our first permanent home.
The Building
Space for Change
Our innovative model has helped us meet increased demand from our communities, but it requires accessible commercial space that is rare and expensive. Since 2020, we’ve moved six times, which caused service disruptions, difficulties for our clients, and great expense—money and time better spent helping people and families.
Building a better Food Bank
Stability
Eliminate the stressful cycle of continuously searching for our next location, and provide clients and agencies with a sustainable, long-term location that we can tailor to their needs.
Reduce Costs
Reduce the burden of maintaining multiple leases and paying multiple rents in a competitive rental market, and eliminate property tax payments as the building owner.
Operational Efficiencies
Consolidate our client and community agencies distribution and cross-train these two teams for more efficient operations.
Dignified Experience
Provide a larger, safer, and more welcoming space for our clients, and promote engagement and retention for staff and volunteers.
Transform Distribution Centres
Provide a temperature- controlled, closed facility to protect frontline staff and volunteers from exposure to inclement weather.
Improve Transportation Logistics
Reduce travel time, fuel use, and wear and tear on our fleet of refrigerated trucks.
Space for Integration and Support
Complementary office space for Wrap-Around Service partners.
The Opportunity
Help us create a fresh future for Greater Vancouver
In 2025, the GVFB will purchase our current Vancouver facility to serve as the first ever permanent home for our life‑changing operations. Owning our building will ultimately save us millions of dollars in rent and taxes. Money that will go towards feeding our struggling neighbours when they need help the most.
The risk of renting
No location security
or stability
As renters, we are always at risk of having to move—a costly service disruption in an increasingly expensive and competitive rental market.
Less accessibility to those
we serve
Ownership of our current building provides better connections to mass transit at a consistent, accessible location, regardless of rising real estate costs.
Limited ability to provide fresh, nutritious produce
Owning the building ensures we permanently have the required facilities, including expanded cold storage and improved transportation logistics.
We’re not a normal food bank
Since 2019, we’ve radically reimagined our model to supply healthy, fresh food to individuals, families and community partners. We’ve forged partnerships with BC growers and producers to leverage our increased purchasing power. We’ve reimagined our infrastructure for refrigerator storage and processing, developed more effective distribution, and transformed our spaces into friendly and welcoming environments.
Resilient systems to meet the growing need
Get Involved
Help us set the table
for change
For more information or other ways to give, please contact
Greg Douglas
Senior Director of Development
604.314.6980
GregD@foodbank.bc.ca
