Recent news coverage has made it sound as though a prescription from a health care professional is necessary in order for community food bank clients to receive healthy and fresh food. We have received a number of emails and phone calls from concerned clients about this new requirement.
We wanted to take a moment to make it clear that this is not necessary.
We are committed to providing nutritious food to all 26 of our community food bank programs who provide for their neighbours in need. Over 43% of the food we distribute is fresh, and our community food bank member agencies do a great job ensuring that fresh food gets into the hands of people in need in their communities. No prescription required. Fresh food provided to clients includes fruits, vegetables, milk, eggs, and meat.
Community food banks are required to serve clients fairly and without discrimination. Requiring people to visit a health care professional in order to receive healthy food would create inequity in the system. These are not barriers that we want to see put up.
Thank you to all our member agencies for working so hard to keep up with the demand in your communities. We truly appreciate your hard work.
