2024 VFR Program Update
📣 BIG NEWS: Amazing VFR volunteers are on track to deliver over 1.5 million pounds of food to nonprofits across Metro Vancouver in 2024. This is a substantial milestone, and VFR has experienced 35% program growth this year — for our team, it’s been a whirlwind of learning, development, expansion, and listening to all our partners.
VFR volunteers, food business partners, and nonprofit recipients continue to inspire us every day with their dedication to reducing food waste and providing nourishing food and meals for so many. In 2024, on average, over 132,000+ pounds of food is being delivered each month, and this is having a significant impact on nonprofit food programming in Metro Vancouver.
Rescue-by-rescue everyone involved in VFR’s program is changing how we look out for one another in the region, how we value food in our community, and how we are strengthening our commitment to advancing a regional circular food economy.
Here are some data to keep you in the loop with VFR’s progress this year. We set big goals for 2024, and we are excited to report that we are, together, on track to reach them.
Look what YOU have accomplished so far in 2024:
🎉 7200+ food rescues (9000+ volunteer hours)
🍊 1.32+ million pounds of food delivered to Metro Vancouver nonprofits
🍽️ 1.1+ million equivalent meals provided to the community
🌎 2.2+ million pounds of CO2eq mitigated from the environment
😃 3400+ volunteers registered on the VFR app (360+ active volunteer drivers)
In addition, 94% of the food volunteers deliver is fresh, and here is a breakdown of the type of food being delivered in 2024:
🍌 53% produce
🫕 8% prepared meals/foods
🥯 19% baked goods
🍗 14% meat, protein, and dairy
🥫 6% non-perishable items
VFR food donations are a lifeline for nonprofit partners operating community food programs, as they often have limited (or no) funding to purchase much-need food.
Over 85% of nonprofit partners that receive food through VFR's program provide additional supportive services, including counselling, health services, educational and skill-building opportunities, housing, employment services, childcare, and cultural programming.
Food donations cannot solve food insecurity, and we aim to strategically partner with organizations engaged in deeper systems change work that leads to positive transformational outcomes for clients accessing comprehensive social services.
Many of the organizations we partner with provide community meals and food boxes, recognizing that underlying food insecurity must be addressed for client programming to be successful.
Keep reading to learn how VFR food donations are making an important community impact!
Claire Ens, Program Director, Directions Youth Services
“Directions Youth Services, a division of FSGV, is a drop-in resource center operating 24/7/365 that offers low-barrier programs and services to support youth under the age of 25 who are in crisis or experiencing homelessness as a result of abuse, neglect, substance use, or mental health challenges. Food is the essence of how we connect with our clients; it’s often a first step to starting a conversation, and it’s a critical part of how we build trusted relationships with youth and introduce them to new career possibilities.
Vancouver Food Runners (VFR’s) has supported Directions Youth Services since March 2020. Every week, we receive nourishing meals, baked goods, and other food items to serve to our clients. VFR's volunteers have delivered 16,959 pounds of food to Directions in 2024 so far; this represents 134 food deliveries and an in-kind food donation of $59,730.
VFR’s support has enabled Directions to strengthen our ability to serve youth in need, increasing overall food security for those who access the Directions Drop-In Centre and Food Program. Directions Food Services operates with limited funding that couldn't be sustained without the partnership of our community partners such as VFR.”
Evan Reeks, Director, Heart Tattoo Society
“I would like to express a heartfelt thank you for everything you do for us and the community. Your connections to various stores and suppliers are a true blessing to everyone involved. I’d like to highlight a few key aspects that showcase the special relationship between Vancouver Food Runners (VFR) and Heart Tattoo Society (HTS).
So far this year, Vancouver Food Runners has achieved:
191 food deliveries by VFR volunteers
78,484 pounds of food delivered (equivalent to 65,403 meals)
$276,264 in-kind value of food delivered
VFR has been invaluable in supporting our food donation efforts. One significant and recent contribution is the connection to Vancouver General Hospital, which has provided us with incredible pre-cooked meals. These meals have been a lifeline for many programs in the Downtown Eastside (DTES) that lack adequate cooking facilities.
This season, reconnecting with VFR for high school tours has also been an amazing opportunity to engage youth on topics like food recovery and neighbourhood stigma. Over the spring, students continuously returned with innovative questions, even seeking information to educate their parents. It’s a wonderful program we are excited to continue.
Operating as a Hub at 138 E Hastings Street, VFR plays a crucial role in ensuring the products we procure reach housing projects and programs across the DTES. Without the dedication of Vancouver Food Runners, dozens of programs would be without a substantial amount of the resources they rely on. For this, we are all deeply grateful.”
Tamara Speiran, Director of Health, Vancouver region
“Lookout Housing and Health Society is a social safety-net that provides housing and a range of health support services to adults with low or no income who have few, if any, housing or support options.
With the current affordability crisis within our province, food security and adequate nutrition has become an ever-increasing challenge to attain, especially for those who are socio-economically disadvantaged. We are seeing a constant increase of individuals accessing our services for a myriad of reasons, with food security being one of them. Furthermore, our operating budgets are becoming increasingly strained with the rise of inflation and cost of goods, exasperated by worldly events and climate disasters.
Our long partnership with Vancouver Food Runners has been essential for improving food security and nutrition to our guests. For example, already in 2024, 8 Lookout sites across Vancouver have received donations through 360 food deliveries, equating to 36,077 pounds of food delivered, which is $126, 991 of in-kind value.
We appreciate the continued partnership and unconditional support of Vancouver Food Runners. We are grateful for their efforts, diligence, and tenacity with food recovery in our communities and are proud to work alongside their organization to improve the health outcomes of our communities most vulnerable individuals.”
This year, VFR has worked in partnership with 157 businesses, ranging from large wholesalers to small cafes to event arenas to university campuses. VFR provides all food businesses with a free, convenient, accessible, and timely food collection service.
Our global food systems are having a profound impact on human and planetary health. They are responsible for 70% of the water extracted from nature and account for up to one-third of human-linked greenhouse gas emissions — and VFR directly addresses this urgent challenge.
To address this issue, VFR’s program model opens up food recovery to all Metro Vancouver businesses, which helps to normalize the donation of surplus food within the food industry and advance sustainable practices (especially for businesses where cost might be a barrier to food recovery participation).
In addition, we are deepening our work with the City of Vancouver and Metro Vancouver — working in partnership to realize a future where food waste is prevented to reduce its environmental impact.
Learn more about what VFR food business partners have to say! Feedback from a selection of our food donor partners:
🥕 “Donating surplus food is simply the right thing to do. We are proud to share the story and amount of food that we have been able to recover and donate to those in need. Our students (guests) value this and so do we.” – UBC Food Services
🥑 “It's easy and fulfilling to donate. We pride ourselves on supporting community well-being and sustainability. Reducing food waste is a key part of our business model.” – Fresh Prep
🥦 “It works seamlessly for our business. It has saved us much-needed time to spend on our operations, rather than having our staff drive excess food to shelters.” – Terra Breads
🍑 “VFR has streamlined the logistics of food donation; we have better awareness of our food donation work in the community; improved metrics are provided by VFR for our annual reporting; and we have stronger relationships with community partners who receive our donations.” - Centre for Sustainable Food Systems at UBC Farm
🍎 “Volunteers are nice and have a great attitude. Charities are happy, food donors are happy. The question of ‘what do I do with this surplus food’ is eliminated by VFR.” - Orionis Trading Company Ltd.
🍌 “Some of our volunteers from our food growing program also ended up volunteering for VFR; and it’s wonderful to make connections with VFR's pick-up volunteers. It's also wonderful to know that our veggies aren't going to waste, especially when they've been grown with so much love and care!” – Farmers on 57th
🥒 “The VFR program helps us prevent food waste; and if we didn't have this program, a lot of food would end up in the garbage.” - DoorDash
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