Since the pandemic broke, The Stop has seen demand for our services skyrocket. This week alone, we served 1,275 meals and distributed 355 long-lasting food hampers to our community members.
We’re so grateful to supporters like you who are enabling this work to continue. We’re bolstered by the solidarity we’re seeing, and are eager to draw upon your support as we advocate for stronger protections for our thousands of neighbours facing food insecurity during this pandemic.
This week, The Stop’s Executive Director Leigh Godbold spoke with the Toronto Foundation about how our team is facing the city’s imminent food crisis, and what gives her hope during this challenging time.
“The major silver lining of this crisis is the groundswell of solidarity and mutual aid that we’re seeing in our communities. If we can take this energy and translate it into a national desire for systemic change and more supportive social policy, then we can finally take bold steps to eradicating food insecurity in Canada once and for all.”
Here’s what else we’ve been up to:
Poverty in the time of COVID-19
COVID-19 has shut down the few spaces that were once available to people living in poverty. One of The Stop’s Economic Justice Advocates has written a first-person account of what it takes to survive a pandemic when public space is criminalized and services are shutting around you.
Celebrating National Volunteer Week
Every April, we organize an appreciation dinner to recognize all the time, energy, and care that our 350+ active volunteers share with their community. We couldn’t come together this year, but we could still spotlight the people who truly make The Stop what it is. View our volunteer spotlights on Instagram, then read a blog post from Suzanne, a Friday morning volunteer since 2018.
Thank you Muslim Association of Canada
The Stop’s kitchen team prepares almost 400 wholesome takeout meals from scratch each day. We’re so grateful to the Muslim Association of Canada and Food Factor for donating Wednesday’s entire lunch of shawarma and falafel plates—giving us the morning free to finally get our storage freezer in order.
P.S. Follow us on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and Linkedin to see daily updates on our work and impact.