Good Food Bank

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Date:

Our regular Good Food Bank program runs
bi-Weekly on Wednesdays, 1-4pm. Check our calendar for the next date.

If these times don’t work for you, call us at 250-354-1633 to make a pick up appointment, Monday – Thursday, 11am-4pm. We provide food for people Monday – Thursday.

We are closed on statutory holidays.

Location:

602 Silica Street
Nelson, BC, V1L 4N1
The Nelson Community Food Centre is located in the lower hall of the Nelson United Church.

The Good Food Bank is market-style, focusing on providing fresh, nutritious food. The market-style allows participants to have their own autonomy, being able to choose what items they wish to select. The Nelson Community Food Centre works to procure food from local farmers as much as possible in the East and West Kootenays. An example selection of Good Food Bank items includes:

Homemade soups, yams, turnips, red onions, broccoli, carrots, zucchini, tomatoes, mixed greens, apples, oranges, bananas, farm fresh eggs, quinoa, and rice.

We have developped two subprograms and more are coming soon:

Good Food Drop program

No-Cook program

At the Nelson Community Food Centre, we believe that access to healthy food is a human right.

Due to various social and economic factors, many people in our community do not have sufficient resources to provide food for themselves and their families. We are here to bridge that gap.

The Nelson Community Food Centre Good Food Bank is barrier-free which allows people to use the service without justifying their need. There are no registration or ID requirements.

If you need to use our service, help us out by bringing your own grocery bags.

People come to us from all walks of life: seniors, families with young children, people with disabilities, and under-employed people making less than a living wage. In 2021, our Good Food Bank supported 2,000 individualis, and the numbers continue to rise.

We always provide five choices of fresh produce, plus a variety of protein sources and whole grains, and, during the holiday time, we distribute special, seasonal foods. If you are interested, check out our healthy food policies.

During the Good Food Bank, staff and volunteers serve a light lunch. Program participants are able to have a meal and socialize with other community members in a safe, inclusive environment.

Everyone is welcome.

The Location: The Nelson Community Food Centre is located in the lower hall of the Nelson United Church at 602 Silica Street (on the corner of Josephine & Silica). We love the space we rent and have no association with the faith-based aspect of the church—other than as friends, partners and tenants. Please enter through the main doors at the corner of the building.

Good food drop PROGRAM

OVERVIEW
A bi-weekly program, run on Tuesdays, year round, to provide nutrition boxes to individuals who are unable to access our Good Food Bank. These people live with low income and face barriers (transportation, medical or physical). Nutrition boxes are built (to the best of our ability) on the dietary needs or dietary requirements of the program participant.

Access to the program requires the completion of a simple application form. Applications can be submitted by external agencies on behalf of the individuals like Interior Health, Ministry of Social Development and Poverty Reduction, Community Support Workers and other social service agencies. To access the application, CLICK HERE.

Delivery to program participants is done by Nelson Community Food Centre volunteers. Due to restrictions with volunteer capacity, deliveries are currently to individuals in the City of Nelson, north to Balfour, and west to the Slocan Junction.

No-Cook PROGRAM

OVERVIEW

The ‘No-Cook Program’ is a project that was conceived by the Nelson Committee on Homelessness (NCOH) through Nelson CARES Society and delivered by the Nelson Community Food Centre and Street Outreach – Nelson Community Services.

The No – Cook program was initiated to address food security for individuals precariously housed in motels with limited access to a kitchen or cooking supplies. The hampers were created to provide simple, nutritious food items that required minimal to no cooking. Hamper items included: protein drinks, instant oatmeal, soups, apple sauce, crackers, oranges, bananas, fruit cups, sandwiches …etc.

Since Spring of 2024, the No-Cook program has evolved to support marginalized community members with basic meals. The Nelson Community Food Centre is looking to develop this program, and provide meals to individuals multiple times a week, with the support of Street Outreach – Nelson Community Services to deliver the meals.