Fundraising and Food Drives
Fundraising and Food Drives
Looking to host a food drive or fundraiser on our behalf?
We’re thrilled to have your support! Fill out this form to let us know what you’ve got planned.
For fundraisers looking to collect online donations, be sure to use the “Create Your Fundraiser” tools on CanadaHelps (registration required)
If you’re doing a food drive for your local food bank, please reach out to them directly.
Food Drives
DONATE FOOD
Hope often begins with a meal.
Food is so much more than physical nourishment—it’s comfort, peace of mind, and often a stepping stone to new opportunities. These are incredible gifts. With the support of our community, we distribute approximately 3 million kilograms of food each year to our member food banks and meal programs. You can help make it happen!
MOST NEEDED FOOD ITEMS
- soups and stews
- peanut butter
- cereal
- canned vegetables and fruits
- canned meat, fish, and beans
- rice
- pasta and pasta sauce
- fresh or frozen vegetables
- fresh or frozen meats
- baby food and formula
- meal replacement drinks
- canned and powdered milk
We especially appreciate nutritious food donations that help make up part of a main meal. We also accept new, unopened personal hygiene and household items.
ITEMS WE CAN’T ACCEPT
To avoid waste, please don’t donate:
- Items past their expiry date (i.e. infant formula; baby food; and meal replacements, such as Ensure® and BOOST®)
- Vitamins and over-the-counter medications
- Any food prepared in an environment that is not a professional kitchen like personally wrapped meats, baked goods, preserves like pickles or jams or casseroles
- Opened food items, or food not in its original container or packaging
- Alcohol (including the 0.5% alcohol)
WHERE TO DONATE FOOD
Food donations can be dropped off to our warehouse at 67 Wright Avenue in Dartmouth weekdays from 8:00am – 4:30pm. Most grocery retailers also have donation bins located in their stores where you can drop off smaller donations of non-perishable foods. In the Halifax area, many of these bins are collected by Feed Nova Scotia. In other communities, these donation bins are often collected by one of our local member food banks.
ARE YOU A BUSINESS LOOKING TO MAKE A LARGE FOOD DONATION?
Read our Donation Guide for the Food Industry (.pdf). We’re also grateful for donations that qualify for the Food Bank Tax Credit for Farms (.pdf) or our Food Recovery Program.
Did you know hunters can donate their deer and moose meat? Check out our Hunters Helping the Hungry program.
FOOD RECOVERY PROGRAM
Five days a week our trucks collect food from places where it’s no longer needed and distribute it the same day to one of 49 member agencies in Halifax and Dartmouth. This essential program helps reduce food waste and increases access to healthy, fresh food.
Section 4A of the Volunteer Services Act of Nova Scotia helps protect food donations through our food recovery program.
If you have a commercial kitchen or are a food retailer with surplus food, we’d love to connect with you and work together to distribute food that can make a world of difference.
FOOD BANK TAX CREDIT FOR FARMS
The Food Bank Tax Credit for Farms (.pdf) offers qualified farmers the opportunity to recoup the costs of charitable donations with a non-refundable tax credit valued at 25% of the fair market value of your donated food.
We’ll pick up your product that is safe to distribute, (along with an invoice from the farm for the donation), weigh it, and issue a tax receipt. If your donation is a smaller amount, please consider donating directly to a member agency in your area.
Read more from Canada Revenue Agency on the Nova Scotia Food Bank Tax Credit for Farmers.