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McMaster University, Main Street West, Hamilton, ON

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McMaster University, Main Street West, Hamilton, ON

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McMaster University, Main Street West, Hamilton, ON

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The Food Collective Centre is McMaster’s on-campus food bank and food security resource. We are a service run by students dedicated to ensuring that food is always accessible to support food insecure individuals. Our goals also include cultivating stronger food systems in the McMaster and surrounding community and advocating for practices to improve food security. We offer a number of support resources that are available for everyone, including students, alumni, staff, and Hamilton community partners.

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The Food Collective Centre is McMaster's on-campus food bank and food security resource. We are a service run by students dedicated to ensuring that food is always accessible to support food insecure individuals. Our goals also include cultivating stronger food systems in the McMaster and surrounding community and advocating for practices to improve food security. We offer a number of support resources that are available for everyone, including students, alumni, staff, and Hamilton community partners.

Expandable List

The Food Collective Centre Space aims to empower and support MSU Food Collective Centre partners and community members by providing autonomy and choice. Through self-service, partners have the opportunity to choose the non-perishable food and hygiene products that they need. Everything in the space comes at no costs, and can be accessed by anyone. We hope this space will help alleviate the stigma surrounding food banks and encourage not just students, but the community to learn, experience, and empower one another.
Location & Hours
Our food bank and pantry is located in the basement of Bridges Café in the Refectory Building and is open September through April, Monday through Friday, from 10:30am-2:30pm. The pantry is typically closed during scheduled breaks in McMaster's academic calendar, such as Reading Weeks, Winter Break, as well as in the Spring and Summer months. If you require emergency food support at a time we are closed, please contact us.

Donations of any non-perishable goods or hygiene products will be accepted by volunteers during operating hours, or they can be left at any time in the donation baskets in front of the FCC space. The following list reflects items that are needed to ensure the best possible experience for Food Collective Centre partners:

canned fruits and vegetables

rice

oats

soups and stews

canned chicken and tuna

peanut butter

menstrual products

Lockers of Love is an initiative that gives students and community members a confidential method of assistance in relieving food insecurity. Food Collective Centre partners can order non-perishable food items online with a unique ID code and pick them up from a locker on campus within 2 days. If you have any issues with the form or have not received an email from us please contact us at fccasst@msumcmaster.ca.

Due to the high number of orders and our limited number of lockers available in circulation, we ask that individuals pick up their order within 7 days. After this point, we will have to remove the order and ask that individuals re-submit their orders when they are available to pick them up.

Please complete the Partner Registration Form located at the top of the page to generate your Unique ID code. After you have your Unique ID code, please follow the Lockers of Love Order Form link below to start customizing your order.
Lockers of Love Form Why do you need a unique ID code?
A unique ID code protects your identity as we do not require a McMaster-affiliated email address, full name, or student number. The Unique ID code also ensures that the MSU Food Collective Centre stays true to it's Fair Variety Commitment where we ensure fair variety for all our Food Collective Centre partners. More information about our Fair Variety Commitment can be found below.

Through July and August, Lockers of Love will be running virtually through the use of digital grocery store gift cards. Starting September 2022, the service will shift back to in-person operations. If you require a digital gift card in place of a physical order / pick-up, please email fccast@msumcmaster.ca.
Digital Lockers of Love
The option to order a digital grocery store gift card is also available. Following your order form submission (during the summer) or after your email inquiry (starting in September 2022), you will receive an email within two business days containing a President's Choice (PC) gift card. President's Choice branded gift cards can only be redeemed at participating Loblaws, Loblaws City Market, Fortinos, Maxi, Real Canadian Superstore, Extra Foods, No Frills, Provigo, Zehrs, Your Independent Grocer, Wholesale Club, Atlantic Superstore, and Valu-Mart locations. For detailed instructions on how to use the digital gift card, refer to the email you receive from President's Choice. If you are having difficulty redeeming your gift card, please email fccasst@msu.mcmaster.ca.

The Good Food Box is a non-profit project run by the MSU Food Collective Centre, to provide affordable, fresh produce to the McMaster community.

To place a Good Food box order, please follow thelink below:
Good Food Box Orders Note: If there are no items available to purchase through the link, the Good Food Box is currently unavailable.
For more information, please contact: goodfood@msu.mcmaster.ca

The Food Collective Centre hosts monthly cooking workshops. These are free to attend for students, faculty, and other members of the Hamilton community, and take place on campus. All ingredients are provided. Information regarding upcoming workshops can be found on the Food Collective Centre's social media platforms.

To view recipes from past Community Kitchen workshops and other service initiatives, check out the Virtual FCC Cookbook.

For more information, please contact: communitykitchen@msu.mcmaster.ca.

The Food Collective Centre understands that the COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent changes to income, employment, and social services have had a large impact on levels of food insecurity in the McMaster community and beyond. Our services continue to respond to the needs on campus and within the McMaster population through scheduled visits to the FCC space and our Lockers of Love program. However, in response to increased need and pressing nature of food insecurity support, the FCC has compiled further community resources throughout Hamilton that offer food aid services and information on food insecurity.
Hamilton Food Share
A primary resource in the Hamilton Emergency Food Network, Hamilton Food Share offers resources both for individuals seeking support and those seeking to help with food aid services. The main purpose of Hamilton Food Share is to provide knowledge and resources to organizations delivering emergency food aid. Hamilton Food Share can direct you to the services you require and offer information on the Hamilton food network.

Website: www.hamiltonfoodshare.org
Email: info@hamiltonfoodshare.org
Phone: (905) 664-9065
Location: 339 Barton Street, Stoney Creek, ON, L8E 2L2
Hamilton Food Access Guide
A resource produced by the Hamilton Family Health Team. The guide includes a complete list of places in the City of Hamilton where you can get food either for free or for a low cost. The listings include non-profit and community-based food assistance providers. It is updated on a yearly basis.

Hungry for Knowledge? Here are even more educational resources about food (in)security:
Campus Food Report Card
Produced by Meal Exchange Canada, the Campus Food Report Card measures the success of university campuses in "providing locally-grown, sustainable, healthy, and accessible food - as rated by students, campuses themselves, as well as the physical food environment" (Maynard & Abraham, 2018). An in-depth analysis of the strengths and weaknesses of university campus food systems as they relate to issues of food (in)security.
Hamilton Hunger Report 2019
A yearly report looking at the statistics of hunger data in Hamilton, Ontario. The report looks at family food banks access data, food bank user demographics, and the intersectional issues with food insecurity such as income and housing crises facing Hamilton. Updated versions can be located on the Hamilton Food Share website.

The primary role of MSU Food Collective Centre Volunteers will be to provide customer service to patrons in the MSU Food Collective Centre. They will work under the direction of the Assistant Director during regular shifts to provide access to the MSU Food Collective Centre Space (our on-campus food bank). Volunteers will be scheduled based on their own availability, but are expected to attend their scheduled shifts. Volunteers will attend 1-2, one-hour shifts per week. Duties may include answering questions, providing information on additional MSU Food Collective Centre services, and restocking shelves with new inventory. Volunteers will also have the opportunity to provide support during various programming run by the FCC throughout the year (e.g. Good Food Box packings, Ladles of Love, etc.) through specific committees run by the Promotions Coordinator, the Community Kitchen Coordinator, or the Social and Political Advocacy Coordinators. Participation in these committees will be in addition to the food bank shifts. Being a part of one of these committees is not mandatory to be a volunteer with MSU FCC.

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Western University, Richmond St, London, ON

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Western University, Richmond St, London, ON

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Western University, Richmond St, London, ON

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Food Support Services is a USC student service dedicated to relieving hunger among UWO undergraduate students, helping to enable the full participation of students facing barriers of food insecurity. With the rising costs of tuition, housing, childcare, and food, many students are struggling. We provide essential support to UWO students.

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Food Support Services Food Support Services is a USC student service dedicated to relieving hunger among UWO undergraduate students, helping to enable the full participation of students facing barriers of food insecurity. With the rising costs of tuition, housing, childcare, and food, many students are struggling. We provide essential support to UWO students.

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Centennial College, Progress Avenue, Scarborough, ON

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Centennial College, Progress Avenue, Scarborough, ON

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Centennial College, Progress Avenue, Scarborough, ON

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We’ve partnered with Daily Bread Food Bank to open a food bank at the Progress Campus, offering food hamper pick-ups at our 4 other campuses as well.

We provide emergency food supplies to our students to help fight food insecurity.

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Members can access the food bank and receive a hamper a maximum of once every 14 days. We will have limited stock week-to-week. We will do our best to maintain ample stock year-round but may run short on items from time to time depending on demand.

If you have ongoing food security needs beyond these limits, you can access external services like Daily Bread Foodbank for continuing support across the GTA.

* Members must submit a request each time they would like to access the service.
** Requests for food bank visits must be submitted a minimum of 48 business hours prior to the day you want to visit for example:

Submit by 10 am the Friday Tuesday Visit Request
before

Example: Request visit on June 3 (Thursday)
Submit by 10 am June 1 ( Tuesday)

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Members can access the food bank and receive a hamper a maximum of once every 14 days. We will have limited stock week-to-week. We will do our best to maintain ample stock year-round but may run short on items from time to time depending on demand.

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Durham College, 2000 Simcoe Street North, Oshawa, ON

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Food security should allow everyone to have access to sufficient, nutritious, safe and culturally appropriate food at all times. Through a partnership with Feed the Need in Durham, The Support Hub provides students with fresh produce, meat, dairy products, non-perishable and perishable food items, and hygiene products.

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Food Bank - Durham College Student Association

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Students can access the foodbank One a month from that last date you access, as pre-needed. No appointment is needed to access, however, it is a first come first serve basis and we cannot hold any items for anyone.

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University of Windsor Graduate Student Society, 401 Sunset Avenue, Windsor, ON

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University of Windsor Graduate Student Society, 401 Sunset Avenue, Windsor, ON

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University of Windsor Graduate Student Society, 401 Sunset Avenue, Windsor, ON

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Hungry for more than knowledge? The UWSA Food Pantry is open to all students with valid UWindsor Id and we welcome you to check us out. Located in Room 233 of the CAW (next to the UWSA main office) the Food Pantry seeks to take a bite out of food security concerns with food aid assistance.

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UWSA - University of Windsor Students' Alliance

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After hearing an infant's first cry, a pair of white wings from the bed of clouds would fall from the skies.Everyone had a guardian angel. Their kind stood bright, cherubic, and rosy-cheeked. Their strong wings stretched for miles and shielded their wards from harm, with the promise of protection said on musical tongues that any child would believe. The only exception was that their assigned guardian angel would be the only one they could see.

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CAMPUS FOOD PANTRY - UWSA - University of Windsor Students' Alliance

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Campus Food Pantry Hungry for more than knowledge? The UWSA Food Pantry is open to all students with valid UWindsor Id and we welcome you to check us out. Located...

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Sai Dham Food Bank, only by phone - no walk in, Goreway Drive, Mississauga, ON

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Sai Dham Food Bank, only by phone - no walk in, Goreway Drive, Mississauga, ON

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Sai Dham Food Bank, only by phone - no walk in, Goreway Drive, Mississauga, ON

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We understand the unique challenges faced by international students as they navigate life in a new country, juggling the demands of studies, work, and managing student loans. Often, these circumstances force compromises on the quality and quantity of meals, especially when government assistance, subsidized housing, or employment insurance is not accessible due to temporary residence status. Appointment by phone only at this location.

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International Students Food Support - Sai Dham Food Bank

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Provide support for international students with a monthly food package including whowheat flour, rice, lentils, salt, sugar, and tea.

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Sai Dham Food Bank, Steinway Boulevard, Etobicoke, ON

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Sai Dham Food Bank, Steinway Boulevard, Etobicoke, ON

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Sai Dham Food Bank, Steinway Boulevard, Etobicoke, ON

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We firmly believe that no student should go hungry. Therefore, we extend our support to international students, helping them regain stability. Our goal is to assist as many students as possible by providing monthly hamper boxes filled with 10-12 essential items. These items include pantry staples such as whole wheat flour, rice, lentils, salt, sugar, and tea.

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International Students Food Support - Sai Dham Food Bank

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Provide support for international students with a monthly food package including whowheat flour, rice, lentils, salt, sugar, and tea.

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Seneca College Newnham Campus, Finch Avenue East, North York, ON

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Seneca College Newnham Campus, Finch Avenue East, North York, ON

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Seneca College Newnham Campus, Finch Avenue East, North York, ON

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The Seneca Student Federation is committed to helping as many students in need as possible during this unprecedented time

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The Seneca Student Federation is committed to helping as many students in need as possible during this unprecedented time.

This service is intended to provide full-time Seneca students in need of food bank support. Applicants must be enrolled full-time during the Fall 2023 semester to be eligible.

Students must register at least 24 hours in advance in order to pick up the food hamper. We are not able to accommodate walk-ins. This service is offered on a monthly basis and students can only register once a month. Each month, more than 1200 students can register for the food bank curbside pick-up or in-person on a first come first serve basis.
Newnham Campus
Pickup location: Member Services next to the Senecentre - F1525
Hours of Operation for November:
Monday, October 30, to Friday, November 30, from 9:30am to 4:30pm
Seneca@York Campus
Pickup location: Room S1079
Hours of Operation for November:
Monday, October 30, to Friday, November 30, from 9:30am to 4:30pm
King Campus
Pickup location: MH1500 (SSF Office)
Hours of Operation for November:
Monday, October 30, to Friday, November 30, from 9:30am to 4:30pm
SIA (Markham) Campus
Pickup location: SSF Office - Ground Floor
Hours of Operation for November:
Monday, October 30, to Friday, November 30, from 9:30am to 4:30pm

Please register using the link below. Once registration is completed, you will be able to book the appointment to pick up the food hamper.

There are no available appointments for November. Registration for December will open the last week of November.
Students living in Mississauga and Peel region can also receive food bank support from Sai Dham Food Bank. Click here to register There are a number of other community based Food Banks that you can access during this time. Click here to find a location near you.

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The Seneca Student Federation is committed to helping as many students in need as possible during this unprecedented time. This service is intended to provide full-time Seneca students in need of food bank support. Applicants must be enrolled full-time during the Fall 2023 semester to be eligible.

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University of Toronto Students' Union, 230 College Street, Toronto, ON

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University of Toronto Students' Union, 230 College Street, Toronto, ON

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University of Toronto Students' Union, 230 College Street, Toronto, ON

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The UTSU Food Bank has been running since 2001 and aims to address food insecurity on campus by operating a free, year-round Food Bank open to all University of Toronto students in need of food. This service provides support to single students and students with families.

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Food Bank - UTSU - University of Toronto Students’ Union

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The UTSU Food Bank has been running since 2001 and aims to address food insecurity on campus by operating a free, year-round Food Bank open to all University of Toronto students in need of food. This service provides support to single students and students with families.

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Campus Food Bank, University of Alberta, 114 Street Northwest, University Of Alberta, Edmonton, AB

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Campus Food Bank, University of Alberta, 114 Street Northwest, University Of Alberta, Edmonton, AB

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Campus Food Bank, University of Alberta, 114 Street Northwest, University Of Alberta, Edmonton, AB

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We believe students
should hunger for knowledge, not food.

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CFB snack stations
Launching in 2023!
Keep an eye out for CFB snack stations rolling out across campus during the 2022-23 school year, where there will be free, healthy snacks available closer to classrooms and other high student traffic areas.

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We believe students should hunger for knowledge, not food. We envision a University of Alberta community where everyone has access to food and food education.