List of food banks in Metro Vancouver with distribution days and times.

Discussion

As the population of Metro Vancouver continues to grow, updating this project to locate sites where there is a need for a food bank will be worthwhile. Unfortunately as this project relies on data from the Canadian Census, it is possible that sites identified as suitable for a new food bank location may no longer be suitable after the next census in 2021 due to changing income levels or land rezoning.

This project relies on several assumptions about food banks and food bank users. The largest assumption is that only low income individuals rely on food banks. While some locations, like Surry/North Delta, has income cut-offs, the majority of food banks in Metro Vancouver do not restrict access based on income. There are many situations where even a food-secure individual may find themselves suddenly in need of assistance due to job loss, personal crisis, or illness and there is no way to account for this individuals in my analysis. While searching for food bank locations, many food bank websites were explicitly clear that any data collected about users is strictly confidential. The second assumption is that individuals who use food banks also take public transit or walk. For individuals who own a car or have access to one, they may choose to drive to their food bank location while individuals who are unable to drive or take regular public transit may need to rely on taxis, rides from family/friends/volunteers, or services like HandiDart. The last assumption is that individuals who use the food bank are physically able to walk to the location and return home with their grocery items. For the elderly, physically disabled, or chronically ill, this may not be possible. Related to the assumption that food bank users are able to walk to the location is that there are sufficient sidewalks available to safely walk.

Limited Hours (see linked list of food banks at top of page for detailed view of hours)

While food banks are distributed relatively well compared to low income areas in Metro Vancouver and are accessible by transit, this does not account for their hours of operation or other restrictions placed on their use. Currently, there are only two food banks that offer weekend distribution times: Richmond and the Muslim Food Bank in Surrey. The majority of food banks in Metro Vancouver are open for distribution on week days and generally between the hours of 9:00am-1:00pm. This presents a significant barrier for individuals who work during these hours and food banks operated by the Greater Vancouver Food Bank further restrict distribution times based on age and family composition. The Surrey/North Delta food bank includes appointment-only evening distribution times for individuals who can prove they otherwise cannot attend other times due to work or school while Richmond and White Rock are the only other locations to offer distribution times after 5:00pm.

Limitations

Accessibility by Car

This project did not look at the accessibility of food banks by car in regards to availability of parking on site or street parking. Including car accessibility will require accounting for costs associated with parking if food banks are located in areas with paid street parking.

Availability of Food Bank information

Compiling the food bank data used in this project required a great deal of internet searching and several emails. Even with this work, not all information (e.g., registration requirements) could be found. Smaller food banks that may operate from small community churches or other community organizations that do not otherwise advertise their services to the greater community could not be included in this project because the information was not available. The time required to collect this data further highlights the difficulties faced by individuals who may wish to use the services provided by food banks as the computer and internet literacy needed to find these programs is not universal.

Census Data

Data from the 2016 Census was used for this project. For the most accurate representation of low income areas in Metro Vancouver, DA were used but this does risk the issue of data suppression if a DA is too sparsely populated or if too few responses are collected. This was not an issue for analyzing Metro Vancouver but if a similar project were carried out in another part of the province or country, it is an issue to be aware of.

Land Use Categories

The Land Use Categories data from Metro Vancouver is from 2011 and may be out of date due to rezoning and urban sprawl.

Concluding Remarks

The issue of locating food banks in Metro Vancouver is dependent on more than proximity to low income areas and transit stops. When I started this project, I was unaware that such a large part of the work would be finding food banks in Metro Vancouver. I was also unaware that, despite the number of locations and their distribution across the region, that I would find that they are severely temporally restricted. As the need for food banks rises, the focus should not only be on opening new locations but also to expand services offered by current locations.