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DIVERSEcity to receive donation for emergency food aid in the wake of COVID-19

Good Food Access Fund Grant helps DIVERSEcity provide food directly to vulnerable families in Surrey, BC

DIVERSEcity Community Resources Society is pleased to announce it has received a total grant of $50,000* from Community Food Centres Canada’s Good Food Access Fund. The grant will enable DIVERSEcity to provide food directly to their most vulnerable immigrant and refugee clients who may be experiencing food insecurity, especially now during COVID-19. Funding is provided in part by the Government of Canada’s Local Food Infrastructure Fund, as part of the Food Policy for Canada. The Fund aims to strengthen food systems and facilitate access to safe and nutritious food for at-risk populations.

“This donation from Community Food Centres Canada is such an integral contribution to the support of immigrant and refugee families we assist at DIVERSEcity who may be faced with food insecurity,” says Laura Mannix, director, Community Development at DIVERSEcity. “Migrant populations are disproportionately affected by COVID-19 and faced challenges in accessing resources even before this pandemic. We are grateful to have funding that provides food directly to those in our community who need it.”

“Food insecurity was already an urgent problem before the COVID-19 crisis, with one in eight Canadians struggling to put food on the table. In a time of national crisis, it is in our nature as Canadians to do what we can for our most vulnerable neighbours. We are grateful to the Government of Canada for their quick response, as well as the many corporate partners and generous donors who have stepped forward” says Nick Saul, CEO of Community Food Centres Canada.

“The Good Food Access Fund aims to make sure that as many people as possible will be able to get the food that they need. And while we must deal with the current circumstances, CFCC remains committed to advancing policy change that addresses the underlying causes of food insecurity and poverty in Canada. We can’t forget that structural inequity is at the core of so many of the challenges that Canadians face, a fact which painfully confronts us when an emergency like this occurs.”

*This grant includes the $25,000 donation from Shaw Communications, via CFCC, announced earlier this month.