Donate
Monetary donations
Food insecurity is just as much about health as it is about hunger. PROOF, a research program on food insecurity in Canada, says that people experiencing food insecurity are at a higher risk for chronic physical and mental health problems, often don’t have the resources to properly manage their existing health problems, and have to make decisions every day between affording food and affording medication.
What does this have to do with us? From the very beginning of Innovation Assistance, we’ve been focused on quality over quantity, which for us means a lot of fresh produce, unprocessed foods with minimal additives, and nutritionally-valuable foods that meet a wide variety of dietary needs. We work with local farmers, small distributors, and other producers to provide our members access to food that contributes positively to their overall health.
All of those partnerships come with a price tag: food banks that rely on big corporate donations struggle to be able to provide healthy foods, and often have to throw out more food than they give out because donated food is often rotten, bug-ridden, or of such low quality that they can’t justify giving it to their members. By buying the food we need, we not only have control over its quality, we also participate positively in our local food economy, tying our region’s producers to the people who eat their products.
We’re blessed to have wonderful partners who give us great prices for good food. Their generous offers mean that we can stretch your monetary donation much further than you might be able to if you were buying food to donate to us! Regardless of the form of your donation, we appreciate your contribution in whichever capacity you have.
One-time donation
We accept one-time donations in all amounts, and our parent organisation can provide a tax receipt for any donation. Click here for more details on one-time donations.
Recurring donations
Recurring donations are the best way to help us! We have several options:
Sponsor a family: it costs us about $20 a month to buy eggs, milk, and fresh produce for a family of four. You can also sponsor a family pack containing diapers, wipes, formula, etc., which costs about $50 a month.
Sponsor a product: We have fairly stable monthly expenditures for different product categories, so you can contribute to a specific product!
Milk: $800
Eggs: $1200
Fresh produce: $3000
Whole grains & lean proteins: $950
Sponsor a “row” of vegetables: Carya Gardens is the producer with whom we have the closest relationship; we buy from them 48 weeks out of the year! A monthly donation of $125 would cover 10% of our relationship with Carya; a monthly donation of just $30 would cover a whole kilogram of leafy greens.
Sponsor our kitchen: many of our members live in student housing or, on the other end of the spectrum, in senior’s residences, and don’t have access to a lot of kitchen space. We take our beautiful, local produce and transform it into hearty soups, sauces, casseroles, and other dishes that can be easily heated up and eaten in a small space. A monthly donation of $30 would cover the extra ingredients to cook meals for 10 students or seniors!
Food donations
All donated food must conform to our healthy food policy, and may be dropped off by appointment only. Our healthy food policy is currently in a redevelopment process! Please see below for the current parameters of donation, and check this page for updates.
If your community group or church would like to partner with us for a seasonal drive or a recurring monthly or bi-monthly drive, we would love to give you a list of items to collect for us! Although money is the best way that you can give, we understand that donating food itself feels more tangible.
In general, we will not accept donations of:
Highly processed foods (e.g. instant mashed potatoes)
Soda, juices from concentrate, sugary drinks
Pre-packaged meals
Meat of any kind (including sauces with meat)
Candy, chips, or similar
Instead, consider:
Whole-grain or gluten-free pasta
Tea bags or loose tea, ground coffee, kombucha, 100% fruit juice, or shelf-stable non-dairy milk alternatives
Canned whole or diced tomatoes
Canned beans in water
Nut butters
Herbs and spices
Baking ingredients (e.g. flour, baking powder, sugar)
Olive oil, mustard, balsamic vinegar, and other condiments
Good-quality chocolate
Donate your time
The best way that you can contribute to our mission is by becoming part of our team! Innovation Assistance is volunteer-staffed and community-led, and the number one ingredient in the recipe of our success is consistent volunteering.
Click here to find out more about the different ways that you can be involved!
If you are the leader of a group that would like to volunteer in a one-time event, please fill out this form and we will let you know if any opportunities are available.