The food bank here in North Sydney was formed in 1994 when a group of churches came together with several service clubs to form the North Sydney Food Bank Society. One of the main reasons for its formation was to better serve the hungry in the community and to have less duplication of services. The North Sydney Community Food Bank provides printed material to our clients including Canada’s Food Guide, Grocery store science, Smart shopping tips, best buys, Grain product, Milk and alternatives and the do’s and don’ts of shopping. This year over 25 years of operation for the North Sydney Community Food Bank. It is truly a community operation one for the community to be proud of. We have and have had a team of volunteers from every background, from teachers, administrators, doctors, politicians, construction workers, priests, ministers, lawyers, judges, students, marine workers, fishermen, farmers, house wives, hospital workers, service clubs, business owners, store clerks, cooks, miners, steel workers, church groups and churches, business men and woman. Volunteer donations of time and food have been important to the continued operation of the food bank. Community financial donations have allowed and allow the food bank to purchase healthier alternatives for the clients we serve. We are able to purchase healthy food items when they are on sale. Our primary purpose is to ensure that no one in our community is suffering from hunger. Our goal is to be more than a place where the hungry come to get food. We are beginning a process where we will be assisting our clients in other areas such as housing, employment and referring them to other agencies that will help them make life better for themselves. One of our partners in this process has been the Cape Breton District Health Authority. We have partnered with them to sponsor a special event at New Dawn Center (formerly Holy Angels High School). The event was designed to give people who are homeless, or at risk of being homeless, access, to a wide range of health and other support services under one roof in one day. Our goal is to provide easy access to services that people may not otherwise have access and to make it easy for people to go from one service to another and be able to accomplish more than one thing that day. The range of services offered at this event varied from foot care, dental screening, eye care, medical, mental health and addiction services, massage therapy, housing, haircuts, legal information, music, food safety information, clothing, and a hot meal. It was a success and a great start to our new endeavors
The following list of church groups and Service Clubs that came together to form the North Sydney Community Food Bank Society in November of 1994. The list from old minute book from meeting attendance June 22-1994 and September 14-1994. These groups continue to this day to support the food bank financially, supplying volunteers and morally. Matthew Wesley United
North Sydney Kinsmen
Royal Canadian Legion Branch 19
Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints
St. Joseph Parish
Knights of Columbus
St. Giles Presbyterian
St Vincent Di Paul Society
Calvary Baptist Church
St. John’s Anglican
Kiwanis Ceilidh Golden “K”
North Sydney Rotary Club
