By Emily R. Zarevich, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter
We’re in an age of daunting inflation, rapidly rising housing costs, unbelievable tariffs imposed by the U.S., and job insecurity like never before. It has never been more vital to support our local charities that provide a steady supply of groceries to families facing food insecurity across the region. Food for Life, whose warehouse and fresh food market are located at 2258 Mountainside Drive, has certainly done plenty to earn the gratitude of Burlington and beyond. They opened in 1995, right in the middle of a precarious economic decade. This year, 2025, is also in the middle of a precarious decade and marks thirty incredible years of feeding communities in Halton and Hamilton. It’s an outstanding anniversary for an outstanding organization, and everyone involved has every reason to celebrate.
Food for Life does far more than just collect food. It rescues good, surplus food from ending up in the garbage bins, from the raccoons, and from the city dumps. Grocery stores and farms with unsold, surplus products in good condition send the food to the warehouse rather than throw it out. The food gets sorted and boxed up by teams of dedicated and eager volunteers who never want to see a scrap of food wasted. The boxes of fresh, high-quality foodstuff travel across the region to where they’re needed most. Food for Life also runs a market where clients can shop for their own food items. It’s a grocery store experience with grocery store items. An empowering setup for those who may be reluctant to seek help with obtaining food.
Food for Life makes it a priority to ensure that their clients receive only the best food in their boxes and grocery carts.
“It’s really important for us that people feel a sense of dignity when they access our programs and that the quality of food they receive would not be less than if they were to go to a grocery store and purchase it,” says Executive Director Karen Randell, speaking out on the organization’s key to success: always respecting those who use the services. “I ask myself, would I pick this off the shelf in the grocery store? If the answer is no, why would we put it in our markets?”
On the issue of whether or not the need for Food for Life’s services will increase in the upcoming years, which are looking to be unstable and uncertain, Randell comments, “In a perfect world, no. But given where things are right now in terms of poverty, in terms of housing prices, food prices, cost of living in general, I do see that people will continue to struggle. For as long as the need exists, we certainly want to stand ready to support households who are experiencing food insecurity.”
Food for Life supports one hundred community programs and annually saves 4.6 million pounds of food from going to landfills for redistribution, according to Randell’s 2024 Neighbour Impact Survey. Food for Life also feeds over 4000 individual households. That’s the size of a town! The cities that receive the organization’s help include Burlington, Acton, Georgetown, Hamilton, Milton, and Oakville. The organization currently holds an A rating on the Charity Intelligence website.
The organization prizes sustainability above all things, which was as common when they began in the mid-90s. According to their own website: “Over the last 25 years, Food for Life has rescued over 26 million pounds, saving the equivalent to over 37 million kg of greenhouse gases from being released into the atmosphere.” In 2008, with helpful funds from the Sprott Foundation, they also purchased a hybrid diesel/electric truck for picking up and delivering food.
If you wish to donate to Food for Life’s cause or sign up for the newsletter, you can go here. If you wish to volunteer with Food for Life and be counted among the city’s food rescuers, you can sign up here to become a food packer, a market volunteer, or a volunteer driver assistant. With enough hands and enough rescued food, Food for Life will have the makings to continue doing what it does for another thirty years.
