In September 1989 the Eden Food Bank was established as a facility in North West Mississauga that could provide assistance to people who were in an emergency situation due to unforeseen circumstances, such as layoffs, sudden disabilities or unexpected bills. We first opened our doors on Monday April 9, 1990. Initially there were only 5 families a week utilizing our services, but as more agencies and people became aware of our service, the number of families served escalated rapidly. Eden Food Bank was incorporated as a non-profit charity on January 11, 2002, with a Board of up to 10 Directors from the community. On our 20th anniversary, we estabished our 2nd client center on Unity Drive in September 2009.

Usage of the food bank continues to rise. We have provided emergency food to:

Month	Families	People	New Families	KG
Feb 2010	374	1,188	52	10,670
Jan 2010	362	1,157	46	9,737
Dec 2009	569	1,841	46	14,756
Nov 2009	406	1,315	53	12,233
Oct 2009	344	1,081	51	11,470
Sept 2009	330	994	40	9,857
Aug 2009	342	1,054	58	10,617
July 2009	364	1,082	43	10,342
June 2009	342	1,045	54	8,793
May 2009	348	1,101	43	8,635
Apr 2009	337	1,091	29	9,024
Mar 2009	362	1,187	41	9,828
Feb 2009	326	1,060	44	9,195
Jan 2009	307	995	36	9,310

2008 Profile of Hunger in Peel and the GTA

Each February and March, Daily Bread conducts an annual survey of food recipients in about 45 member agencies and the following are profiles gathered from the 2008 survey:

Key Statistics for Peel vs. GTA	Peel	GTA
Scope of Hunger
% that have used food banks for more than 1 year	39%	44%
% of children who go hungry at least once a week	12%	13%
% of adults who go hungry at least once per week	27%	33%
Hunger: The Cost of Living
Median Monthly Household Income	$1,200	$967
Median Market Value Rent Paid	$988	$765
% of income spent on rent (market rent only)	82%	77%
% who live in subsidized housing	20%	28%
% who receive Ontario Works	36%	52%
Median Market Value Rent Paid	$988	$765
Children
% of clients who are children	46%	34%
% of households who are caring for children	69%	40%
% of those who have been prevented from working due to cost and/or access to children	43%	44%
Working Poor
% of households who have at least one person working	45%	28%
% earning between $8.25 and $10.00 per hour	29%	36%
Median hours of work per week	36	25
People with disabilities
% who have disability or illness	27%	47%
% of clients receiving ODSP or CPP-D	42%	52%
Immigrants
% born outside Canada	57%	46%

Advocacy

At Eden Food Bank we realize that the issues facing our clients are much larger than just the need for food. Our amazing team of trained, volunteer advocates are available 3x week to offer support to our clients in the form of referrals, information, advice, and even just to talk! The advocacy program's goal is to empower our clients to ultimately become less dependent on the food bank.

Depending on the client's needs, advocates can provide information and referrals for such issues as:

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Eden Community Food Bank | 2-3185 Unity Drive, Mississauga, ON L5L 4L5 | 905.785.3651