A food bank that has been operating out of a parking lot in Scarborough after losing its home almost three years ago is desperately searching for a new indoor space.
Whitby Specialty Food Bank (WSFB) is a grassroots organization that provides food to individuals with special dietary restrictions.
Founded in 2016, it was originally located at Kendalwood Seventh-Day Adventist Church, near Dundas Street East in Whitby. The food bank, however, was forced to vacate that space in February 2023 in response to by-law restrictions prohibiting a food refrigeration truck on site.
Despite not having a permanent indoor home, WSFB has continued to serve food to around 85 families from across the region and 50 organizations every Tuesday outside an industrial building at 801 Progress Ave.
Organizers, however, say this set up is unsustainable.
They say volunteers, many of whom are seniors, have told them that they cannot weather another winter outside, adding that this current arrangement puts their ability to serve clients at risk.
“They need to be in a warm area and they’re complaining now. It’s been three years that we’ve been out in the open to all the elements,” coordinator Marcia White told CTV News Toronto on Tuesday.
“They’re saying, ‘We’re gonna have to find somewhere to go. We can’t stay with you.’ I need the volunteers to operate the food bank.”
If the food bank is unable to find a new indoor location before winter, it says it will be forced to scale back the amount of food it distributes to clients.
Between January 2024 and January 2026, the not-for-profit distributed an estimated 1.6 million meals and handed out more than 1.7 million pounds of rescued food. Most of the food distributed by the Whitby Specialty Food Bank comes from food reuse charity Second Harvest and is gone within a day, organizers say.
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‘We need an angel donor’
White says a desperate search is now on for a suitable warehouse in Whitby, or possibly Ajax, one that is ideally at least 10,000 square feet and is either donated or a long-term, low-cost lease.
“We need an angel donor because right now we do not have the funds,” she said.
Whitby Specialty Food Bank, which has had a registered charitable status since 2026, can issue tax receipts to donors.
The food bank says having a larger indoor space would allow them to serve more people and expand their work to include a community kitchen and skills-training workshops.
