Exemption from Food Banks Canada’s Standard of Excellence and Accreditation Requirements for Small and/or Rural Local Food Banks

Date:

November 2024

Expiry Date:

December 2027

Current Status:

Sent to Government

Sponsors:

Brazeau County

District:

3 – Pembina River

Year:

2024

Convention:

Fall

Category:

Community Services

Status:

Sent to Government

Vote Results:

Carried

Preamble:

WHEREAS Food Banks Canada supports a network of 10 provincial associations and 5,100 hunger relief organizations from coast to coast to coast, in every province and territory; and

WHEREAS the food banking network acknowledged a need for a set of standards that would create performance benchmarks of a well-run organization, while promoting transparency and accountability to the public; and

WHEREAS Food Banks Canada formed a National Standards Committee, to develop and inform the standards ultimately proposed to Food Bank Canada’s board in 2021. These standards were then piloted to a group of small, medium and large food banks, as well as provincial associations, as a “real world” test and an opportunity to provide feedback, review and refinement; and

WHEREAS Food Banks Canada released their Standards of Excellence in January of 2024 which consist of expectations for all food banks in Canada to complete and receive accreditation by March 2025; and

WHEREAS Indigenous communities and northern food banks are exempt from the Standards of Excellence; and

WHEREAS Food Banks Alberta, a member of Food Banks Canada, has over 100 members and offers programs and assistance to those members such as food sharing programs, the Bulk Food Purchase Subsidy Program, and the Rural Assistance Program; and

WHEREAS there are 69 rural municipalities within Alberta with several food banks among them; and

WHEREAS many of these rural food banks are run by small groups who have neither the volunteers nor resources required to meet the Standards of Excellence; and

WHEREAS failure to comply to the Standards of Excellence results in local food banks losing their membership with both Food Banks Canada and Food Banks Alberta and, as a result, lose access to important resources and programs; and

WHEREAS many local food banks have expressed concern about longevity should memberships to these organizations be suspended;

Operative Clause:

THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Rural Municipalities of Alberta advocate the Government of Alberta to add further exemptions to the Standards of Excellence established by Food Banks Canada for small, rural food banks similar to the exemption to northern and Indigenous food banks.

Member Background:

The Food Banks Canada Standards of Excellence includes requirements for members to achieve accreditation including, but not limited to, processes for addressing complaints, risk management plans, and digital inventory management. Our local food banks have expressed concern about the added work this will have for their small volunteer base. These concerns have also been raised with Food Bank Alberta’s regional meeting and include:

  • Volunteers are already overworked, attributed to the increased demand for hampers
  • Volunteers are hard to recruit and retain
  • Because many rural food banks source their food from non-traditional sources, they may be deemed an elevated risk under the standards, which creates more work to become accredited. Some examples include: dividing wheat products bought in bulk such as flour, buns, and paste. As well as fresh produce from community gardens
  • The total cost of accreditation is high
  • Local food banks already adhere to the Government of Alberta’s food safety standards
  • Monetary donations may be redirected to pay for the costs of accreditation rather than spent on acquiring food

There are substantial concerns that the unnecessary red tape of the Standards of Excellence will reduce the viability of our local food banks and result in suspension of valuable services to rural communities. Applying the same exemption received by Indigenous communities and northern food banks towards small rural food banks will help ensure the viability of future services and the longevity of the rural community.

RMA Background:

RMA has no active resolutions directly related to this issue.

Government Response:
None reported.

Development:

None reported.

Provincial Ministries:

Seniors, Community and Social Services

Provincial Boards and Organizations:

Food Banks Alberta
Federal Ministries and Bodies:
Agriculture and Agri-Food, Food Banks Canada

Internal Notes:

None reported.