COMMUNITY or TEACHING KITCHEN
A community kitchen is an publicly accessible environment where
anyone can cook meals for themselves and/or their families. Community
kitchens will often have a small access or membership fee, and can have
kitchen groups where people meet regularly to cook meals together. They
are often used to stretch people’s dollars, but they also function as a
community gathering point. In some cases, community kitchens are also
used to train those in need in the culinary arts, so that those who were
once hungry can become professional chefs, and feed their family well. An example of such a kitchen in the Moncton area is the "Mapleton Teaching Kitchen" run by Headstart.
EMERGENCY FOOD PROGRAM
Soup kitchens, shelters and many food banks are considered emergency
food programs. They are not set-up cannot meet the complete hunger
needs of those that they serve. In essence, these programs only meet
emergency food needs.
EXPIRATION DATES (not to be confused with 'best before dates', see definition above)
Expiration Dates are required on fortified foods, such as
infant formula or liquid nutritional supplements. Fortified food should NOT be eaten if the expiration
date has passed.
FOOD BANK
A food bank is a broad term for an organization or entity that
acquires, stores and distributes food to the needy in their community.
Food banks are typically supported by community food drives, umbrella
organizations (Food Banks Canada / New Brunswick Association of Food Banks), as well as grocery stores, local agriculture, food
manufacturers and other distributors. There are over 60 food
banks in New Brunswick today. Although a typical food bank is somewhat
different from an emergency food program, it may also offer those
services, alongside others such as clothing and counseling.
The
first official food bank in Canada formed in Edmonton in the early
eighties. Food banking in North America originated much earlier, in
Phoenix, Arizona in the 1960’s, as a warehouse to distribute food to
local charities. In concept, it was more of an evolution than the birth
of something new, as emergency food programs have existed in Canada
since the early twentieth century. The Salvation Army and other
churches have also operated hunger relief initiatives since the
mid-nineteenth century across North America.
FOOD HAMPER
Food hampers provide three to five-day food packages directly to
families and individuals who do not have enough food. These complete
packages are put together in a box, and are designed to provide
nutritionally balanced meals. They will often include meat, consumer
products, dairy products and other essentials. Many food banks in New Brunswick hand out hampers to those that they serve.
FOOD RESCUE PROGRAM
Food rescue programs collect and deliver fresh food that would
otherwise be wasted from restaurants, grocery stores, hotels, caterers
and others to emergency food programs. They deal primarily in
perishable foods.
FOOD SECURITY
According to the United Nations, food security, “exists when all
people, at all times, have physical and economic access to sufficient,
safe and nutritious food to meet their dietary needs and food
preferences for an active and healthy life.” In general, the word
“hunger” is seen as interchangeable with food insecurity, although
“hunger” is seen as a more appropriate term. There is no commonly
agreed upon statistical definition of food security, or insecurity.
FOOD SHARE
A food share is typically an umbrella organization or cooperative of a
group of food banks. The NBAFB (New Brunswick Association of Food Banks) is one such organization in conjunction with Food Banks Canada. They do not typically serve applicants directly.
HUB
A hub is generally a food bank or food share that services a number
of smaller food banks, which are sometimes known as spokes. These
“hubs” are often large distribution warehouses, with their own
transportation, freezer and cooler space. For instance, the NBAFB Warehouse in Moncton serves all 5 districts in the province, 'District 5' is the south-east region.
HUNGER
Hunger is the result of food deprivation, often due to the impact of
poverty on an individual or population. The impacts of hunger are
devastating: poor health, lack of concentration, lower educational
attainment, and other social problems. Hunger is a problem for many Canadians, as thousands go hungry every day.
LICO
LICO or the Low Income Cut-off measure is determined by Statistics
Canada. LICO is the point where the portion of income spent on food,
clothing and shelter is 20 percentage points more than average.
MEMBER
The term MEMBER is a broad descriptor for any program or organization
that is served by a larger food share or food bank. For example, the West End Food Bank Ltd. is a member of the New Brunswick Association of Food Banks (NBAFB) and an Affliate Member of Food Banks Canada. A member sometimes is and/or may be an emergency food
program, a food rescue program, a community kitchen, or any other hunger
relief program.
POVERTY
Poverty is the state of being without: resources, food, shelter, or
any of the basic necessities of life. In economic terms, there are two
kinds of poverty: absolute and relative. Absolute poverty is a defined
standard that has been agreed upon by experts and many countries. For
many, absolute poverty also has two major classifications. There is
extreme poverty, where an individual lives on less than one dollar a
day, and there is moderate poverty, where an individual lives on between
one and two dollars a day. Relative poverty is dependent on the
country or region, as well as the social context. For information on poverty in New Brunswick and the Moncton area, visit: http://monctonhomelessness.org
RECLAMATION
Many grocery stores will receive product that is slightly damaged or
mislabeled, but considered unfit to be displayed in its aisles. This
might include issues such as missing barcodes, dented cans or boxes, or
surplus stock. Companies take
this usable product from grocery stories, count it for the manufacturer
and grocer, and then ship it to food banks across Canada via Food Banks Canada to their member agencies. The
resulting product is known as reclamation. Reclamation can include both
consumer and food product, from crackers to baby diapers.
SHELTER
Shelters provide temporary housing and meals for those in difficult
domestic situations, as well as for homeless families and individuals.
In addition many shelters provide referrals to other social service
agencies. Shelters are often considered agencies of larger food banks
or food share operations. For example, Nazareth House, an emergency shelter in Moncton. For more information on homelessness in Moncton, visit: http://monctonhomelessness.org
SKID
A skid is a wooden pallet for loading and handling food products in
large food banks.
SOUP KITCHEN
Soup kitchens prepare hot, nutritious meals for people in need. For
some of the soup kitchen's walk-ins, this is their only meal of the day. 'Karing Kitchen' is such a kitchen in Moncton.
