With Food Insecurity Rising, Be Fresh Responds with New Charitable Program

Be Fresh Local Market, a sustainability-focused market and café, is addressing food insecurity in Vancouver neighborhoods head on by launching their Pay-It Forward program. 

VANCOUVER, BC, July 17, 2020 –Be Fresh’s Pay-It Forward program, launched today, will allow customers to donate the equivalent of a drink, snack, meal, or dinner for four to those in-need. 

Since COVID-19 was first detected in Canada back in March of this year, many businesses made the tough decision to close their doors and reduce staff hours as communities made efforts to physically distance. Consequently, more Canadians have become food insecure. This means that the negative impacts that COVID-19 has had on the economy has made more people lack reliable access to nutritious, affordable, and culturally-appropriate foods. A recent survey that was conducted by Statistics Canada in May found that one in seven Canadians report food insecurity in comparison to a one-in-ten ratio prior to COVID-19. 

Be Fresh’s Co-Managers, Ashley Sugar and Brianna Hernandez, stated that they noticed a rise in food insecurity on a personal level when witnessing an increase in food theft from their stores. Looking to address the theft by tackling the root causes, the Pay-It Forward program was born.  

The Pay-It Forward program will enable customer to give back to their community in a time when charitable giving is needed more than ever. All proceeds will be given to local food aid organizations. 

Sugar and Hernandez hope that Be Fresh’s Pay-It Forward program will inspire other business to do their part to strengthen the communities they work in and to be part of the solution. 

If you are a food aid organization and wish to be supported through Be Fresh’s Pay-It Forward program, please reach out to Be Fresh’s Sustainability Lead, Michelle Austin at michellea@spud.ca.