The holidays can be especially difficult for seniors living on fixed incomes. With recent cuts to social services — including the cancellation of food bank deliveries to senior housing — many older adults are struggling to put food on the table. For those with mobility issues, who can no longer drive or who don’t have family nearby to help, even getting groceries can feel impossible.
At the same time, grocery stores discard millions of pounds of food every year. Much of it is still perfectly good, simply nearing its printed expiry date and considered “unsellable.” Often called “distressed food,” it’s frozen and redirected to charitable organizations, which then distribute it to food banks and local community initiatives.
That’s how I found myself one Saturday morning, bundled up against the cold outside a warehouse in Surrey, waiting for a delivery truck to arrive. Behind the loading bays, massive semi-trailers rumbled in, unloading towering pallets stacked with frozen honey hams, chocolate chips, pasta, pepperoni sticks, and more. Volunteers gathered as the pallets were broken down and sorted, each of us choosing what we could take to support our communities. No two weeks ever look the same — the selection changes depending on what grocery stores have available, so every pickup feels a bit like a surprise.
Alongside my family, there were volunteers from a food bank serving the Sunshine Coast, several nuns, and representatives from different charities. Though we came from different backgrounds, we all shared the same goal: getting this food to the people who needed it most.
Once we filled the back of our truck, we drove straight to our local senior housing complex and distributed everything among the residents. Because freezer space is limited, we return each week — picking up what we can and delivering it directly to their doors — making sure they have reliable access to food and a reminder that their community hasn’t forgotten them.
