Weekly Food Hub deliveries of vegetables change lives

Every Friday, Don and Jessie each receive a box of fresh, locally grown vegetables. For these seniors this weekly delivery supported by the United Way BC Delta Food Hub has been life changing.  

Don’s story 

For two years, Don was stuck in a three-story apartment building with no elevator. As a double amputee this made life unbelievably challenging. 

“It was awful,” Don recalls. “I had a good friend who lived very close to me. He did all my grocery shopping for me. He picked me up whatever I had to do. He’d come over and do my laundry for me. Oh, he was a dear, sweet friend. He really cared and helped me out.” 

Over a year ago, 60-year-old Don moved into a ground-floor apartment inTsawwassen’s KinVillage. 

“I love it. Yeah, reasonable rent, which I need because I’m on long-term disability,” he says. “I do everything myself. It’s a challenge out in this chair, obviously, but I manage.” 

“I went through a very tragic [situation]. [It was] very depressing at first, but I’ve learned to live with my situation, and I try to make the best of it.”   

When he moved to KinVillage, Don received a donated scooter which empowered him to get out and do his own shopping. But on a fixed income it’s a real challenge, especially with food prices high and rising. “The price of vegetables is unbelievable. You paid three dollars for one onion.” 

Escalating food costs hit hard

In 2025, the average Canadian household will pay $800 more for groceries than they did last year. British Columbians like Don increasingly can’t afford basics such as food, and with current economic and political uncertainty and inflation, things are not getting better. 

Many people are eating less, skipping meals, or seeking food support for the first time. But every day demand is skyrocketing, and local programs are struggling to keep up.  

Access to food is not equitable across BC and is more challenging for people who live in rural and remote areas, newcomers, people of colour, seniors, people with disabilities like Don, and single-parent families.  

At United Way BC, we believe that everyone deserves to eat nourishing food that sustains them, which is why we provide local access to food across the province, with a focus on those who need it most. 

Thanks to a Harvest Box program run through the United Way BC Delta Regional Community Food Hub stewarded by Earthwise Society, Don, Jessie and other Delta families and individuals get fresh locally grown produce. 

“Potatoes and carrots. They’ll last me a week for sure. I like the peppers they give me there. Red, and yellow, okay? I like the sweeter ones,” says Don. “It’s a big help to me and I really appreciate it.” 

Jessie’s story  

For 61-year-old Jessie, who is fighting cancer for the second time in a decade, food is medicine.  

“Having healthy produce is [the difference] between life and death,” Jessie says. Like Don, Jessie is low-income and is trying to manage her illness and her food budget. When she shops, she buys vegetables that are close to expiry or rescued produce. For clothes, she visits local thrift stores, so the United Way BC Delta Food Hub Harvest Box program is essential for her. 

Jessie was introduced to Earthwise Society by a friend in 2014 the first time she was fighting cancer and began receiving support from the organization then. 

“My daughter and I tried to volunteer. At the time, my ability was very limited. I could clean the garlic, bunch things up, and… they did understand where I was at,” Jessie says.  

When her daughter moved out of the family home, Jessie, who doesn’t drive, would complete the long weekly trips to Earthwise to pick up her life-saving vegetables. “The bus is only once every hour and there’s no shelter to sit…so, it just didn’t feel easy for me to go,” she says.  

In 2022, just before Jessie travelled to Goa to take care of her hospitalized mother, her cancer returned.  

“She got better, but I wasn’t able to bring her back,” Jessie says. While she knows it was a privilege to take care of her mom before she passed away, the travel and caregiving greatly impacted her health. Since she’s returned from India her energy level has plummeted, and she is no longer able to take the bus to pick up her box of vegetables. 

“Matthew [at the Food Hub] realized that this was a struggle even to get food into the house, so he very kindly got DoorDash. I had not even heard of such a thing. I didn’t know what that was because I’ve never ordered food from outside,” Jessie says.  

United Way BC’s partnership with DoorDash is another way we are helping ensure people in need like Jessie, get the food they need.  

Last year, United Way BC managed the distribution of over 60,000 pounds of food to local non-profits. Recognizing that some of our community partners like Earthwise were struggling to deliver food and other essential goods to their clients, our Food Link team partnered with DoorDash to provide over 1,000 last-mile deliveries, completely free of charge. Today, our Food Link initiative connects 160 community service agencies with those in need of food and other necessities. 

Of the United Way BC Delta Food Hub and Earthwise, Jessie says: “I’m more grateful for the greens which my body can assimilate better. [It is a] wonderful place that welcomes people not only to get free food, but also to learn. It’s a place where people find life and love… They are making an absolute difference in people’s lives.” 

UNITED for food security

In 2024-25, United Way BC Food Hubs served over 540,000 people, providing over 4 million meals and over 550,000 hampers. But the need is great and growing. Last year, Food Hubs opened in Prince George, Coquitlam, Central Vancouver, Lower Sunshine Coast, Kelowna and Columbia-Shuswap, bringing the total number of hubs across the province to 29. Your gift to United Way BC means people in your community like Don and Jessie have access to food—not just today, but in the months ahead. Your generosity means full plates, nourishment, and relief for people facing food insecurity. Your donation will provide healthy and nutritious food to the people – in your local community – who need it most. Please give generously.