| Summary: | The provision of free or low cost meals is an integral component of community services working to address problems of poverty and homelessness in Canada. However, there has been little systematic examination of how they function relative to clients’ nutrition needs. The objective of this research was to investigate the scope and nature of meal programs by examining an inventory of charitable food provisioning activities, created between 2010 and 2011, in five Canadian cities. Of 290 agencies offering meal programs, 548000 meals were served every month. However, service scheduling varied throughout the week, and the majority of agencies were reliant on volunteer labour, donated food supplies, and experienced difficulties managing the current demand for food assistance. Findings from this study highlight the strengths and limitations of the current food provisioning system and a need to improve the capacity of agencies to respond to populations experiencing food insecurity in Canada.
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