Ali is feeding hungry community members

Over the past six months, Ali’s NoFrills^® in Toronto has donated almost 84,000 pounds of food to Faith Outreach Worship Centre, a Scarborough church that runs a busy food bank in the community. For the past five years, since franchise owner Ali Khan first arrived at the store, it has consistently provided the organization with produce, staples and other groceries through Second Harvest.  

In that time, Ali has only seen demand for food banks grow. This is a city-wide crisis; last fall, Greater Toronto Area (GTA) food banks told reporters that they were seeing more food bank visits than ever before, largely driven by the rising cost of food and rent.¹ But it’s also one that’s close to Ali’s heart. 

“We know that the problem is intense,” says Ali. “And I cannot resolve it just with my one store. But we’re part of the community and we’re doing our best to at least try to resolve one small problem at a time. We try to help out as much as we can.” 

One major way the store helps out is through the Retail Food Recovery Program, which earmarks surplus food that is still fit for consumption for donation to organizations that help feed hungry folks in their communities, which doesn’t just help solve the problem of hunger, it also helps divert perfectly good food from going to landfill. The food is all perfectly good to eat, and always delicious—think, fruits and veggies that are already at peak ripeness, as well as nutritious options, non-perishable staples like canned tuna, shelf stable snacks like nut butters, pasta and crackers that are close to their best-before dates. Ali and his staff also participate in the Feed More Families^TM annual food drives, where customers can donate cash or food to the stores’ matched local food banks. 

These efforts align with Loblaw’s larger mission to Feed More Families^TM, an Enterprise commitment aiming to provide 1 billion pounds of food to people experiencing food insecurity by 2028. Every quarter, the company chooses one store that has demonstrated an exceptional commitment to this goal through our Retail Food Recovery program and store fundraising campaigns, and this quarter, it’s recognizing the work Ali and his staff do everyday, to ensure the hungry people in their community have access to good, healthy food. In addition to celebrating the staff at Ali’s No Frills, Loblaw also donated $5,000 to Faith Outreach on behalf of the store in a small ceremony on July 28. These funds will help drive impact in the community and allow the organization to buy the food items they need the most.  

“We thank you immensely for what you do to support our organization, individuals and families, especially seniors in dire need of help and hope to continue collaborating on this outreach effort to ensure no one goes hungry,” remarked Reverend Francis.  

But recognition isn’t what keeps Ali and his staff motivated to help. 

“It's pretty simple: I'm in the food business and our goal is to feed everyone. Yes, I’m trying to sell food, but you also have to look at the fact that there are a lot of people out there who need help, and we can do something about it,” he says. “You can't solve every problem, but whatever little bit you can contribute, why wouldn’t you?”  

¹https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/gta-food-banks-say-theyre-facing-largest-demand-in-history-1.6585801