We act fast when it comes to frozen food. We source it directly from local grocery stores that support us. When meat products reach a close-to date or the expiry date, your grocery stores quickly get that product into freezers. They then let us know when anything is available for pick up. We get to them as soon as possible and then transport it back to our warehouse (using our refrigerated truck) and get it into our freezer right away, keeping the product frozen at all times.

Product safety and your food security is our number one priority. Best before date labels are about overall quality. The best before date is a grocery store’s promise that, when stored properly, an unopened product will keep its wholesomeness, flavour, nutritional value and other aspects of quality until the stated date. Expiry date labels are about nutritional quality. Whether or not food has passed its best before date, it should not be shared if it has spoiled or if transportation or storage conditions have put food safety at risk. Many foods that have best before dates can be shared past the date if they have been stored properly. Foods that are low in moisture and/or low in fats and oils will keep longer after the labelled date than others.

Foods that have expiry dates are not to be shared with food bank clients past the date, as the nutritional content and the microbiological and physical stability of these meal replacements and nutritional supplements cannot be guaranteed. The Burlington Food Bank follows all food safety precautions to keep your food safe