About Food Stash Foundation: Food Stash Foundation was founded in 2016 by David Schein, a local Vancouver-based teacher who became inspired to reduce food waste after watching the documentary Just Eat It: A Food Waste Story.  He saw an opportunity to improve our environment while also feeding individuals and families in need. By October 2017, Food Stash became a registered Canadian charity.

Dress Code: Closed-toe, slip-resistant shoes and No excessive jewelry

How It Works

Our Rescued Food Market members sign up for the market for 3 months at a time with a $24 registration fee. Members are then assigned a regular, weekly appointment time and receive a membership card. When members come to the market, they will show their membership card. 

Members will each have a personal produce box that they will be free to shop from and a selection of meat and dairy. Each week will vary based on what food we have – since all the food we give out is being saved from grocery stores instead of being thrown out.

We ask customers to:

• Pay the membership fee at the first market (Foodstash staff will handle the payment)
• Arrive at their assigned appointment time and avoid lining up earlier
• Show their membership card to staff 
• Start off at the deli counter, then make their way to the produce table
• Bring a reusable shopping bag and a mask (upcycled reusable bags will be provided if needed)

• Use hand sanitizer upon entering

Volunteer Roles

Deli Counter:

• Ask people what they like between a choice of 1-2 meat/vegan options and 1-2 dairy/vegan options. (Based on the quantity we have) 
• Encourage people to keep moving & direct them to the Produce Tables next

Produce Tables (2-3 tables in a row to make a bag-packing workspace):

• 2 volunteers will be behind the produce tables and a mobile shelf will be behind them full of 10 pre-portioned ‘personal produce boxes’
• 1 volunteer will give a produce box to the Market User, sliding it down with them to the other end of the table where the Market User can pack their bag with whatever produce they want from their box
• There will be another volunteer at the other end of the table making sure people are not harassing/crowding each other. Once a Market User is done packing their bag, the volunteer will take the empty box to the back, or consolidate leftover produce into 1 box on a produce stand off to the side where people can help themselves
• Once all ‘personal produce boxes’ are given out, wheel the empty mobile shelf to the back and retrieve a freshly loaded shelf

Meeting point: We’re located at 290 E 1st Avenue, Vancouver. Once you arrive, there are two entrances. Please either ring the doorbell at the small door beside our garage doors on 1st ave, or enter our building through the main building doors. These doors should be unlocked, but if they are not, please call/text 604-862-9701 to be let in. Once you go up one set of stairs, you will see our door where you can ring that doorbell and we will let you in!