That’s not a problem! You can create a temporary passcode by picking the name of a fruit or vegetable and a 2 to 3-digit number, such as Apple852. Once you receive your medical card, contact us to update your information.

It is a supply of 2 to 3 days’ worth of food, including fresh and nonperishable items such as canned vegetables, bread, fruit, yogurt, pasta, canned meat, soup, and other items as available.

The items in your food hamper vary due to food shortages, as Harvest Manitoba depends on food donations from corporate and retail partners, community food drives, and cash donations from the public.

If you have specific dietary needs, such as those with celiac disease, or require other items, such as diapers or baby formula, please let us know when you’re registering, and we will do our best to accommodate your needs.

We do our best to follow Canada’s Food Guide to provide clients with a healthy food hamper.

A household can attend a food bank appointment to collect their hamper once every four weeks or 28 days. Remember, all the members of one household should be registered under one ID number.

Yes, you can authorize another person to pick up your hamper on your behalf. If you grant permission for someone else to pick it up, you must provide a letter with detailed personal information (see sample here) and a physical copy or a picture of your Manitoba Health Card.

Some of our food banks work under a rebooking system: if you show up for your appointment, automatically, you are booked for your next appointment in four weeks at the same food bank. We will let you know once we book your appointment if your food bank works under that system, or you can ask at the food bank when you attend your appointment.

If you miss your rebooked appointment, your name will be removed from the list, and you must call or email to get back on the list. Please note that we are extremely full, and it may take some time to book you again at your choice’s food bank.

Try to attend your appointments or check if you can authorize someone to pick up on your behalf.

Food banks cannot book appointments; you must always contact Harvest Manitoba by email or phone to book.

Contact us at 204-982-3660 or email appointments@harvestmanitoba.ca. You must cancel your food bank appointment as soon as you know you can’t attend.

Cancellations made 48 hours or less before an appointment will be considered No Show.

You can authorize someone to pick up the hamper on your behalf or cancel your food bank appointment.

You can also call 2-1-1, a free, confidential, multilingual service that can connect you to resources, including food delivery options. It’s available 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

You can expect to be welcomed and treated with patience, understanding, dignity, and respect. You can expect a safe emotional space.

Your call, email or web form will be answered by a Client Services member who will ask for some information so we can best serve you, such as basic information about yourself and everyone in your household. First and last names and birthdays are required to reduce duplicate accounts. Most remaining questions are optional.

To register with us and book at a food bank, you must consent to storing your information on our database for future use. Your information is kept confidential. You will be asked to provide a piece of identification (e.g., a health care card) for yourself and each person in your household.

Yes, you may come down to register and book your appointment if you cannot access an email account or phone to connect with our Community Support Centre. Keep in mind that we do not supply hampers at our location.

We encourage clients to contact us:

In Winnipeg:

New Clients: Call 204-982-3671 or register online
Returning Clients: Call 204-982-3660 or email appointments@harvestmanitoba.ca

Outside Winnipeg:

New and Returning Clients in Thompson: register online
New and Returning Clients rest of Manitoba: Call 1-800-970-5559 or email kmoore@harvestmanitoba.ca

Best-before-date is the date until which the unopened product will retain its durable life if safely stored.

The expiry date is the date before which the quality of a product remains acceptable for its intended use. Generally, this applies to drugs, infant foods, and senior foods.

Most food has a Best Before Date, which is NOT an expiration date. For most food, the Best Before Date is used for rotating food or is a “best quality before date.”

Best-before dates are not an indicator of food safety. The manufacturer sets a “best before” date, which is about the best quality or freshness and is used for inventory purposes.

We accept food within a year of its best-before date and follow guidelines from Food Banks Canada regarding food safety.

Products with expiry dates include baby food, baby/infant formula, adult liquid meal supplements (i.e. Boost, Ensure, Glucerna, Resource, etc.), and fresh meat.

Harvest Manitoba does not accept expired food. Contact us if you have concerns or questions about the food quality in your hamper.

https://foodbankscanada.ca/best-before-or-expired-food-banks-questions-answered/

We require limited personal information (which is confidential) when you register. The information collected is optional, but it is beneficial to us for strengthening programs, receiving grants, providing more comprehensive information and referrals, minimizing food wastage, effectively distributing resources to those in need, and advocating for changes to public policy.

Harvest Manitoba collects and uses your personal information to manage programs, understand the needs of those we serve and improve services. Any statistics we share with other agencies, including Food Banks Canada and Link2Feed, are anonymous (do not have any names or personal identifiers) to provide more complete support, conduct research, eliminate duplication of efforts, or fulfil commitments to those who fund programs. Both Food Banks Canada and Harvest Manitoba obey strict confidentiality standards when collecting, sharing, or disclosing your personal information.

Please know that:

• You have the right to receive a copy of the information about you that is stored in Harvest Manitoba Client Management System and/or Food Banks Canada’s Link2Feed Client Intake software.
• You have the right to correct mistakes in information about you.
• Your information may be transferred to servers in other Provinces and outside of Canada.

You just need to complete this online form.

You can’t book food bank appointments through the form since it’s exclusively for updating your and your household members’ personal information.

If you require a food bank appointment, contact us via email (appointments@harvestmanitoba.ca) or by phone (204-982-3660).

If you do not attend your food bank appointment, all the fresh food allocated to you must be disposed of.

Harvest Manitoba has implemented the NO-SHOW POLICY:

If clients can’t attend their appointments, they must contact Harvest Manitoba in advance via email (appointments@harvestmanitoba.ca) or by phone (204-982-3660).

If the clients’ file at Harvest Manitoba shows more than TWO reminders regarding missed appointments, the next client’s appointment will be assigned to a different food bank location.

We cannot guarantee the availability of products to accommodate all dietary restrictions. We are subject to the food provided to us by our donors and suppliers.

Yes, the client can authorize you to register them and book food bank appointments on their behalf. To grant permission, the client must fill out the authorization form with their personal detailed information (see sample here) and a physical copy or a picture of their MB Health Card.

Once the authorization form is at Harvest Manitoba, a note indicating the client’s consent will be placed on their file. This authorization will remain in good standing until the date written in the authorization, no longer than 24 months.

The client can remove their consent anytime by contacting Harvest Manitoba via email (appointments@harvestmanitoba.ca) or by phone (204-982-3660). If the client chooses to remove consent and then change their mind, a new Appointment Authorization Form will need to be signed.

Signing a Booking Appointment Authorization Form does not mean the person has permission to pick it up for you at the food bank. (see: Can I authorize someone else to pick up my hamper?)