I have been volunteering here for the past 3 years now and this food bank really tries its best to…read morebe a multi-service agency reconnecting people with the community. They hosted a special Easter Sunday service meal to the public between 2-4 today for Easter Sunday where countless dozens came to enjoy a full lunch with tea, hot chocolate, and coffee on the side. I just love coming back and cleaning up after the meal service. They were recognized by the Daily Bread Food Bank years ago for their efforts and commitment to help the people in the community. Wish there more places like this. I will come back to help out whenever I am requested and have the time.

St. Felix Centre is home to outreach programs covering the Alexandra Park area from Dundas to Queen…read moreSt., and Spadina to Bathurst. It's a beautiful lot with an incredible heritage building well kept up, including its gorgeous slate roof. The building at the rear of the lot has some childcare facilities within it as well. I had a rare chance to check this unusual facility when they had a garage sale in the basement of the old building with some very unusual items. Considering the amount of community involvement and history within, another star would be merited if there was more of a presence from the staff in the community as a whole. For example, seeing the staff out around the building is more of a rare sight than it should be.

Amazing community service being made every single day! They not only provide food, clothes,…read moreshelter; but also respect and dignity to thousands of people in need. I'm a volunteer there and can really say that they are helping our community and society.

Great organization to work with. Friendly staff to work with. Good place to work at overall.read more

I can quote 2 instances where my experience was not good this morning would be one where the…read moresecurity working on front steps told me that the place was not open and they were not serving breakfast. I witnessed a woman enter and also another woman having issues with a walker and here belongings on the ramp. asked for my help. I bluntly told her I could not as I was too Hungry and had to find breakfast elsewhere. another case was in the evening and they were clearly open but a VIP event supposedly. I assume this morning was the same case. how could you tell the difference other wise. poor value due to your greater.

Used the main space here for a meeting. Nice and bright, but quite echoey. A minor issue getting…read morethe room warmed up but they eventually fixed it. The food is awesome! Almost worth having a meeting here just for it. Everything comes from Fabarnack downstairs, so you'll know it'll be good (look for their reviews).. I think I'm just going to host a random meeting now just to come back and eat.

This morning, I had the pleasure of going to Scott Mission with some members from my church to help…read moreserve hot meals to the homeless, the poor, the less fortunate, etc etc. Upon entering the doors at 9AM, we were warmly greeted by one of their volunteers who told us where to sign in and where to put our coats. She then put us to work immediately -there was lots to do before the doors open to the public. The dining room was already set for the first round of meals, -they serve meals twice on Saturdays before 12Noon; each seat had a full set of plastic cutlery: knife, spoon and fork; a napkin, and a dessert pastry from Starbucks. When I saw the pastry, I knew it looked familiar, I tend to frequent Starbucks on a weekly basis. It wasn't until a conversation with a regular Scott Mission volunteer that confirmed the origins of the baked good. ALL of the food served comes from local businesses, ie. Costco, Starbucks and various bakeries. My first task involved filling the bread baskets with 6 buns each from their bread bin, which was full of breads of all sorts. According to a girl from my church, they were the typical Costco buns -I had no idea, I've never been to Costco. After filling the bread baskets, we placed them on the tables and went on to the next task: placing 6 plates on 25 large serving trays and stacking the trays in 2 piles: 13 in one, 12 in the other. After the plates we were asked to wipe down an industrial fridge with a chlorine solution and water. Our peers were told to do the same with a different counter. Helping to clean their facilities was a humbling experience, it shows the true meaning of "serving" at a "soup kitchen" -meaning you don't just serve the food, you serve and help out in all areas of the operation. After cleaning, we put out cans of energy drink at each seat. Again they were donated, either from a grocer or the energy drink company. -Wow, energy drink, pastry and bread... every model's and health nut's guilty pleasure and nightmare, and we haven't gotten to the main course yet! Though it may be too much carbs in my opinion, to those less fortunate, it's a necessity -carbs and sugar will give them energy and fill them up for a long period of time. When it was close to serving the first round of meals, the cook placed a pot of hot soup at the head of each table in the dining room. Then the Scott Mission volunteers and staff, and volunteers from my church gathered together to say grace for the food. Then everyone took their assigned station, today's menu was: -6 fried chicken nuggets -steamed broccoli -cold veggie pasta salad -penne with tomatoes, green peas, olives and fresh basil tossed with Newman's Own Italian Dressing While some slid the serving trays with the 6 plates across the kitchen buffet where others placed the food on the plates, I was a server and carried the serving trays out to the dining room to the guests. The guests ate quietly and with dignity; they most ate everything -they buttered their dinner rolls with the plastic knife, drank the soup, devoured the entree. But some of the guests left their plates and pastry half eatened, sample the soup, and some even requested for a vegetarian plate... which means the old idiom is wrong: "beggers" (Note: I'm NOT calling them that!) CAN be choosers. The guests were not a rowdy bunch and they treated us with respect as we served them, and of course, we treated them kindly and with the utmost respect as well. The guests were given a heads-up when the hour was almost up; we had to reset the tables for the second wave at 11AM. As the guests left we cleared the tables: I was assigned to pick up the plastic cutlery and bring them back to the dish washer who had them cleaned for 11AM. I helped refill the bread baskets and since we ran out of Starbucks pastries, paper cups was filled with yogurt and placed on the tables in lieu of pastries. When the tables were set, the second wave of guests came in and started their meals with soup and bread as we filled the plates in the kitchen. Again, the guests ate quietly and with dignity, and treated the servers with respect as we cheerfully and willingly served them. After the guests left at 12Noon, we cleaned up the dining room and was invited to stay for lunch with the Scott Mission volunteers and staff. Initially, I'd thought about checking out Karine's for brunch, but after such a humbling and eye-opening experience, I decided to save Karine's for later. I wasn't too hungry so I started with an apple. But after hearing how yummy the pasta was from other volunteers, I sampled the pasta: it was delicious! (I'm going to get me a basil plant!) Eating the same food as the less fortunate says 2 things: 1. There's no double standard for food at Scott Mission, the food should be good enough for you if it's good enough for the homeless. 2. There's no difference between the givers and the receivers. We're all the same and should treat each other with love and respect.

I will start by saying how grateful I am for the help I received from The Scott Mission. I…read moreapologize for not writing this sooner, my hope is that someone will read this and find it useful. Last year in late November 2018, I needed to find transportation to Elliot Lake to attend a rehabilitation centre. I had just endured two years of living hell and had to get to treatment, but had no financial means to do so. I'm not sure why or how I ended up at The Scott Mission, I only know that I was desperate and in need. I described my situation to a caring soul whom I can't remember his name, and he purchased a bus ticket for me, right there on his computer! I'm happy to say I received the help needed and my life has been given back. I give glory and praise to God, who directed my footsteps back to the pathway of life. Robert, M

Second Harvest is a fantastic charity that has been helping hungry people in Toronto since 1985…read more Second Harvest picks up surplus fresh food from food donors such as grocery stores, restaurants, caterers, manufacturers, and events and delivers it to social services agencies, such as shelters, food banks, and breakfast programs. Second Harvest depends on volunteers to help with deliveries, sorting food, and running events. If you would like to volunteer, you can sign up on the website: http://www.secondharvest.ca/volunteer/index.php. I volunteered at Second Harvest for the first time this week in both helping with deliveries and sorting food in the warehouse. Working on the truck was great because you can see firsthand the people who are benefiting from the service. It feels good to do something tangible to help people in need. The warehouse is a much more solitary activity, but there is a lot of work to be done to portion donated food, so it was great to lend a hand. The annual Turkey Drive is coming on Dec 6-7 and Dec 13-14, 2008. You can volunteer or help by buying a frozen turkey at participating Loblaws locations where volunteers will collect and deliver them to people in need.

This is an excellent charity doing very important work. I was shown around it premises and spoke to…read moreits employees and was very impressed with its operation. It's such a great idea, redistributing food that would otherwise be thrown out.

I had the best experience at Ernestines. When I was there, they helped me get my son into daycare,…read morethey helped me enroll into college (I've since graduated) and they did so much for my overall confidence and self esteem. I look at those women like family, and am inspired to help other women because of how much they supported me! While I was there they installed a garden so residents could cook with stuff we grew. They held programs for the children at the center and also made sure I was never without if I need something. I love the women there, and wish them well

The staff don't treat the residents equally at all. The management is very unethical my rights has…read morebeen violated they don't take mental health into consideration at all.

A fun experience for kids, and a great location. The staff are energetic, and provide a good…read morelearning environment. However, it's too bad that their programs only run every two weeks instead of weekly.

I love this place! I've taken three workshops here this year and each one was run professionally…read moreand with lots of warmth. The staff at the centre are helpful and go out of their way to make coffee or tea for even one person. The building has so much character and it's exciting to hear and read about their current and future offerings of the centre. Such a special place.