Finally, a food bank for vegetarians

"When Smith heard that a vegetarian food bank was opening in Scarborough, Ont., she telephoned the food bank's unlikely founder, Malan Joseph, a Catholic real estate agent who eats meat. "It completely blew my mind," says Smith. "I asked if there were other vegetarian food banks. He said no, 'we'll be the only one in Canada.'

Joseph credits his Hindu vegetarian wife for drawing his attention to the plight of low-income vegetarians. "If you eat meat, you can eat vegetarian and non-vegetarian. But if you are vegetarian, you only have one choice. I've had a dream for 10 years to open up a food bank for vegetarians only," he says. "For many, many low-income vegetarians, it is emotionally disturbing if they go to a regular food bank and are given meat or sausages." The vegetarian food bank is non-profit and receives no government funding. Joseph pays out of his own pocket to rent the warehouse space, a two-level unit in a strip mall."

Read the Macleans article here.