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The line for the Allan Gardens Food Bank starts hours before doors open on Thursdays and Fridays, winding down the block and around the façade of the St. Luke’s United Church.
The church, which has heritage status, will be protected and retained with a 48-storey apartment tower built on top, with 30 per cent designated affordable units. It means kicking out its current tenants, at least during construction, which includes the Allan Gardens Food Bank and Out Of The Cold drop-in meal program.
As the food bank’s president, Meryl Wharton is there almost every day, helping serve the thousands who come through its doors (roughly 67,000 people in 2025). However, the mood has changed now that city council has greenlit the redevelopment of the space that will eventually force out the food bank.
It’s “a dire straits situation,” Wharton said. “Sometimes I get nightmares just thinking about it.”
While eviction is seven months away, the food banks’ search for a new home to ensure it can continue serving the community during the redevelopment comes amid a cost-of-living crisis that is sending more and more Torontonians to food banks.
The project is being completed by Kindred Works, a developer invested in by the United Church of Canada, who wrote via email statement that programs will not have to leave the space before the end of the year.
“We do not yet have a confirmed date for site clearance, though we are working toward a more specific target in the coming months.”
Developer Kindred Works didn’t respond to multiple interview requests, instead referring to the email statement.
For interim housing during construction, “Kindred has been liaising with current program operators,” the statement said, with ultimate decisions “being made by those organizations themselves.”
Talks to avoid a disruption in the food programs are ongoing and involve city workers, the food bank’s umbrella organization, the Daily Bread Food Bank and both volunteers and clients.
A working group started by Kindred Works in mid-February is the latest element in the search, according to Benjamin Blais, a volunteer and board of director member who represents the food bank in the group.
It also includes the drop-in program and a third party.
“It’s just for them to sit us down and bring us up to speed on what’s happening,” Blais said.
Other non-profits are in similar situations due to redevelopment and rising real estate values, according to Daily Bread CEO Neil Hetherington. He said securing a permanent space is a consideration.
“If there was the opportunity to invest in community, making a deep investment in Allan Gardens is something Daily Bread might consider,” Hetherington said. The organization would potentially be “the financial backer to a real estate acquisition.”
Housing an increasingly vital service
Standing in the gymnasium space before the food bank opens, Blais explained that the number of people served has exploded since he started in 2020.
“We did 300 people over the two days, and now we’re doing 800 to 1,000 people,” Blais said, adding that the demographics are all-encompassing.
The food bank served around 26,600 in 2021, jumping to just under 39,600 in 2022. Client visits increased to nearly 53,900 the next year, before going up to 61,650 in 2024 and 67,117 for 2025, according to Wharton.
Food prices over the same time have significantly outpaced general inflation according to Statistics Canada: Shoppers in January paid 28 per cent more at the grocery store compared to 2021.
Canada’s largest grocers Loblaw Cos., Metro and Empire Co. which owns Sobeys, posted higher net earnings and food sales in 2025 compared to the year before.
The ongoing search for a new spot hasn’t been smooth, including an incident where construction staff doing assessments for Kindred Works tried to close parts of the food bank’s storage rooms last December.
“We couldn’t get the stuff in the fridges,” Wharton said, at a time hours before serving was supposed to start.
“We have to fight for everything; nothing comes to us. We have to fight.”
The completed development will also have a community space like the one the food bank uses now, something Wharton said the programs had to push for.
Even though the working group has yet to hold a meeting, Blais is hopeful the parties can find a solution to house the food bank during redevelopment.
“The court of public opinion has a lot of weight,” he said.
According to Kindred Works’ statement, the completed redevelopment has the “expanded utilization of community spaces as a core goal,” and will be capable of supporting “food-related community services.”
A detailed plan for what will occupy the redeveloped community space has not been released.
Gabriel is a reporter for OTR in Winter 2026.
No AI tools were used in the production of this story.
