Ottawa food bank under fire

An Ottawa food bank is under fire for its policy against junk food.

Karen Secord, Parkdale Food Centre co-ordinator told CTV Ottawa last week she is turning away KD, chips, candy and other unhealthy foods while sorting.

"It is sending the message out to people that you are not worth it, that your health isn't worth as much as my health is worth," Secord told CTV Ottawa.

Secord has since suffered public backlash, with some on social media threatening to stop donations all together.

Bill Laidlaw, the head of the Ontario Association of Food Banks, told CTV when food banks sort their donations they do try to allocate a basket that fills Canada Food Guide requirements, but sometimes this simply isn’t possible. “The realty is, that’s the food we have, and we provide it to them the best we can, and we appreciate it,” he said.

Food Banks Canada, the national organization supporting food banks across the country, says they accept all offers of food that is safe and of a high quality.

“Food banks Canada would not exist without the support of their communities,” they said in a statement. “And thanks to this wide-ranging support, the food you see in a food bank box is the same food you see in grocery carts – items like pasta and sauce, fresh fruit and vegetables, breakfast cereals and even cookies and cake.”