350th Living Wage Employer in BC!

Food Stash Foundation is the 350th organization in BC to be certified as a Living Wage Employer – committing to pay its staff and contracted workers a Living Wage.

“Vancouver is an expensive place to live and build a healthy community. At Food Stash, we are working hard to reduce hunger and provide dignified access to good food. Tackling issues of hunger and food insecurity means tackling poverty; and tackling poverty means living wages for all. As we look to address poverty and the root causes of food insecurity in our community, it is important for us to start at home with living wages for our team." Carla Pellegrini, Food Stash Foundation

The living wage is the hourly amount a family needs to cover basic expenses. The calculation is based on a two-parent family with two children – the most common family unit in BC – with each parent working full-time. The Living Wage for Metro-Vancouver is $20.52 an hour.

Many children in BC live in families with at least one adult working full-time, full-year. In other words, child poverty in BC is very much a low-wage story. For most of the past decade, BC’s child-poverty rate has remained at one in five children living in poverty.

“We’re delighted that Food Stash Foundation become our 350th Living Wage Employer in BC! We have been delighted to see the growth in Living Wage Employers over recent years. Paying a living wage is good for workers, employers and the local community” said Anastasia French, Living Wage for Families BC

Over the past two years, the number of Living Wage Employers in BC has more than doubled. Employers have found paying a living wage to be a key tool in their post-Covid economic recovery. 97% of Living Wage Employers in BC have found some benefit to being part of the program.

Certifying as a Living Wage Employer is a voluntary commitment employers make to invest in their communities and local economies.

Food Stash is a registered Canadian charity founded in 2016 that rescues surplus good food and redirects it in a dignified way to those in need. The organization currently rescues 70,000 pounds of food every month. With this food, Food Stash serves over 30 social service organizations through its Food Recovery Program, 100 families through its Rescued Food Box Program and hundreds of community members through its Rescued Food Market.

To see the full list of Living Wage Employers visit the Employers section of our website.