Volunteers are the backbone of food banks. They give their time, energy and care to meeting clients’ needs, whether they’re staffing the warehouse, delivering much-needed meal staples during nasty weather or helping those experiencing food insecurity to access social supports and community connections.

Food Banks Canada doesn’t collect statistics on the ages of food bank volunteers. However, broader Canadian statistics show how vital seniors are for volunteer-driven organizations, which include most food banks. On National Seniors Day, we’re shouting out to the indispensable role of people over 55 in everything the food bank network is achieving.

According to Statistics Canada, younger demographics such as teens volunteer at the highest rates, but seniors — particularly those 65 to 74 years old — contribute the most hours of any age group to Canada’s volunteer workforce, both individually and as a group. In fact, the average senior volunteer gives 231 hours a year of their time! 

However, seniors often give much more than time. Here’s just a brief glimpse of the impact of their deep and exceptional service. 

Seeing It Through 

This past summer, George and Erlinda Biondic – 73 and 85 respectively — raised thousands for food banks when they undertook and finished an ambitious trek: the 700-kilometre coastal Island Walk Trail that circles Prince Edward Island. 

Both Biondics are accomplished athletes, each having set ultrarunning records in their age category. (In 2023, George set three new Canadian records by completing 550 kilometres in six days, while in 2022 Erlinda set a world record for women over 80 by covering 403 kilometres in six days.) The couple’s province-girding walk let them raise money for a cause they supported, while doing what they loved.  

To work their way around PEI, the couple used two vehicles: their own, which they stocked with food and dubbed “the kitchen,” and a rented minivan with enough room to lie down and sleep, which they called “the bedroom.” Parking these vehicles at strategic points each day, the Biondics then walked a section of the Trail before collecting the vehicles and bedding down at campsites along the way. 

George Biondic described how each morning, the couple rose at 4:00 a.m., made their preparations and arrangements, and set off to tackle upwards of 20 kilometers each day. They used paper maps for route planning —  a choice he wryly acknowledged may have been misguided. “Unfortunately, Google Maps was a foreign concept to us,” he told The Auroran. Their paper maps often didn’t have the names of all the local roads, leading to occasional wrong turns. 

But the duo persevered. As they made their way around the island, their reputation preceded them. Locals cheered them on and even offered to feed them.  

The couple returned home safely in July, having raised more than $7,000 for the Aurora Food Bank in the Ontario town they call home. Biondic describes it as the hardest physical challenge that the couple has ever undertaken — which is saying something, considering their combined athletic statistics. But when asked if they ever considered cutting their walk short, Biondic was firm that stopping wasn’t an option. “We couldn’t,” he told The Auroran. “Not while people needed food. We knew we had to continue going on.” 

In It for the Long Haul 

It’s heartening to see senior food bank volunteers honoured for their time, dedication and energy by their communities — like when the Royal Canadian Legion in Powassan, Ontario, gifted 20-year-veteran food bank volunteer Betty Leblanc with a celebration (planned in secret, of course, by friends, family and town council members). Leblanc, now 86, began volunteering at her local food bank after the death of her husband in 2004, when the organization was just a few years old. Now, she is a “fixture” and has watched the food bank evolve from stocking only canned goods to incorporating fresh fruits and veggies from local farmers and specialty diet items, even as demand for its services has climbed.   

Leblanc’s passion for volunteering is as strong as ever. “There are so many people who need help from the food bank,” she said. “This has not been work for me, because it’s been a pleasure to help so many other people.” 

Making It Home 

Seniors’ deep experience and connections can often make a critical difference in food banks, which are hubs of connection and transformation. That has certainly been the case with Lawrence Shebib. In early 2025, Shebib was awarded the King Charles III Coronation Medal for his service to the North Syndey Food Bank in Nova Scotia. Shebib, 82, is the organization’s executive director and has dedicated an amazing 51 years of service to the food bank and its associated projects. The food bank’s most recent project has created affordable housing for local seniors. 

As Shebib told the Cape Breton Post, the housing project got its start when the food bank moved into a disused school building. At the same time, Shebib and colleagues were noticing that many seniors coming through their doors needed more than food.  

“We wanted to be able to do other things for our clients,” he said, “and we saw the need for more seniors’ housing.” 

Having a background in construction, Shebib helped spearhead the transformation of the old school from classrooms and offices into cozy new rental units. In the early summer of 2025, nineteen freshly completed apartments officially opened to their new tenants. The units have been named Cora’s Place in honour of Cora Shebib, Lawrence’s late wife, also a longtime and treasured food bank volunteer.s 

Shebib’s Coronation Medal justly recognizes his contributions, and also does justice to the food bank’s broader organization, which also has a clothing depot and a community kitchen. 

Incredible Value 

Food Banks Canada wholeheartedly thanks the senior contributors who are showing up, raising the bar and making profound differences in others’ lives. 

Whether they’re using their marathon endurance to raise money, finding meaning and connection in long-term service or helping nurture much-needed food-bank-adjacent projects such as affordable housing, seniors bring incredible value to food banks from coast to coast to coast. They inspire everyone young and old to celebrate their achievements – and maybe even join them.