Pantry Program

By relying on rescued food donations, 5N2 is not only providing a valuable service to the community reduce food waste. This model promotes both resourcefulness and environmental responsibility.

We Exclusively
Rescue and Repurpose Food to Feed People

“Food rescue, also called food recovery, food salvage or surplus food redistribution, is the practice of gleaning edible food that would otherwise go to waste from places such as farms, produce markets, grocery stores, restaurants, or dining facilities and distributing it to local emergency food programs.” – Wikipedia

Pantry Program

5N2 operates a Food Pantry for clients who cannot access conventional food banks. This enables clients to access food supplies through a referral system with our partnership organizations.

Application Form

Best Before Date

A best-before date tells you the anticipated amount of time that an unopened food product, when stored under appropriate conditions, will retain its:

      • Freshness
      • Taste
      • Nutritional value

Best before dates do not guarantee product safety.  However, they do give you information about the freshness and potential shelf-life of the foods you get.  You can eat food after the best-before date has passed.  However, this food may lose some of its freshness, flavor and nutritional value.  Texture may have also changed, but it is still safe for consumption.

The best before dates are about food quality and not food safety.

According to the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) non-perishable foods (with an anticipated shelf life greater than 90 days – eg canned food, etc.) are not required to be labelled with a best-before date or storage information, as they are generally considered to be shelf stable.  Non-perishable food like this can be eaten after the best-before date has passed, unless:

      • Packaging is damaged
      • Food smells or looks bad or odd
      • Cans are oddly shaped, dented or rusty
      • Seal is broken and the product is leaking

Expiry Date

Expiry dates are not the same as best-before dates.  Expiry dates are required only on certain foods such as:

      • Infant formulas
      • Meal replacements
      • Formulated liquid diets (used for oral or tube feeding)
      • Nutritional supplements

These types of food have strict compositional and nutritional specifications.  After the expiry date, these specifications may not be met, and the food may not have the same nutrient content as declared on the label.

Food should not be bought, sold or eaten if the expiry date has passed.  Health Canada recommends discarding items that are past their expiry date.