BC's Top Employers (2026) Magazine - Magazine - Page 50
50
BC’S TOP EMPLOYERS (2026)
The Greater Vancouver Food Bank inspires fresh starts
S
hortly after Ashlyn
Koebel started as a
front-line associate for
the Greater Vancouver
Food Bank (GVFB), she
registered a single mother who
had turned to the organization for
help. The mother told a familiar
story: skipping her own meals
so her son could eat, working
multiple jobs to pay for afterschool activities, and packing
lunches with the same dull food
while other kids got variety and
colour.
“When she saw the food she was
going to be able to take home that
day, she told me with pride that
her son would be able to have fruit
in his lunchbox that he’s never
even seen before,” says Koebel. “It
wasn’t anything tropical or exotic
— just fruit that is expensive in
today’s economy.”
It’s not just about
handing out food. It’s
about recognizing that
food is a basic human
right and a starting
point for bigger
change.
— Ashlyn Koebel
Assistant Distribution Manager
That interaction confirmed to
Koebel that she had made the
right choice in choosing GVFB
three years ago. With more than
16,000 clients per week, the food
bank is a vital community hub
for the Vancouver area. “What
really resonates with me is our
focus on supporting people with
The Greater Vancouver Food Bank food preservation team in the organization’s kitchen in Burnaby.
dignity,” says Koebel. “It’s not just
about handing out food. It’s about
recognizing that food is a basic
human right and a starting point
for bigger change.”
Koebel’s passion is not unique.
Everyone at GVFB feels it, says
Corina Somerville, director of
human resources. “We’re all very
passionate about what we do.
Every person who joins here has
some sort of connection with food
insecurity.”
But she says there is another
quality that GVFB looks for when
hiring new recruits: innovation.
“We always look to things to
improve, to maximize our impact.
Our leadership is bold, and not
afraid to go against the grain.”
Like Koebel, Somerville felt
drawn to GVFB’s mission. She
grew up in Romania under the
oppressive regime of Nicolae
Ceaușescu and had personal
experience with food insecurity.
She says that far from being
a collection of well-meaning
people handing out food,
GVFB is run like a complex
and innovative business,
with everyone encouraged to
participate in the innovation
process.
GVFB has launched initiatives
including a program to freeze-dry
fruits and vegetables and one
to cold-press juice from apples
and mandarins, selling some
of the value-added products to
local grocery stores. The profits
go to fuel even more innovations,
like a program to trade surplus
local produce with food banks in
Saskatchewan and other parts of
Canada.
“As an organization, we’ve
witnessed the abundance of food
we grow in BC,” says Somerville.
“The innovation behind our work
in redirecting the surplus is what
makes this work remarkable.”
One initiative that goes beyond
food is called Fresh Start. The
