Strong community partnerships have always been an important part of Durham Alliance Outreach’s food-support work. We’re grateful to Mighty Harvest for helping DAO provide fresh produce to community members experiencing food insecurity.
When this spotlight was originally published, Mighty Harvest was providing DAO Pantry with regular donations of fresh lettuce. Those donations helped add fresh produce to the food available to households accessing our food-support program.
Fresh food can be especially valuable to a food bank because donated inventory often includes more shelf-stable products. Produce donations help broaden the selection available and give community members more options when choosing food for their households.
Since this article was first published, DAO’s food-support program has evolved. In 2026, DAO Pantry became DAO Market, a choice-based food bank designed to give community members greater ability to select the food that works for their household, dietary needs and preferences.
DAO Market is Durham Region’s only 2SLGBTQIA+ food bank, is open to anyone in need, and works in partnership with Feed the Need in Durham.
Choice is an important part of the Market model. Instead of receiving a predetermined basket, community members can choose from the food available during their visit. Donations of fresh produce and other varied foods help us offer a more useful selection.
Mighty Harvest’s support is an example of how local businesses and organizations can contribute to food security in practical ways. Surplus food, recurring product donations, food drives, financial contributions and other partnerships can all help strengthen the resources available through DAO Market.
These relationships can also help reduce food waste when safe, usable surplus food is redirected to community food programs instead of being discarded.
We thank Mighty Harvest for the fresh produce it has provided to DAO and for being part of our community’s response to food insecurity.
Learn more about Mighty Harvest at mightyharvest.ca.
Businesses, farms, community groups and individuals can all help. Because our inventory and storage needs change, we encourage organizations considering larger or recurring food donations to contact us first so we can coordinate current needs and receiving arrangements.
Email pantry@durhamallianceoutreach.org or call 905-738-8133 ext. 0556 to discuss a food donation or partnership.
You can also support DAO by making a financial donation or learning more about DAO Market.
Historical update: This community-partner spotlight has been refreshed to reflect DAO Pantry’s evolution into DAO Market while preserving the partnership recognized in the original article.