client coordinator

warehouse assistant manager

truck driver

receptionist

distribution associate

Greater Vancouver Food Bank

I was hired on a three month contract and I resigned two months after my contract got renewed. After what I have been through, I had to resign for the sake of my sanity.

I thought this would be a great place to work at first, until one of my colleagues got fired coincidentally not long after she went to HR to report an incident of workplace bullying. This place is filled with politics and you never know who to trust. Not to mention there is a terrible manager there who constantly pits you against your coworkers and basically bullies everyone. When I worked there, I was constantly stressed and anxious even after work hours. I had no time for self care. Needless to say, work/life balance simply did not exist for me. 

Favoritism is also very strong there. My colleague who was also on contract had a new contract printed for her to sign, whereas HR only sent me a short email saying all the terms in my previous contract would remain the same upon my contract renewal. It also took HR a while to decide to give contract workers paid sick days due to COVID-19. 

Management will talk to you like they value your opinion and tell you that they value transparency. But the moment you question their actions or decisions, they will get rid of you because you are "not a good fit" anymore. 

 My advice to anyone who is thinking of applying: 
1. Do not trust your managers and definitely do not expect them to defend you when politics come into play and you are to be eliminated. 
2. Distribution will leave you feeling fulfilled, but will also drain a lot of your energy because of the terrible manager. 
3. If you can secure a permanent position there, the benefits are pretty good after 3 months probation. Do know that they will extend your probation and then fire you without warning though, so be careful. 
4. If you are desperately in need of a job, this is the position for you. However, I do not recommend treating this job as a long term thing because there is zero job security.

First, if you are looking for a secure job, this is not the place to work. The HR manager would fire you anytime with no reason or the reason is "you are not a good fit". This place is famous for high turnover rate. HR will constantly change the job titles to make them sound good and attract new hires, so be aware of that. 

Second, if you have a good heart for the community, and think working for non-profit will make you feel very rewarding and happy, DO NOT work at the front line. Some of their policies and protocols in place might make you feel frustrated and disappointed. 

Third, if you work at the front line, be prepared to deal with terrible manager who will force you to do something that were not even included in your job description. Working in this place had constantly drained my daily energy and made me suffer mentally and emotionally. The upper management cares more about monetary donations and profits than their clients. They may look great on the outside but the internal work environment is ABSOLUTELY TERRIBLE! 

If you do consider working there, I recommend you to ask as much questions as possible in the interview, because what they ask you to do might not exactly like what it is on the job description. Do not give high expectation on any of their positions. 

Think twice before you apply or work at this place. Good luck! 

Most toxic work environment I have ever experienced. There are some truly passionate and great people that work there, but management has no experience in anti-poverty work, and will ignore the opinions of front line staff. If you disagree or voice your opinions, you will be let go. Since I started, 9 employees were fired (without cause), 11 quit due to the toxic work environment, and 2 employees are on stress leave. Absolutely inept human resources department that has ignored the concerns of the employees. 
I was truly excited about working at this organization, and my experience here has left me so utterly disheartened. The management shows little regard for the well-being of clients, volunteers, and employees. Absolutely do not work here if you value your mental health, or if you care about food insecurity/poverty reduction. 

They do have pretty good pay/benefits for a non-profit, and employees do get perks (free food/drinks). Also, due to their high turnover rate, they are constantly hiring so if you're in desperate need of work during the pandemic this may be a good option for you. 

Solid frontline team camaraderie. The leads, distribution, agencies, drivers and warehouse frontline staff work incredibly hard and are passionate about tackling food insecurity and reducing food waste among other things.

Severe operational bottlenecks due to space constraints, long-term understaffing, and managerial incompetence are evident. Instead of addressing these systemic issues with hard data, certain middle management figures choose to manage through blame, intimidation, and create division between teams. Constructive feedback and communication are deeply confined between the frontline staff and middle management, resulting in constructive floor feedback being penalized or hidden entirely rather than utilized to fix obvious operational delays and operational bottlenecks.

Really frustrating place to work. They hire passionate, educated individuals who want to help those who are food insecure, yet management (who do not have education or experience in related fields) do not want to listen to new ideas based in research and progress. 
If you bring up any ideas or state any opinions different than their own, there is a HIGH chance you will be let go. There is no job security and the turnover is extremely high due to the toxic workplace.
The management makes decisions that are unclear and don't trickle down, making policy impossible to understand, nor do they consult with those who are in a lower position than them.

Wonderful team spirit to tackle hunger overall. Fair wages for a non-profit, a little above minimum wage on various types of work. Unique corporate culture that was once based on transparency throughout the organization. 

Changes to top level management in mid-2018 turned this culture to more corporate based with closed doors & a 'need to know' basis. Cliques formed and high volume staff turnover resulted in corrosion of the unique 'team spirit' culture. 

New management roles were created and internal promotions were given to a select few, which resulted in other job losses to cover wages.

I have only volunteered at the Greater Vancouver Food Bank twice, but both times I have left feeling like I've done something great. I was in the warehouse sorting cans, which is more fun than it sounds. Maybe it's because I knew that peoples lives were sort of in my hands; if I had packed a can of food that was expired or had a void can, and someone were to eat it, they could get sick or even die. There was a floor manager who gave groups their daily task, both times they were very friendly and knew what they were doing. This might just be me, but this job was super easy and very enjoyable.

Management was very inclusive and welcoming, the whole team was one of the best I have had the chance to work with. Plenty of time to balance life and work though it could be emotionally tough at times. Sometimes it could be stressful as there was some unpredictability with the clients, though 99% were lovely.

Management only cares about making money and not feeding those who need it the most. They are creating barriers for the most vulnerable population.  Poorly managed and Board of directors don't care when employees bring up issues of management. 

Greater Vancouver Food Bank is an amazing place to be a volunteer. The experience I got there helped me a lot in my first contact with a work environment in Canada. The staff is very friendly and they are always prepared to help me. I highly recommend there as a very nice place to work.

Top Job Titles	Average salary
Client coordinator 3 salaries reported	$42,900 per year
Warehouse assistant manager 2 salaries reported	$75,000 per year
Truck driver 2 salaries reported	$66,300 per year
Receptionist 2 salaries reported	$20.00 per hour
Distribution associate 2 salaries reported	$54,307 per year

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