Policies

Quest Outreach Society is committed to providing a safe, secure and respectful environment for clients, staff and visitors. A breach in Quest’s Safe Spaces Policy may result in the following:

• Individual(s) may be asked to leave Quest premises or disengage with Quest staff
• Communications with the individual(s) may come to an end
• Client card privileges may be paused for the current visit OR suspended longer-term
• Police and/or security personnel may be called to attend

Quest Outreach Society is committed to protecting the privacy of any personal information you provide us. Any personal information that Quest requires is kept secure, and confidential at all times. We are dedicated to protecting the personal information of our clients, referring partners, employees, society members, donors, and volunteers.

Despite our model and others like it operating across British Columbia, thousands of pounds of good, nutritional food still goes to waste simply because it is part of a surplus that cannot be sold or because it is oddly sized, blemished, or nearing its best-before-date. 

The Best-Before-Date is when the quality of the food is no longer optimum but is still safe to eat and enjoy. Often it means the food might not be as fresh , taste or smell the same, or contain as many nutrients as the day it was first packaged.

Quest follows the Durable Life Information on Food Products fact sheet and the Acts and Regulations administered by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) for all food that is handled through Quest Outreach Society. We also reference Food Safe Guidelines from resources such as The Health Canada model for Food Safety in Food Banks.

Quest’s food policy is restricted to food recovery from industry food suppliers and excludes acceptance of food donations from individual households and local gardeners. Quest is accountable to Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) rules. We must be able to trace where our food comes from and produce documentation regarding what herbicides, pesticides and fertilizers were used to grow it.

If you are an individual or a group of compassionate gardeners wishing to support Quest and impact communities who identify as food insecure, please consider making a financial donation today.

Receive a Quest Tax Receipt for donated food in three steps:
1. Confirmation of donation
2. Invoicing
3. Tax receipt issued

Step 1 – Confirmation of Donation: To confirm your food donation meets food-safe and Quest
distribution requirements, our distribution team will confirm the following with you over the
phone, email or in person:
1. Type of product
2. Best before date(s)
3. Quantity (number of pallets)
4. Reason for donation (philanthropic, label/package damage, short dated, overstock etc.)
5. Pick-up address (if different than what’s listed on the invoice)
6. Best/most ideal day and time for a pick-up

Step 2 – Invoicing: After your food donation has been confirmed, Quest will ask you to send an
email to distribution@questoutreach.org with the following:
1. Product invoice with a description and quantity of the donated products, as well as the
wholesale price/value of the product being donated
2. First and last name of primary contact person, with email and phone number
3. Confirmation of the donation pick-up location (if different than the address on the invoice)
4. Confirmation a paper copy of the invoice will accompany the donation at time of pick-up

Step 3 – Tax receipt issuance
1. All tax receipts are reconciled and mailed out on the 15th of the following month that the donation was made
2. Receipts are issued for the gross amount of the donation excluding taxes
3. The value reflected on the tax receipt will reflect the amount of “sellable” or “market ready” donated product.
4. IMPORTANT: The value of the product that must be disposed or composted at the time
of pick-up will not be included in the receipt.

If you have any questions, feel free to reach out to: distribution@questoutreach.org

Thank you for your generous donation to Quest!

*Download a copy of our Food Donations Tax Receipts Guidelines here.