Vegetarian Jessica Smith faced a dilemma in June 2006. She and her vegetarian husband were forced to go to a food bank in Toronto. "And of course the inevitable came up: the tuna fish," says Smith, who doesn't eat fish or meat. "My husband is a boxer. He needs to eat. So do I. I have hypoglycemia. It was do or die." The 32-year-old said the couple ate the fish in small bites and swallowed quickly in order not to choke. "We looked at it this way. It was an emergency. It was either we eat it or we're going to get sick."

When Smith heard that a vegetarian food bank was opening in Scarborough, Ont., she telephoned the food bank's unlikely founder, Malan Joseph, a Catholic real estate agent who eats meat. "It completely blew my mind," says Smith. "I asked if there were other vegetarian food banks. He said no, 'we'll be the only one in Canada.' " (Marzena Gersho, director of national partnerships and programs at the Canadian Association of Food Banks in Toronto, confirms there are no other vegetarian food banks in the country.)

Joseph credits his Hindu vegetarian wife for drawing his attention to the plight of low-income vegetarians. "If you eat meat, you can eat vegetarian and non-vegetarian. But if you are vegetarian, you only have one choice. I've had a dream for 10 years to open up a food bank for vegetarians only," he says. "For many, many low-income vegetarians, it is emotionally disturbing if they go to a regular food bank and are given meat or sausages." The vegetarian food bank is non-profit and receives no government funding. Joseph pays out of his own pocket to rent the warehouse space, a two-level unit in a strip mall.

Smith, who after talking to Joseph signed on as the new food bank's volunteer coordinator, believes she was born with a natural aversion to meat. Growing up in Sarnia, Ont., she remembers, "I'd eat my broccoli and spinach and all the foods that usually little kids hate. My mother used to have to hide meat in my spinach to get me to eat it."

Among the Ontario Vegetarian Food Bank's potential clients are those who have never eaten meat and would not — even if abstaining from it jeopardized their health. "Anecdotally," says Smith, "we know about people who will not touch meat or fish even if it means they get sick." The food bank's Hindu clients, for instance, believe in the consequences of karma and are unable to inflict injury on any type of creature.

"I don't want to put down a standard food bank. These people do good work," says Smith. "But you won't see any fresh produce there. You get things like peanut butter, canned beans and canned soup." Unfortunately, a lot of canned goods contain chicken and beef broth, says David Alexander, director of operations for the Ontario Vegetarian Association.

Joseph canvasses grocery stores to donate fresh fruit and vegetables. "I've got green vegetables, too many to name. Potatoes, onions, soups, tofu. I've asked for cooking oil but so far no one has donated that because it's a little bit expensive. We've got spices in little packets."

"We're looking at tofu, tempeh, lentils, chickpeas, cottage cheese. Food that has lots of protein," says Smith, adding, "There's this concept that vegetarian food is cheap and that even a low-income person can afford it. Actually, fruits and vegetables can be expensive, and will increase as transportation and oil prices go up."

In April, a food bank in Golden, B.C., began a pilot project, stocking clients' food hampers with fresh fruits and vegetables, thanks to the generosity of a 90-year-old woman, Ruth Wixon, who bequeathed her house and garden to the city. Food bank volunteers tend to the garden twice a week; clients pick up food hampers on Wednesdays and are overjoyed to find the fresh produce, says Sister Jelaine Christensen, a food bank volunteer. It used to be some clients would look through their hamper, saying, "I can't eat that. I can't eat that." Now, she says, "people are excited!"

The food bank also receives donations from local residents who are participating in the nationwide Plant a Row · Grow a Row program. "People are planting vegetables in their gardens and planting a row for the food bank," explains Sister Christensen. "We just had someone call this morning. They had peas they wanted to bring over."

For those wondering what to do next with their vegetarian food bank groceries, a website called Broke-Ass Vegan provides recipes. Up this week: roast carrots with beer and Egg McVegans.

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