Food banks are asking Montrealers looking to donate, to give cash instead of cans.
Cash donations allow organizations to purchase the type of food they need, giving them the buying power.
It also eliminates the inventory they would have to manage.
"The cost of a can of food that you think you paid a dollar for but actually in transportation costs and time and sorting it, costs up to five or six dollars once it gets to the food bank," said Fiona Crossling of Share The Warmth.
The Notre-Dame-de-Grâce Food Depot buys food it needs in bulk, a common practice for food banks. If they have more cash donated, then they can afford to buy more food.
Speaking with CTV Montreal, Daniel Rotman of NDG Food Depot said, "We say that for every dollar you give, we can buy three dollars-worth of food."
"Plus, it’s what we need. We don’t have to store it and we can give it out as soon as we need," he added.
Charities do still accept and appreciate non-perishable food items. They just say giving them the money will allow them to purchase more of the food they need at the time.
With files from CTV Montreal.