Feed Scarborough, a prominent food bank in Toronto, is parting ways with the Daily Bread Food Bank network following accusations of financial mismanagement.
Daily Bread announced to CityNews that it has officially severed ties with Feed Scarborough due to concerns of financial and governance mismanagement. Specifically, Daily Bread cited discrepancies in Feed Scarborough’s invoices related to past expenditures as the reason for the split.
Allegations of mismanagement have been reported to the Toronto police, who have confirmed they are launching an investigation. However, no charges have been filed yet, and the claims are yet to be proven in court.
Neil Hetherington, CEO of Daily Bread, stated that they engaged external legal counsel to conduct a thorough financial investigation and have shared their findings with the appropriate authorities, including the Toronto Police Service.
Daily Bread serves as a key distribution center and support network for a vast array of 144 member agencies overseeing over 200 local food bank programs.
Feed Scarborough, a major recipient of food and grant funding from the Toronto charity, has been under scrutiny for alleged discrepancies in their invoices, potentially inflating the amount of grant money they received by tens of thousands of dollars.
Suman Roy, Founder and CEO of Feed Scarborough, affirmed to CityNews via email that upon discovering these accusations, their board promptly hired a third party to conduct a forensic audit. He assured that Feed Scarborough is fully cooperating with the police investigation and is confident that funds from Daily Bread were used for legitimate charitable purposes.
Moving forward, SOSO ministries will step in to provide continued support to clients of Feed Scarborough.