Canada’s largest food rescue organization said it is “deeply disappointed and outraged” after a case of vandalism rendered seven of its trucks out of service over Thanksgiving weekend.
Second Harvest said suspects broke into its truck yard in Toronto and cut through the exhaust systems of seven food rescue trucks and allegedly stole the catalytic converters.
“The damage means we now have to replace both the catalytic converters and the damaged exhaust components, leaving seven trucks out of service,” Lori Nikkel, CEO of Second Harvest, said in an email.
The charity had been preparing for its previously advertised Thanksgiving Turkey Giveaway.
Nikkel told Global News there were two trucks out on the road Sunday, but come next week, they may need to look into getting rentals.
She said the estimated repairs total $80,000.
“These trucks are a lifeline for our community. Second Harvest delivers rescued food directly to more than 300 non-profit organizations across Toronto, helping them feed people who are struggling to put food on the table,” she said.
“With seven trucks off the road, those deliveries will be directly impacted at a time when the need for food support is already overwhelming.”
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Nikkel said she believes the suspects cut a hole through the fence to access the truck yard. That fence was installed after water was put into the tanks of the organization’s fleet on New Year’s Eve.
“We put up a fence so that we could deter that from happening again,” she said. “but this felt like a far more organized crime than that one.”
Toronto police confirmed to Global News it received a call Sunday regarding the incident and an investigation is ongoing.
Nikkel is asking the community to contact police if they have any information, or to consider donating to Second Harvest to help with the repairs.
“Our team is doing everything we can to restore our fleet and keep food moving to the communities that depend on us,” she said. “We won’t let this stop us.”
In Canada, Second Harvest and its partners rescued and redistributed more than 95 million pounds of food in 2025.
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