Hamilton's trans food bank is a place to get essentials — where 'their identity is welcome,’ says organizer

The Neighbour to Neighbour Centre’s trans and non-binary grocery program, which offers free food and household products to community members once a month, began with a simple question: how do we get free menstrual products to trans people without being awkward?

That grew into a program that now feeds about 40 trans and non-binary people once a month, but also gives them other household items, gender-affirming clothing, and a chance to be among other gender-diverse people without feeling singled out.

It’s become a space for a marginalized people to build community and mutual support, says Autumn Getty, who helps organize the program through her job as a community development worker and 2SLGBTQ+ client advocate at Compass Community Health.

“There's some people who have told me that they feel a lot better,” she said, noting some participants have gotten to know each other and carried those relationships into the rest of their lives. “The benefits to mental health are huge.”

Tucked on a side street on the central Hamilton Mountain, the N2N centre is a bustling hub that provides food and other services to a diverse population. But on the last Friday of the month, from 1 to 3 p.m., its welcoming basement is reserved for transgender or non-binary people, who are also able to shop for their families.

It has become an essential service for many in a population that lives with more food insecurity, challenges accessing services and lower incomes than the population as a whole, says Getty.  Many of the program’s clients don’t go to other city food banks, even though individuals are typically allowed one visit per food bank a month, she adds. 

“They might feel uncomfortable because they might get stared at, have a negative comment or something like that,” said Getty, who is trans and has advised on Hamilton’s transgender protocol as well as being a past member of the city’s LGBTQ+ Advisory Committee. She said this relates to a mental health concept called “minority stress,” where people feel singled out because they are part of a minority group, and can develop chronic stress as a result.

“I have had folks say that this is their only source of food,” Getty said. “We don't hand out enough for an entire month. They've expressed quite a lot of gratitude for us having [the program] so that they could come to it. It's kind of been a lifeline for them.”

People can self-refer to the food program but must bring identification. Anyone thinking of attending in December should confirm the date in advance, Getty notes, because organizers often shift the late December service to early January.

Back in 2022, the City of Hamilton was running a pilot project giving out free menstrual products to agencies who could help distribute them to people in need.

The N2N Centre was part of the program, but wanted advice on how to offer such products to gender-diverse people without singling them out publicly as being trans or making them feel uncomfortable. 

“Are we doing it in a gender inclusive way? Are we being respectful of folks?” wondered Laura Ryan, the centre’s manager of family services. 

"A lot of trans men still need to use menstrual products,” said Getty.  “We were going to have a conversation about how to do that in a humane way.” 

In addition to giving advice, Getty asked if a trans-specific food bank program could be possible at N2N – noting a gap in what was available in the community – and the program was born.