Seema David started cooking in a borrowed church kitchen in 2013, driven by daily encounters with homeless individuals near Union Station. She and an unemployed chef volunteer used family savings to feed the community, initially operating three days a week. The project, now known as 5N2, has grown from those humble beginnings into a structured food charity.
The early years were precarious. David, who moved from Dubai to Canada in 2007 with three children, faced financial strain and job insecurity. She walked to work to save money, watching people without food while her own family budget tightened. Permission to use her church kitchen was delayed six months due to safety concerns, forcing her to rely on a community service centre in Scarborough for a single day a week.
By 2015, the operation ran five days a week, but family funds ran dry in December. A $2,000 donation from the University of Toronto’s gospel choir provided a lifeline. Second Harvest began weekly food rescue deliveries in 2016, while Mama Earth Organics supplied fresh produce. This shift from personal savings to institutional support stabilized the kitchen.
In 2018, David rented a commercial kitchen behind her church for $2,000 a month, restoring the space with volunteer help. The organization moved into a custom-designed facility in November 2022, which includes two vertical farming units. By the end of 2023, the team harvested its first indoor crops—lettuce, herbs, and greens—using some for meals and selling the rest to local restaurants.
The charity now combines meal distribution with sustainable urban agriculture. David’s journey from a displaced immigrant to a social enterprise leader highlights the impact of community resilience. The next phase involves expanding the indoor farming capacity to reduce reliance on external produce costs.