The first Food Bank in the Colchester area started when the Community Support Centre began giving out food from the basement of St. Georges Anglican Church on Pictou Rd., Bible Hill, in September, 1985. At this same time a good used clothing bank was opened in Tatamagouche. In October, 1986, the Food Bank moved to the basement of Brunswick Street United Church and registered with the Registry of Joint Stocks as the Colchester Food Bank Association. Out growing the church basement, the Food Bank moved its location to The Butler Centre at 76 Lorne Street in 1992. The building was owned by the Town of Truro and was leased to the Colchester Food Bank for one dollar a year. In November, 2012 the Food Bank changed its legal name to Colchester Community Support Society and operates under the name of the Colchester Food Bank. The Food Bank moved to a temporary location on Forrester Street while a new building was constructed and moved to 580 Prince Street in January, 2019.

The Food Bank began with serving about 86 households per month in the 1980’s, which was considered to be substantial, and now serves about 1200 clients a month in 2023. The Food Bank continues to see a growth in the number of new clients accessing services.

The Colchester Food Bank was completely run by volunteers until April 27^th, 1987, when it obtained a hiring grant to hire 3 individuals: a Project Director, a Nutritionist, and a General Worker for eight months. Later in 1987 there was one employee hired, a full-time Counsellor, who one year later became the Coordinator. In the 1990’s an Assistant Coordinator was hired. In 2012 the positions at the Colchester Food bank became Coordinator and Executive Director. A part time Food Program Facilitator was hired in April, 2022.  In June, 2022, a new Client Services Coordinator was hired followed by a new Executive Director in October, 2022. The Food Bank complements the volunteers and staff by hiring term positions of Summer Students when possible.

Recognizing the need to promote more dignity, autonomy and the right to choose, the Colchester Food Bank shifted to providing more choice in food product being served from the warehouse. In June, 2023, a new Client Choice Market opened where clients can select items in a grocery store format.

At the same time the Organization rebranded with the updating of the website, logo and promotional materials to show its commitment to serving the diverse and inclusive culture of its community.

In March of 2024, the Organization became a Collaborative Food Network with the Department of Community Services and changed their operating name to Colchester Food Network.  Becoming a Collaborative Food Network allowed the organization to focus on more food literacy education, a community teaching garden and collaborate with more community partners to address the root causes of food insecurity.