donate firewood to heat bank

Having access to sufficient home heat & electricity is vital for maintaining health and is necessary to prevent homelessness.  

​We appreciate your support! Heat Bank receives hundreds of calls for assistance every year and each one is a unique, heart-breaking situation. Many people struggling with low income are living in homes that are older and are not properly insulated. Higher heating costs stretch budgets that are already pulled too thin.  Our aim is to help households both with emergency heat & hydro and also with longer-term solutions to reduce future crisis. 

We greatly value all in-kind donations! Our capacity to process donations of firewood, and other in-kind donations, shifts throughout the year. Contact our team today to speak further.

Thank you for your support!

donate online

To make a one time or monthly donation to Heat Bank using Credit Card or PayPal, please visit Canada Helps.

Thank you for your support!

Donate fireWood

Are you getting rid of your fireplace? Has Hydro been clearing on your property? Have you been developing your land? We gladly accept donations of hardwood.

There are 2 criteria that all firewood donations must meet:

  1. Located within 80 km of a Heat Bank Wood Depot/Home to Home Recipient: Firewood cannot be donated if it needs to be transported further than 80 km. This is critical for limiting the spread of forest pests, including the emerald ash borer. We will verify the distance that the firewood needs to be transported when you call in.
    ​
  2. Hardwood: Hardwoods are denser woods that burn hotter and longer than softwoods, essential for keeping families safe and warm.
Emergency Wood Depots
​
We have several wood depots throughout the County of Haliburton that need to be stocked each year to help households who find themselves in a heating crisis.

If you are unable to deliver the firewood to one of our wood depots, we can send a volunteer team. For our volunteers to safely transport the firewood, it must meet these additional criteria:

  1. Split Wood: Our volunteers are certainly superheroes, but they cannot safely stack or transport logs or blocked wood. Please note that our volunteers are unable to fell trees. Split wood should be a maximum of 16 inches long for safe handling.

  2. Accessible Pickup Location: To safely load the firewood, volunteers must be able to drive directly up to the firewood with a trailer. 

  3. Photo of Firewood: A photo will help us to verify that the wood is in an accessible location for pickup and fits the criteria for safe handling.
    ​

Home-to-Home Firewood Program

Our Home-to-Home Firewood Program links households in need of firewood with households who have viable firewood to donate. These donations need to meet all the same criteria as firewood being delivered by volunteers to our Emergency Wood Depots.

Whether you would like to donate wood to fill our Wood Depots or for the Home to Home program, please call (705) 306-0565 to arrange for an intake or to discuss donations.

DONATIONS OF other ITEMS

  • Energy conservation products such as weather-stripping and plastic window insulation rolls + kits
  • Hot water tank insulating blankets
  • Gas cards for people to get to appointments
  • Make & donate draft stoppers, such as using old socks or sewn fabrics filled with kitty litter or rice
  • Make & donate heating pads that can be microwaved (cotton fabrics filled with rice or feed corn)

faq: Tax receipts
Charitable tax receipts may be available for in-kind donations of products. Please contact us to discuss!

giving time

volunteering

Over 60 community members volunteer with CFN Annually. Join our volunteer team today to help with our food, heating and hydro programs.

Join the Board

Central Food Network relies on ​an incredible team of volunteers that governs as a Board of Directors. Learn more.

Current opportunities

​This page is updated monthly with any new opportunities that may suit you! 
Still have questions, concerns or comments about donating? Email us today! Thank you for your support.
Territorial Acknowledgement
​
Central Food Network’s work is carried out upon the traditional homelands, waterways and hunting ground of the Anishinaabeg, Métis and historically, the Huron-Wendat, under the Williams Treaties of 1923 and Treaty 20 of 1818. Central Food Network respects the sovereignty, lands, histories, languages, knowledge systems, and cultures of First Nations, Métis and Inuit nations. ​
Search our site:
General Contact:
Main Office: (705) 448-9711        [email protected]
Mailing Address:  PO Box 213, Wilberforce, Ontario  K0L 3C0
Follow Us:
Join Our Mailing List:
We are a proud member of Feed Ontario.
We are a proud member of Food Banks Canada.
©2025 Central Food Network
​All rights reserved. ​
Central Food Network Privacy Policy.
Link to PDF.
Central Food Network is a registered charity.  # 8019 02164 RR 0001
Website by Claire Neilson,
​with support from Aaron Berning