Programs and Services

Free drop-in meals served weekly at Downtown Eastside Neighbourhood House (573 East Hastings Street). Please contact cdi@dtesnhouse.ca for more information.

Monday (Closed all Statuary Holidays)
Oatmeal 10:00 am

Wednesday
Oatmeal 10:00 am
Hot Lunch 12:30 pm

UWBC School’s Out Programs

Various programming for school-age children. Please contact kidskitchen@dtesnhouse.ca to register your child.

Kids Tutoring
Mondays 3:00 - 6:00 pm (Closed all Statuary Holidays)

Drawing & Painting with Arts Umbrella
Wednesdays 3:30 - 5:00 pm

Kids Kitchen
Fridays 3:00 – 6:00 pm

Group of six diverse people in a kitchen, some smiling, one wearing a face mask, with a counter, kitchen sink, and colorful posters in the background.

FAMILY DROP-IN PROGRAM

Free drop-in meal and activities for caregivers and their children. Please contact fdi@dtesnhouse.ca for more information.

Family Drop-in
Tuesdays & Thursdays 3:00 - 6:00 pm

Early Years Drop-in
Fridays 9:00 - 11:30 am.

People participating in a yoga or exercise class in a studio, practicing downward dog poses on yoga mats.

Community Wellness

Monday
1:30 - 2:30 pm

Saturday
3:30 - 4:00 pm

Person handing a banana to another person near a yellow basket filled with bananas on the street.

Nutritional Outreach

Smoothie Tuesday and Banana Beat Wednesday on every cheque week of the month. Please contact ops@dtesnhouse.ca for more information.

Smoothie Tuesday
Various Pop-up Locations

Banana Beat Wednesday
8:00 - 9:00 am, various routes long E. Hastings, Oppenheimer Park, etc.

Illustration of a community space with people, plants, and a bicycle, promoting a renovation capital campaign for 2025-2026.

Storefront with a sign that says 'Downtown Eastside Neighbourhood,' a red-leafed tree in a painted container with a swan in a wetland scene, and large windows revealing a brightly lit interior.

The Downtown Eastside Neighbourhood House's mandate is to provide programming and educational, leadership, social, and recreational opportunities to residents of Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside.
To provide a dignified welcoming space that creates and supports an improved quality of life for the DTES community.
The secular, grassroots Downtown Eastside Neighbourhood House (DTES NH) aims to provide meaningful opportunities for our neighbours to engage with and contribute to their community in an equitable atmosphere of sharing and learning.
We welcome people of all ancestries, genders, ages, and orientations. Our programming honours and is inspired by the cultural diversity of the DTES and respects the fact that most of our neighbours are coping with significant socioeconomic and/or physical limitations in their daily lives.
Given the wide-reaching effects of nutritional vulnerability in our community, the founders of the DTES NH put the Right to Food at the heart of our work. We believe that everyone deserves access to food that enhances both their physical and mental wellbeing. Through our food-centered programming, we aspire to reform the nutritional impact, quality, abundance, and delivery of food in the DTES community.

Download a digital copy

WE’RE LOOKING FOR BOARD DIRECTORS!

A smiling woman with black hair in a blue top standing outdoors with greenery in the background.

Close-up of a smiling woman with curly black hair wearing glasses, hoop earrings, layered necklaces, and a white top with colorful stripes, in an indoor setting.

A man with curly dark hair, glasses, and a beard, wearing a dark green sweater, sitting indoors with a neutral expression.

Are you passionate about equity, food justice, and community-driven leadership? Come join our working board at the Downtown Eastside Neighbourhood House!

Every year, we welcome nearly 9,000 residents into our programs—centered on nourishment, connection, and community wellness. Now, we’re inviting new directors to help guide our mission and uplift our work.

What we’re looking for? If you bring experience in:

Legal (non-profit/charity)
HR
Fundraising
Accounting (CPA)
Project Management or other leadership fields
Commit to a 2-year term, approximately 5 hours/month

Apply by June 30, 2025 to be considered for election at our September AGM.

Name

First Name

Last Name

Subject

Message

Send your resume + short cover letter to Benita Ho (Board Chair)

💛 Join us and make a difference.

Group portrait of nine diverse adults, some in formal business attire, posing in an office setting, with the words 'Board of Directors' in yellow text above them.

We’re proud to launch the Downtown Eastside Neighbourhood House Community Cookbook 2024!

Rooted in the stories, resilience, and creativity of our vibrant community, this cookbook is more than just a collection of recipes—it’s a celebration of food as culture, care, and connection.

With dishes contributed by neighbours, program participants, and volunteers, the Community Cookbook offers over 60 recipes from across the globe: Afghan dumplings, Nigerian fried rice, Persian adas polo, Bunny Chow, Sindhi vegetable curry, Jamaican curry goat, silken tofu mousse, and many more. Each page reflects the cultural richness of the Downtown Eastside and the ways in which food brings us together.

From community kitchens to family celebrations, these recipes hold memory and meaning. Some are comfort meals made in times of need. Others are celebratory dishes passed down through generations. Many were created or reimagined within our programming, where folks gather weekly to cook, share, and nourish one another.

This project was made possible through our long-standing collaboration with UBC’s Urban Ethnographic Field School. Their students worked alongside community members to gather stories and document the creative process—from interviews and photography to artwork and design. It was a true community effort from start to finish.

Whether you’re looking for hearty meals, quick snacks, or a taste of global home cooking, this book offers something for everyone. We hope it inspires you to cook with intention, share meals with care, and celebrate the power of food in your own life.

✨ Because at DTES Neighbourhood House✨ nutritious food is for everyone

📍 Come by the House to pick up your copy or reach out for digital access.

A cook preparing fresh vegetables including red onions, cilantro, and dill on a kitchen counter, with a cookbook titled 'Downtown Eastside Neighbourhood House Community Cookbook' above the image.

Download the digital version

Black and white illustration of five women preparing food together in a kitchen, with the text 'Nutritious food is for everyone!' underneath.

Learn more 🍌

Smoothie Season Has Officially Started!

Join us every Tuesday from 12:30 PM to 1:30 PM outside our doors for fresh, seasonal fruit smoothies — with milk or dairy-free!

This delicious initiative is part of our Nutritional Outreach Program (yes, it’s Banana Beat’s healthy cousin!) and will run all summer long.

Come cool down, fuel up, and connect with your neighbours — one smoothie at a time!

Woman smiling as she blends a chocolate smoothie in a blender at a store or cafe, with a bright window and yellow crates in the background.

Two people standing outside the Eastside Neighborhood House, a community center, with a man waving and a woman smiling, in front of a table with cups of juice, under a sign that says 'Tasty Smoothies Tuesday'.

Yellow shopping cart with a black sign attached, advertising Banana Beat, a weekly event on Wednesdays. The sign features yellow banana illustrations and contains keywords like Downtown, Eastside, Neighbourhood, and House. There is also a yellow starburst with a banana graphic and a phone number.

Learn more 🍌

Our Nutritional Outreach (NO) programs: Banana Beat and the Mobile Smoothie Project are two initiatives that aim to provide essential nutrients on the days that low-income residents of the Downtown Eastside are least likely to have access to nutrition.

Learn more ->