Friends of the Foodbank supporters and Ontario Pork raised nearly $35,000 so far this year
By Kate Ayers
Staff Writer
Farms.com
In partnership with Ontario Pork, Friends of the Foodbank has provided much needed food in communities across the province.
Friends of the Foodbank sponsors raised $17,350 and Ontario Pork matched that amount, bringing the grand total to $34,700 in funds so far this year, a recent Friends of the Foodbank release said.
The group’s volunteers used this money to purchase 12,611-kilograms of fresh Ontario pork. The amount is equal to 85,563 adult portions of protein or 171,146 child portions.
Friends of the Foodbank works closely with the Ontario Association of Food Banks. The association’s staff reported that protein is generally in short supply at local food bank locations, the release said. Friends of the Foodbank is working to close the protein gap.
“Protein is always lacking in food banks,” Steve Thomas of Elanco Animal Health Canada and program representative, said to Farms.com on Friday.
“We aim to provide a regular supply throughout the year via various farming sectors. The winter is always a tough time for donations as is the summer months when kids are off school.”
Each package of pork that volunteers deliver to food banks is labelled with the Ontario Pork logo, giving customers assurance that their food was produced locally.
This year, the organization donated pork to 71 food banks across the province, the release said.
The program’s volunteers are hoping to continue their momentum through the holiday season and exceed this year’s numbers in 2019.
“We are honestly just asking during the Christmas season to bolster funds and try and get as much pork out as we possibly can early in 2019 when food bank stocks are depleted,” Thomas said.
Friends of the Foodbank would like to thank this year’s sponsors:
- BSC Animal Nutrition
- Cargill
- Cargill (Purina)
- Dr. Cathy Templeton
- Elanco
- Exacon
- Genex Ontario
- Libro Credit Union
- Ontario Swine Improvement
- South West Veterinary Services
- Synergy Swine
- Trillium Mutual Insurance
- Van Nes Farms
- Wallenstein Feed & Supply Ltd.
Since the group was established in 2013, Friends of the Foodbank volunteers have distributed 91,396-kilograms of pork to local communities, the release said. In total, that amount is equal to 1.2-million children’s portion of protein.
If you are interested in learning more about or supporting Friends of the Foodbank, contact Steve Thomas at 519-301-6010.