BURLINGTON, ON – Chicken Farmers of Ontario (CFO) is supporting Hunger Action Month as a Leadership Sponsor of the Ontario campaign with Feed Ontario. This $5,000 sponsorship is in addition to the ongoing donations from chicken farmers of healthy, safe, locally-grown chicken to Ontario food banks, year round.
This year alone, 550 chicken farm families are donating through the CFO Cares: Farmers to Food Banks program – providing a total of nearly 1 million chicken meals already this year. The CFO Cares: Farmers to Food Banks program makes it possible for chicken farmers to donate 300 chickens in support of local food banks.
“The CFO Cares: Farmers to Food Banks program is one way that Ontario chicken farmers are giving back to our communities, supporting our neighbours, and taking action to end hunger in our province,” said Murray Opsteen, 1st Vice-Chair of Chicken Farmers of Ontario, and Chair of the CFO Cares Working Group. “Today’s $5000 sponsorship will support Feed Ontario and local food banks and is in addition to the nearly 1 million meals of healthy, safe, locally-grown chicken donated by chicken farmers already this year.”
September is Hunger Action Month. This annual event helps provide education, advocacy, and raises funds to tackle food insecurity in our communities. Once again, CFO is pleased to partner with Feed Ontario to support ending hunger in Ontario.
“We are so grateful for Chicken Farmers of Ontario's ongoing commitment to help Feed Ontario," says Carolyn Stewart, Executive Director of Feed Ontario. "In addition to their year-round support of Ontario's food banks through donations of fresh chicken, Chicken Farmers of Ontario is our first and longest returning sponsor of Hunger Action Month, helping continue to raise awareness of, and take action against, hunger in our communities.”
In March, on behalf of farmer-members, CFO provided $25,000 to Feed Ontario to help aid in their COVID-19 Emergency Response program, which provided pre-packaged emergency food boxes to food banks across the province. The contribution supported Feed Ontario providing 17,500 meals and snacks to 225,000 people.
“The COVID-19 pandemic has challenged how we interact and do business, but Ontario chicken farmers want consumers to know that it is still ‘Chicken As Usual’ when it comes to providing healthy, safe, locally-grown chicken for the public and food banks,” said Ed Benjamins, Chair of Chicken Farmers of Ontario. “We know that the pandemic has increased pressure on local food banks, and Ontario chicken farmers are proud to partner with Feed Ontario to provide people in need with locally-grown chicken.”
“Participating in Hunger Action Month is an important part of our year-round commitment to bringing greater awareness to address food insecurity in Ontario,” said Rob Dougans, President & CEO of Chicken Farmers of Ontario. “As we continue to expand the reach of our social impact mission and vision, we are very pleased to build on our partnership with Feed Ontario and support food banks in local communities across the province.”
Source : CFO