Drive Away Hunger nearly doubles goal

Partners in Canada’s agriculture and food industry have once again rallied behind Drive Away Hunger, providing an equivalent of more than 36 million meals to food banks and feeding programs across the country.

Founded by Farm Credit Canada (FCC), the industry-wide initiative has been collecting food and cash for nutritious meals for the past 18 years. FCC contributed an equivalent of 2.6 million meals toward this year’s record-setting result, which almost doubled this year’s campaign goal of 20 million meals.

The results were announced Tuesday at the Future of Food conference in Ottawa, a gathering of industry stakeholders hosted by FCC to mark Canada’s Agriculture Day.

"Our agriculture and food industry not only makes a significant contribution to Canada’s economy, but also contributes to the well-being of those most in need within our communities,” said Michael Hoffort, FCC president and CEO.

To date, FCC employees, customers and community partners have provided over 121 million meals to food banks in Canada.

“The food and agriculture industry remains a critical partner for Food Banks Canada in our mission to relieve hunger in Canada,” said Kirstin Beardsley, CEO of Food Banks Canada. “The recent Drive Away Hunger results, raising more than 36 million meals, reinforces this industry’s unwavering commitment to help our neighbours who are facing food insecurity. We are so grateful for your support.”