MONTREAL, - METRO Inc. is proud to have donated $50M worth of food in 2022, the equivalent of 4.5 M kilos of food or 9 million meals to food banks in Ontario and Quebec. In addition, METRO also made a financial contribution of $5.5M to various causes.
One More Bite is METRO's leading initiative to fight food waste by donating quality unsold products from participating stores in Ontario and Quebec to local food banks. From 2016 to 2022, through the Metro, Super C, Food Basics, Adonis and Marché Richelieu banners, it has recovered and redistributed from its distribution centres and stores more than 23 million kilograms of food, the equivalent of nearly 45 million meals.
"We are committed to contributing to the economic and social well-being of the communities in which we operate. In 2022, in addition to our financial support of $5.5M, we raised $6.8M thanks to the participation of our store and pharmacy networks, the commitment of our colleagues and the generosity of our customers in various campaigns. We would like to thank all of them for having contributed to raising these funds which are essential to our community partners," said Marie-Claude Bacon, Vice President, Public Affairs and Communications at METRO Inc.
Launch of the Healthy Together campaign
As a complement to its food recovery program, METRO launched its very first company-wide fundraising campaign, Healthy Together, in November and December of last year. The campaign raised an additional $2.2M to help fight food insecurity thanks to the generosity of customers who shop at Metro, Food Basics, Super C, Première Moisson, Adonis, Jean Coutu and Brunet. For the occasion, METRO Inc. donated an additional $550,000 to three long-time partners: Feed Ontario, Food Banks of Quebec and New Brunswick Food Depot Alimentaire, bringing the total amount of this inaugural initiative to $2.8M. For every $1 received, the food banks can provide three meals to someone in need.
According to Food Banks Canada's HungerCount, 1.5 M Canadians visited a food bank in March 2022 alone, an increase of 15% over March 2021 and 35% over March 2019.
Also in 2022, METRO Inc. donated a record $2.4M to the United Way and nearly $1.7M to the Canadian Red Cross Ukraine Humanitarian Crisis Relief Fund.
Source : Newswire.ca