Fall Food Drive
The 2009 Fall Food Drive was another success! With a goal of raising 150,000 lbs of food, we were pleased to raise 122,657 lbs.
The Fall Food Drive is our largest annual volunteer effort to source food to feed our neighbours in need. From companies organizing internal food drives, individuals dropping off non-perishables at their local fire hall or grocery store, and religious groups having a barrel in their foyer, many people in the city of Mississauga came together to ensure their neighbours don’t go hungry.
The Fall Food Drive is also a great volunteer opportunity! For 3 days on Thanksgiving weekend and 2 days the following weekend, 75 volunteers came to The Mississauga Food Bank to help sort all of the food donations.
Thanks to everyone who made this year’s Fall Food Drive another great success!
Client Story
The sudden, unexpected loss of income can be more devastating than years of living on the edge. Everything was going right for Monique after years of discipline and hard work. The 29-year old mother of 4 had gone to school and worked a series of jobs to ensure she could support her children. The future looked bright when she landed a full-time position as a regional manager for a large jewellery retailer.
When the recession hit, Monique’s American-owned employer was soon looking for ways to cut costs and she was laid off. Living on employment insurance benefits is a stretch for any family, but Monique’s pressures were compounded by her kind gesture of taking in a friend and her 4 children so they could escape domestic abuse.
When practical realities overtook her pride, Monique found herself at the door of The Mississauga Food Bank. Her nervousness and embarrassment immediately evaporated when she discovered a waiting room full of people just like herself. “Everyone knows the cliché, ‘it can happen to anyone’,” she says, “but you never think that ‘anyone’ is going to be yourself.”
The Thanksgiving bag of food Monique received was a delightful contrast to the canned vegetables and soup she had expected. “It was wonderful to receive a turkey and fresh vegetables,” she says, “and I thoroughly enjoyed the pumpkin pie which I had never tried before.”
The unfortunate circumstances that brought Monique to the food bank turned out to be a stroke of good fortune after her case worker guided her to a subsidized training program. She is completing the fist year of a two-year program to become a dental hygienist. “In a strange way, getting laid off was a blessing,” she says. “The hours for dental hygienists are better than retail, it pays more and dental hygienists are allowed to have their own practice. It means I’ll have more time to spend with my kids.” She is still grateful to be able to access the food bank once a month, but the ever-ambitious Monique is keeping her gaze solidly on the exciting career that lies ahead.
All in the Numbers
- 17% of Mississauga residents live in poverty
- 12,000 client visits each month
- 100 tons – amount of food The Mississauga Food Bank distributes each month
- 35% of our clients that have at least a post secondary education
- $4.63 – average amount per day our clients have for vital expenses such as food and utilities after paying rent
- 26,000 volunteer hours served at The Mississauga Food Bank each year
- 30 – the number of Mississauga agencies who receive food from The Mississauga Food Bank each month
Featured Program – Transportation
The Mississauga Food Bank operates a variety of programs as a part of our mandate to positively impact the lives of those who are hungry by effectively sourcing, managing and distributing food. One of these programs is our transportation program.
Each month, we source, warehouse and distribute food to over 12,000 clients, valued at over $6M per year. Food is sourced through corporate and individual donations, sponsorships, and through collaboration with the Ontario Association of Food Banks. The food is then picked up and transported to The Mississauga Food Bank, where is it inventoried, sorted and stored, before it is delivered to clients and member agencies within the community.
We distribute food to over 30 Agencies across Mississauga, including food banks, breakfast clubs, women’s shelters, meal programs, and addiction recovery centres.
Support of our transportation program allows us to meet our mandate to impact the lives of those who are hungry by effectively sourcing and distributing food to the community in our truck.
The transportation program includes the following activities:
• Vehicle Costs -Servicing, maintaining, insuring and licensing our 24′ refrigerated delivery truck
• Fuel – Over $10,000 a year to keep our truck picking up and delivering food
• Receiving Area – upgrades to our warehouse receiving area
• Driver – A full-time staff person to serve as the face of The Mississauga Food Bank as he interacts with both food donors and recipient agencies
The total cost associated with the transportation program for 12 months is $63,244.
For more information on how to financially support the transportation program, please contact Meghan Nicholls, Director, Marketing & Fund Development at 905.270.5589 x226 or meghan@themississaugafoodbank.org.
Fight Hunger and Feed Hope this Holiday Season
For every $1 donated to The Mississauga Food Bank, we are able to collect, clean, sort and distribute $10 of food into the community.
To get a great return on your investment by feeding your hungry neighbours this holiday season, we invite you to consider a financial donation to The Mississauga Food Bank. You can give online by clicking on the donate section of the website.
How Far Can Your Donation Go?
• $5 per month ($60/year) provides one adult with nutritional food for 10 days each month for a full year.
• $20 per month ($240/year) provides a family of 4 with nutritional food for 10 days each month for a full year.
• $30 per month ($360/year) covers the cost of collecting, cleaning, sorting, and distributing 1 tonne (2,000 pounds) of donated food to the hungry in our community.
• $60 per month ($720/year) provides 30 days of fuel for The Mississauga Food Bank truck to deliver food to over 30 agencies throughout Mississauga.
Website Facelift
Our website has recently undergone a facelift! It still contains all the important information you need about The Mississauga Food Bank, but with a new, fresh look! Thanks for checking it out! And while you’re here, why not follow us on Twitter (www.twitter.com/food_bank) or become a fan on Facebook (www.facebook.com/themississaugafoodbank)?
E-Newsletter
This newsletter was released via e-mail and as a print version. Both versions contain all of the same information, but the online one allows the reader to link directly to our website from the newsletter. It also saves us the costs of printing and postage.
If you would prefer to receive this quarterly publication via email, please let us know! Just email info@themississaugafoodbank.org with your name and email address, and we’ll add you to our list. If you can think of anyone else who might be interested, please send us their email address too!
We take the privacy of our donors and friends very seriously, so rest assured that we won’t share your information with anyone else.
Upcoming Events
Food for Thought
first Wednesday of each month, from 6:00-7:00pm
Each month, The Mississauga Food Bank holds ‘Food for Thought’. This is a 1 hour information session and facility tour designed to introduce people from the community to The Mississauga Food Bank. This is an excellent way to gain insight into the impact The Mississauga Food Bank has in your community and is definitely an hour well spent!
4th Annual Gala
Thursday, April 8, 2010
The Gala is always a fantastic night of food, music and our amazing silent auction – you don’t want to miss it! Tickets are available for $250 each or $2500 for a table of 10. Contact us at info@themississaugafoodbank.org for more information.
Epicure Monthly Giving Club
The Mississauga Food Bank has recently launched our monthly donor program called the Epicure Monthly Giving Club. Giving monthly is convenient and affordable; it saves you time, postage, and bank fees. It also allows The Mississauga Food Bank to have a consistent source of income throughout the year. Would you consider joining the Epicure Monthly Giving Club? Members will receive exclusive benefits!
It’s simple to join; you can fill out a form online and give monthly with your credit card!
Visit the ‘Donate’ section of www.themississaugafoodbank.org for more information or contact Meghan Nicholls at 905.270.5589 x226.
Meet Our Staff
Our staff team!
Name: Steve Dutton
Title: Driver
Staff since: 1998
Interesting Fact: Steve is into drag racing.
Name: Stephen Edwards
Title: Assistant Warehouse Operator
Staff since: Summers since 2004, Full-time since 2009
Interesting Fact: Has an MA in Forensic Document Analysis
Name: Chris Hatch
Title: Executive Director
Staff since: September 2008
Interesting Fact: Once sat in the president’s chair in the Oval Office
Name: Meghan Nicholls
Title: Director, Marketing and Fund Development
Staff since: August 2009
Interesting Fact: My husband Alex and I shot a film in Rwanda in 2008.
Name: Khush Patel
Title: Client Intake Worker
Staff since: 2008
Interesting Fact: Won a contest as a child to be a Pamper’s Baby
Name: Doreen Peterson
Title: Warehouse Reclamation Operator
Staff since: Volunteer since 2001, Staff since 2008
Interesting Fact: Doreen REALLY loves coca-cola.
Name: Dawn Pullar
Title: Director of Operations
Staff since: Volunteer since 1992, staff since 1998
Interesting Fact: Dawn is an avid winemaker
Name: Stephen Pullar
Title: Warehouse Operator
Staff since: 2002
Interesting Fact: Stephen was born in Chiswick, England.
