The Mississauga Food Bank’s 2021 Spring Food Drive, sponsored by Scotts Canada, exceeded their financial goal and raised over $237,000 and brought in over 133,000 pounds of food to fight hunger in Mississauga.
“A big thank you to our entire community for showing up and participating in this year’s Spring Food Drive. We are grateful for your continued generosity to help end hunger in Mississauga and make sure no children, seniors, families, and neighbours go hungry, especially during these turbulent times. The demand for emergency food in our community continues to rise, and the economic impact of the pandemic will be felt for years to come. It is paramount that we continue to raise funds and food to ensure no one in Mississauga goes hungry,” says Meghan Nicholls, CEO.
As this year’s sponsor, Scotts Canada generously financially supported the campaign and provided growing kits to campaign supporters and food bank users to be able to grow their own vegetables from home. “There is so much work to be done to address food insecurity, and we are proud to have been able to partner with The Mississauga Food Bank and contribute to their Spring Food Drive alongside the community,” says Nick DiIorio, VP and General Manager at Scotts Canada.
Since the onset of the pandemic, The Mississauga Food Bank has provided emergency food for over 30,000 people – that’s a 60% increase year over year – through our network of over 50 agencies. More than 10,000 of those are children, and over 8,000 are first time food bank users. Thanks to the support and generosity from the community, food for almost 5,000,000 meals has already been distributed.
A new initiative for this year’s campaign, our Can You Find It? Scavenger Hunt, was introduced to provide families with a safe and engaging activity. We invited participants to download our scavenger hunt riddles, clues, and most needed food and items lists off our website, and hold the hunt in the safety of their home. Once the items were gathered, families decorated their donation boxes and dropped them off at our Spring Contactless Drive-Thru Food Drive.
Click here to watch a thank you video from Meghan!
For more information on The Mississauga Food Bank, please visit www.themississaugafoodbank.org.
Top left: Staff member from The Mississauga Food Bank holding a decorated donation box while standing by a car.
Top right: Decorated donation boxes full of food.
Bottom left: Staff member from The Mississauga Food Bank holding a decorated donation box at the entrance to the food bank.
Bottom right: Volunteer removing a donation of diapers from a donor’s car trunk.
