Local restaurants support nutrition
month campaign to feed hungry students.
March 8, 2023. Kingston, ON – For the month of March, a group of over 20 local restaurants and three hotels are encouraging their customers to consider making a donation to The Food Sharing Project, the local charity that provides nutritious food to school meal programs. Partner restaurants are placing Care 2 Share? donation cards on their tables or counters that include information about the need and a QR code to make a donation.
“The demand for food in schools has risen dramatically over the past few years,” says Andy Mills, Executive Director of The Food Sharing Project. “Along with increasing food prices, we will spend almost $200,000 more this year, to provide schools with the food they need for breakfast, lunch and snack programs.”
The Food Sharing Project sources healthy food, including fresh fruits and vegetables, that are delivered to schools at no cost. Volunteers pack 450 boxes, or 5 tons, of food every week that is delivered to all 88 schools in Kingston, Frontenac, and Lennox & Addington – a value that exceeds $25,000 each and every week of the school year. Schools use this food to provide healthy meals and snacks for any student who needs nutrition, no questions asked.
“School Coordinators are telling us that the kids are so hungry. There are so many families working hard to make ends meet and the skyrocketing prices at the grocery store are making that very challenging. We needed to come up with a fundraiser to make sure we are able to support students through to the end of the school year,” says Brenda Moore, Chair of the Board of The Food Sharing Project.
“Students will do better at school when they don’t have to worry about being hungry,” adds Moore, a retired Principal. “I’ve heard students say the food at school is the best food they have all day. A graduating student told us that he would’ve had to quit school and get a job to help his family, if it wasn’t for the healthy food at school for him and his siblings.”
The Food Sharing Project reached out to local restaurants to see if they would promote a fundraising campaign. As March is recognized as Nutrition Month across Canada, it made sense to align the restaurant-based campaign with the month of March.
“We are happy to help raise awareness and funds for The Food Sharing Project,” says Zoe Yanovsky, owner of Chez Piggy and Pan Chancho. “The tabletop cards give our customers a chance to learn about the need and make a donation at their discretion. It’s a great opportunity for the community to support kids across KFL&A.”
“Our food service and hospitality community in Kingston and area is so generous in so many ways,” adds Moore. “We didn’t want to ask owners or staff to take on a lot of work for this campaign. The tabletop cards are just there, and guests can read them and choose to scan the QR code to make a donation.”
The Care 2 Share? campaign launched March 8, and runs until the end of March, 2023, at the following restaurants (and other businesses):
- Aquaterra
- Atomica Kitchen & Cocktails
- Black Dog Tavern
- Bread and Butter Bakery
- Card’s Bakery
- Collective Joy Farm
- Copper Penny
- Chez Piggy
- Dianne’s Fish Shack and Smokehouse
- Diamond Hotels (Delta Hotel, Quality Inn & Conference Centre, Holiday Inn Express)
- Harper’s Burger Bar
- Hydrathletics
- Muddy Waters, Verona
- Pan Chancho Bakery & Café
- Paradiso Pizza, Division Street and Inverary
- Pasta Genova
- Red House
- Riverhead Brewing Company
- Skeleton Park Brewery
- Tango Nuevo
- The Elm Café
- The Greek Islands
- The Grocery Basket
- The Iron Duke on Wellington
- The Toucan
- Toast & Jam Café
- Whiskey & Rosé
“We are happy to add more restaurants to the list, so please reach out to us to support this much needed fundraiser,” adds Moore. The Food Sharing Project can be reached at 613-530-3514 or info@foodsharingproject.org.
To learn more about The Food Sharing Project, please visit: www.foodsharingproject.org
