Time and time again, we’ve seen communities in Ontario come together in times of emergency to help their neighbours. Feed Ontario saw this community spirit first-hand at the end of March, when a severe ice storm impacted areas throughout the province, prompting an emergency response.
We are proud to be a partner of Ontario Corps, a group of skilled professionals and volunteers that the provincial government can call to help communities affected by emergencies. When regions are hit hard, Feed Ontario supports the Province’s emergency response alongside other charitable organizations to provide emergency food shipments to those who need it.
The storm will have massive and lasting affects across Ontario, with damage caused by high winds, thunder storms, up to 80 millimetres of rain that in some areas turned to ice, and 30 centimetres of snow in others. This left many people in dire circumstances, some without power and water for up to a week. As we received requests for support from the Province, municipalities, and our members, we took action alongside our committed partners and local food banks.
Emergency food hampers to those in need
In response to the emergency, we distributed over 1,900 hampers of food to Gravenhurst, Bracebridge, Peterborough, Orillia, Minden, Lindsay, and Wilberforce with support from Food Banks Canada and Emergency Management Ontario.
14 pallets of food and 9 pallets of water were also provided with products from Feed Ontario members Daily Bread Food Bank and Food Banks Mississauga, and our generous partners Metro and Farm Boy. Farm Boy’s vendors K.M.T. Richmond, Redstone Food Group, and Nova Era Bakery also provided products for distribution. All of these organizations were eager to lend a hand to their neighbours in a time of need and to work together in a time of crisis.
Pallets of emergency food hampers distributed by Feed Ontario.
Efficient deliveries
The hampers and pallets were delivered by our committed transportation partners, Highlight Motor Group, Erb Transport, and Polaris Transport. Our partners in the transportation industry play an essential role in our emergency response efforts, acting quickly to get our food from warehouses into impacted communities.
As Eileen Warren, the General Manager of Logistics at Highlight Motor Group, said: “It’s critically important for Highlight Motor Group to support Feed Ontario’s Emergency Food Support Initiative. As a national transportation leader, Highlight Motor Group has the infrastructure, expertise, and network to move critical food supplies quickly and efficiently. Feed Ontario relies on partners like us to bridge the gap between surplus and scarcity — ensuring nutritious food reaches families in need without delay.”
Our members are there in times of need
As food hampers reached our member food banks, they also took action. In Orillia, Bracebridge, Peterborough, and Orangeville the local food bank became the designated leaders in their municipalities for food relief efforts, and they have all risen to the occasion. Throughout the week these food banks continued their own operations – sometimes by flashlight – checked in on their existing agencies, supported new pop-up shelters and warming centres, and worked around the clock to help those in impacted by the extreme weather event.
In times of need, we know that Ontarians will come together and do the right thing to make a difference in their community. Our work cannot be done alone – we rely on the generosity of individuals and businesses, as well as our partners in industry to ensure that food bank shelves stay stocked during a time when so many in Ontario are facing food insecurity.
To get involved, you can learn more about how Feed Ontario works with partners to move food through our network and into the homes of those who need it, consider supporting our work with a donation, or use our Find a Food Bank tool to get involved with the food bank in your community.