Volunteers sorting Spring Drive food donations during Easter

WHAT:              Spring Drive Public Food Sort                

Almost six hundred volunteers on March 30 and April 1 will be sorting and packing food donations from the Spring Drive at Daily Bread Food Bank. On Saturday, March 30, Canadian Olympians will once again be volunteering their time to give back to the community.

The Spring Drive ends on April 6 with goals of 200,000 dollars and 100,000 pounds of food. The Spring Drive is $118,000 and 20,000 pounds of food raised as of March 25.

Note: Daily Bread is fully booked for public sorting. No volunteers are required.

WHEN:

Saturday, March 30

10 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. (with special guests, Canadian Olympians)
1:30 p.m. to 3:30 p.m.

Monday, April 1

10 a.m. to 12:00 p.m.
1:30 p.m. to 3:30 p.m.

WHERE:           Daily Bread Food Bank
                             191 New Toronto Street (Off Islington, north of Lakeshore)

GENERAL FOOD DRIVE INFORMATION

The fastest, easiest way to make a financial donation is online at www.dailybread.ca. You can also mail cheques to: Daily Bread Food Bank, 191 New Toronto Street, Toronto, ON  M8V 2E7. Non-perishable food donations can be dropped off at any local fire hall or participating grocery stores.

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For more information: 

Sarah Anderson
Senior Manager, Communications
T: 416-203-0050 ext. 238
C: 416-450-2196
E: sarah@dailybread.ca

Thank you to everyone who has donated to the Spring Drive so far! The Spring Drive started last week and runs until April 6. So far, your generous donations have helped raise $86,000 and 16,000 pounds of food. Our goals are $200,000 and 100,000 pounds of food to help stock our shelves and provide food to meal programs and food banks at shelters, community food centres and social service agencies across Toronto. Your financial donations will allow us to purchase healthy food such as yogurt, fresh vegetables and eggs and pay for the gas in the trucks to get food donations out to our 170 member agencies.

More than just a food bank, your support means that in addition to providing food for over 66,000 food bank visits a month, we can also:

• provide training opportunities for low-income people through our Food Services Training Program
• push the government for change in public policy that will reduce poverty (and in turn reduce hunger)
• educate youth about hunger and poverty issues in the community
• provide training for our member agencies in nutrition and cooking, safe food handling and support for food bank clients
• provide information and referral support for people on low incomes in areas such as housing, education, social assistance and employment
• prepare and distribute 14,000 meals a month through our onsite kitchen

Wondering where you can drop off your food donations during the Spring Drive? Wonder no more! Click here to find your closest fire hall or participating grocery store. Most needed food donations include:

• Baby food and formula
• Canned fruits
• Canned vegetables
• Rice
• Pasta
• Tomato Sauce
• Soups and stews
• Canned tuna and meat
• Peanut butter
• Canned or dried beans and lentils
• Powdered milk, or tetra pak cartons of milk
• Your family’s favourite, nutritious non-perishable food!

You can also help us reach our goal of $200,000 by April 6 by making a financial donation online. Click here to donate now!

Daily Bread’s Spring Drive has three weeks to raise $200,000 and 100,000 pounds of donated food to make sure we can fill the fridge, and the cupboards, with nutritious food for those families in need.

Across Toronto, people are struggling with the effect that poverty has on their lives and those of their children. Hunger can have a devastating impact on people who find themselves struggling to put a roof over their heads and nutritious food on the table. It eats away at not only your self-esteem, but your health – both physical and mental.

“Daily Bread distributes food through a network of 170 community agencies. These agencies provide meals and food but also often provide an invaluable support system, with programs aimed to help people get back on their feet,” said Gail Nyberg, Daily Bread’s executive director. “A good meal is the foundation for a person to get through the day, and works towards a better tomorrow.”

The fastest, easiest way to make a financial donation is online at www.dailybread.ca. You can also donate by phone with a credit card by calling 416-203-0050 from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. on weekdays. Financial donations allow Daily Bread to buy perishable food such as eggs, yogurt, milk and fresh vegetables, as well as purchase any food where there is a shortfall in donations.

Non-perishable food donations can be dropped off at any local fire hall or a participating grocery store. Most needed food donations include baby food and formula, pasta, rice, canned tuna and meat, peanut butter, tomato sauce, canned or dried beans/lentils, canned vegetables and fruit as well as powdered or tetra pak cartons of milk or your family’s favourite nutritious, non-perishable food.

Daily Bread’s Spring Drive to fill the cupboard begins this week

WHAT: Spring Drive               

Daily Bread’s Spring Drive to fill the cupboard and fill the fridge, begins this week and runs until April 6.

Gail Nyberg, Daily Bread’s executive director, will join high school students participating in our March Break educational program to announce the drive goals and kick off the Spring Drive at Daily Bread’s warehouse.

WHEN: Thursday, March 14, 2013

10 a.m. to 11 a.m. High school students will be sorting and packing food.
10:30 a.m. Gail Nyberg will announce Spring Drive goals and speak to the students about hunger.

WHERE: Daily Bread Food Bank at 191 New Toronto Street (Off Islington, north of Lakeshore)

GENERAL FOOD DRIVE INFORMATION

The fastest, easiest way to make a financial donation is online at www.dailybread.ca. You can also donate by phone with a credit card by calling 416-203-0050 weekdays from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

Non-perishable food donations can be dropped off at any local fire hall or a participating grocery store. Most needed food donations include baby food and formula, pasta, rice, canned tuna and meat, peanut butter, tomato sauce, canned or dried beans/lentils, canned vegetables and fruit as well as powdered or tetra pak cartons of milk.

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For more information: 

Sarah Anderson
Senior Manager, Communications
T: 416-203-0050 ext. 238
C: 416-450-2196
E: sarah@dailybread.ca

Daily Bread Food Bank launches its Spring Drive this week! We are looking for volunteers who can help by handing out food drive donation bags at participating grocery stores this weekend and the next. This is a great opportunity to support your community and help raise awareness about hunger! The food donations raised will also help those families in need who turn to Daily Bread for support. You can involve your friends and family to join you for a great cause.

Date options:

• Saturday March 16, 2013
• Sunday March 17, 2013
• Saturday March 23, 2013
• Sunday March 24, 2013

Shifts:

• 10: 00 a.m. – 12:30 p.m.
• 1:00 p.m. – 3:30 p.m.
• 4:00 p.m. – 6:30 p.m.

Loblaw’s Locations:

• 396 St. Clair Ave West, Toronto M5P 3N3
• 650 Dupont St., Toronto M6G 4B1
• 380 The East Mall, Etobicoke, M9B 6L5
• 2280 Dundas St. West, Toronto, M6R 1X3

If you are interested please send an email to Dayana Gomez, Development Coordinator at dayana@dailybread.ca with the following information:

• Date available
• Shift preference
• Location preference

Thank you for making a difference this spring!

P.s.  Please inform us if you require a letter for high school graduation when booking your shift. No other letters can be provided for this volunteer activity.

Thank you to everyone who donated! Our donors stepped up to help us meet a higher goal than previous years with an impressive 90% of our financial target ($270K) and 120,000 pounds of food.  Still not enough to stock our shelves for the entire summer, so we will be asking our supporters to join us for Hunger Awareness Week (May 7-11) and events like the Ultimate Food Challenge on May 2^nd to help make sure healthy, nutritious food is getting out to those who need it most. Poverty and hunger are problems that affect families 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year so we need your help to fight hunger all year long.

The Spring Drive is now at 100,000 pounds of food and $236,000 raised. You can donate online by clicking here, or drop off nutritious, non-perishable food donations at any local fire hall. Most needed food items include canned or dried beans and lentils, pasta, tomato sauce, rice, canned fruits and vegetables, baby formula and food and peanut butter.

After a very busy weekend full of people generously giving up their time to sort food donations at Daily Bread, we are now at $207,000 and 93,000 lbs of food. We’re still aiming to reach those goals of $300,000 and 300,000 lbs of food by April 13. Donate online now or drop off non-perishable, nutritious food donations to any local fire hall in Toronto.

Help fill our shelves! Please donate to our Spring Drive, which ends on April 13. You can drop off nutritious, non-perishable food donations to any local fire hall. You can also donate online right now by clicking here.

We’re hoping to raise $300,000 and 300,000 pounds of healthy food to distribute to community food centres, food banks, meal programs and homeless shelters across Toronto. So far, we’ve only raised $158,000 and 69,000 pounds of food. Most needed food items include canned vegetables and fruit, powdered milk, canned tuna and meat, pasta, tomato sauce, rice, canned and dried beans as well as baby food and formula. A donation of $25 means we can provide an emergency food hamper to someone struggling with hunger.