NEWS RELEASE
FOOD BANK OF YORK REGION
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The Food Bank of York Region (FBYR) is kicking off its 2nd annual spring food and fundraiser, the Plant Compassion Harvest Hope Campaign, alongside this year’s relaunch of Transformation Initiatives Sovereignty Garden’s Project.
FBYR hopes to bring awareness to the Sovereignty Gardens project, drawing in more participants, while simultaneously and successfully fundraising to meet FBYR’s annual budget.
In 2020, the FBYR collected over $7.2 million worth of food, with 53 per cent being donated fresh and frozen food products. Since COVID-19, the FBYR network has seen a 50 per cent increase in new applicants, with the FBYR’s COVID home delivery program seeing 73 per cent of their 5,000 applicants being first-time food bank users.
“More people than ever are experiencing hunger and food insecurity this year and are either not provided with enough food or with enough quality food options,” explains Alex Bilotta, founder and CEO of the Food Bank of York Region. “We want everyone to have the same access to the best nutritious foods that we can collect and distribute. We need monetary support to keep up with that demand. This is where we turn to our community and ask for food, time or money, because every little bit helps.”
Sovereignty Gardens reimagines the success of the Victory Gardens of the Second World War where homeowners were called on to grow fresh fruits and vegetables in their backyards and donate produce in a time of war. With COVID-19 still on our heels a year later, the seriousness of food insecurity during an unprecedented time is not lost on us as more and more residents face the impacts of the pandemic.
“The purpose of the program is to provide fresh produce to local food banks, supporting underserved communities in response to overwhelming economic hardship as a result of COVID-19,” explains Natasha Arsenijevich, program director. “Residents who cultivate their own gardens are encouraged to share their fresh fruit and vegetable surplus toward the program, so that we can contribute larger amounts of nutritious food options to the FBYR’s network.”
Plant Compassion Harvest Hope will run until April 9, with the Sovereignty Gardens project will last until harvest time, ending Oct. 16, 2021. Residents will be able to drop off their home-grown food from Monday to Friday, between the hours of 9 a.m. and 1 p.m. at the FBYR located at 8201 Keele St., units 5 and 6, in Vaughan.
The FBYR is asking for donations for the campaign to be made via cheque or online at www.fbyr.ca/donate/ and for more information on the Sovereignty Gardens project, to please visit https://www.facebook.com/SovGardens.
About Transformation Initiative:
The Transformation Initiative is a Canadian registered not-for-profit agency. Our goal is to serve as an industry catalyst to transform markets and the economy by bringing people together to collaboratively create sustainability solutions across Canada’s five core sectors: finance, insurance, energy, resources and agri-food.
The Food Bank of York Region:
The FBYR is the regional food hub network serving the nine municipalities of York Region (Vaughan, Richmond Hill, Markham, Whitchurch-Stouffville, Newmarket, Aurora, East Gwillimbury, Georgina, and King). We source, collect, warehouse, and deliver surplus fresh, frozen, and non-perishable food donations for the 80+ local front-line direct service agencies within our network, and provide a Covid Home Delivery Program for local residents in York Region. For more information about the FBYR, ways to get involved and to follow on social media, please visit www.fbyr.ca.
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