Fruit and vegetable farmers throughout Ontario are serving to Canada’s largest meals rescue charity combat starvation.
Ontario Fruit and Vegetable Growers’ Association (OFVGA) members not too long ago donated $25,000 to Etobicoke-based Second Harvest, which redistributes nutritious however unsold meals by college packages, seniors’ centres, shelters, meals banks and regional meals hubs.
It’s the second consecutive 12 months the OFVGA has made a $25,000 donation.
Charles Stevens, OFVGA’s chairperson, mentioned in a press release that the affiliation representing 3,500 fruit and vegetable farmers appreciates the federal government help through the pandemic, and wished to provide again to assist individuals in want.
“There’s numerous hope that we’re nearing the top of the COVID-19 pandemic, however there is no such thing as a query it has been a really tough time for a lot of households over the previous two-plus years,” Stevens mentioned. “It has additionally been a difficult time for farmers, with public well being measures to regulate the unfold of the virus creating never-before-seen hurdles in meals manufacturing.”
Second Harvest offers its free meals redistribution service to charities, non-profits and Indigenous communities in each Canadian province and territory.
Because it started 35 years in the past, Second Harvest has rescued greater than 218 million kilos of wholesome meals, retaining it out of landfills and stopping an estimated 429 kilos of greenhouse gasoline from coming into the ambiance, the company mentioned.
Second Harvest’s mission is “No waste. No starvation,” Lori Nikkel, Second Harvest’s CEO, mentioned in a press release.
OFVGA help “will assist us transfer towards that objective, supporting an modern and environment friendly meals restoration community to scale back the environmental affect of avoidable meals waste, and getting meals onto the plates of hungry households.”
OFVGA made the donation at Second Harvest’s Etobicoke location.
“In instances of want, Ontarians know they will rely on one another for help,” Etobicoke Centre MPP Kinga Surma mentioned in a press release, citing the affiliation’s donation as a “nice instance.”
“It’s a welcome present supporting the essential work that Second Harvest doesn’t solely in Etobicoke, however throughout the province and the nation.”