To help ease the stress of food insecurity during the holiday season, members of our community came together and made the 38th annual OC Transpo/Loblaw Christmas Food Drive a success.
The Ottawa Food Bank has served more people in 2022 than any other time in its 38-year history. To help ease the stress of food insecurity during the holiday season, members of our community came together and made the 38th annual OC Transpo/Loblaw Christmas Food Drive a success. A total of 61,775 pounds of food and $15,397 was collected for the Ottawa Food Bank. These donations will help keep their shelves stocked for the upcoming holiday season.
The food drive was held on Saturday, December 3, with OC Transpo buses parked onsite at participating Loblaws, Real Canadian Superstore, Your Independent Grocer and No Frills locations in Ottawa. All the food items collected were delivered directly to the Ottawa Food Bank, FAMSAC Food Cupboard, Stittsville Food Bank, and the Kanata Food Cupboard.
City employees also contributed to the total amount collected by generously donating through an internal virtual campaign, which ran from November 14 to December 2.
Every day, the Ottawa Food Bank’s Michael Street warehouse distributes 14 tons of food. This helps provide their network of over 100 member agencies with the food and supplies needed to help tens of thousands of people each month.
The OC Transpo/Loblaw Christmas Food Drive is a joint effort between OC Transpo, the City of Ottawa, local Loblaw banner stores, and the Ottawa Food Bank.
Quotes
“This has been yet another challenging year for many members of our community, but once again residents and City of Ottawa staff showed up to help make the holidays a bit brighter for those in need. I would like to extend a sincere thank you to all the food drive volunteers and donors, and to OC Transpo and our partners at Loblaw Companies Limited and the Ottawa Food Bank who work hard each year to make this event a huge success.”
Mayor Mark Sutcliffe, City of Ottawa
“OC Transpo is so proud to host one of the largest food drives in the city that has been running every year since the Ottawa Food Bank first opened its doors. It’s important to support the community you serve, and we are so grateful to our volunteers and donors who have helped make this event a success year after year.”
Renee Amilcar, General Manager, Transit Services Department, City of Ottawa
“2022 has been another challenging year that has brought great uncertainty to many while food insecurity continues to soar. The Loblaw family of stores takes great pride in hosting the annual OC Transpo/Loblaw Food Drive, which is the largest annual single-day grocery store food drive in the nation's capital and helps keep people fed in our city. It is a privilege to take part in such a great community event with our partners at the Ottawa Food Bank and OC Transpo. Of course, we want to thank all the volunteers that come out to make this event happen and certainly, our most giving community which rallies behind this event every year.”
Jeff Brierley, Store Manager, Brierly’s Independent Grocer
“The Ottawa Food Bank and its network of 112 community and emergency food programs are seeing growing numbers of individuals and families who are facing hard choices. The impacts of inflation coupled with the rising cost of food, fuel, and housing have led to a food insecurity crisis in Ottawa. We are grateful for the support of OC Transpo and Loblaw Companies Limited for their annual Christmas Food Drive. It is thanks to the generosity of our donors, volunteers, and food industry partners that together, we can ensure healthy and nutritious food is available to those in need right through the winter months.”
Rachael Wilson, CEO, Ottawa Food Bank
Quick Facts:
- The OC Transpo/Loblaw Christmas Food Drive is Ottawa's largest annual single-day grocery store food drive.
- To date, this food drive has raised over three million pounds of food and thousands of dollars for Ottawa's most vulnerable residents.
- OC Transpo is proud to have been associated with the Ottawa Food Bank since its first year of existence. OC Transpo's first food drive was in 1984, the same year the Ottawa Food Bank was founded. It is the longest running food drive in Ottawa.
- In a normal year, the Ottawa Food Bank's Michael Street warehouse distributes 14 tons of food every day. This provides over 100 member agencies with supplies to feed our neighbours in need, one-third of whom are children.
- The food drive collects for four local food banks: the Ottawa Food Bank, FAMSAC Food Cupboard located in Nepean, the Stittsville Food Bank and the Kanata Food Cupboard.
About Ottawa Food Bank
The Ottawa Food Bank is the main emergency food provider in the National Capital Region. For more information regarding the Ottawa Food Bank and how you can help provide healthy, accessible, sustainable food for all, please visit www.ottawafoodbank.ca.