Purolator, local food banks turn to community for help

By Fernando Arce, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, The Milton Reporter

Milton residents can expect to receive more than just packages from Purolator this weekend.

Red Bags will adorn their doorsteps — about 6,000 of them, to be a bit more precise.

It’s part of the second annual Purolator Tackle Hunger National Red Bag campaign, where Purolator, community and food bank volunteers drop off red bags that they ask to be filled with non-perishable food items to then be delivered to local food banks. This year, over 50,000 bags will be dropped off in 15 communities across the country.

Milton residents will receive their bags on Sept. 14 and are asked to kindly fill and leave them on their doorstep on Sept. 21 before 9:30 a.m. to be picked up by Purolator couriers. The items will go to Food for Life and The Salvation Army food banks.

“The Purolator Tackle Hunger National Red Bag campaign enables our team, customers, and Canadians to deliver meaningful support to the communities where they live and work,” said John Ferguson, president and CEO of Purolator. “As an employee-led initiative, we’re incredibly proud of our team members who have made the commitment to tackling food insecurity across Canada.”

Recent data from Feed Ontario shows over 1 million people in Ontario visited a food bank in the last year — a 25 per cent increase over 2022-2023. The organization also shared that food banks in the province were visited 7.6 million times over the course of the year, which is a 134 per cent increase from 2019-2020. This marks an all time high and the eighth consecutive year of growth, according to the organization.

Even more concerningly, according to a Food Banks Canada HungerCount report, “in March 2023, there were almost 2 million visits to food banks across Canada, representing a 32 per cent increase compared to March 2022, and a 78.5 per cent increase compared to March 2019, which is the highest year-over-year increase in usage ever reported.”

This makes the need greater than ever, says Kirstin Beardsley, Chief Executive Officer Food Banks Canada.

“At Food Banks Canada, our mission is to relieve hunger today and prevent hunger tomorrow because we believe that our neighbours, friends and family should not experience food insecurity. However, even in our affluent country, there were almost 2 million visits to food banks in one month alone,” she said.

Food for Life and The Salvation Army’s most needed items are:

Pasta and pasta sauces

Canned and frozen meats and fish

Meat alternatives (peanut butter, soy, packaged nuts)

Canned goods (beans, soups, stews)

Dairy (fresh, canned and powdered milk)

Canned vegetables and fruit

Rice and whole grain cereals

Baby food

Bathroom tissue

Personal hygiene products

Those who do not receive a red bag can donate at

https://www.khicommunity.com/community-involvement/financial-donation

https://foodforlife.ca/make-a-donation/