A devotion to helping others through community service and fund raising is an insurance industry standard. One insurer has done just that with a $10,000 donation to Ontario food banks.
“This very generous donation could not have come at a better moment,” says Bill Laidlaw, executive director of the Ontario Association of Food Banks. “Food bank use increases throughout the summer because children who rely on breakfast clubs and school-meal programs no longer have access to these services when school is not in session. Many families are experiencing increased living costs associated with summer childcare and the challenges of getting into these programs, so they often have no other choice but to access their community food banks throughout June, July, and August.”
The $10,000 donation from
Economical Insurance will be used to increase the amount of fresh, healthy food available to children and adults living with chronic hunger across Ontario, says Robert Gow, Economical’s vice-president of sales and distribution for Ontario. This includes providing a greater quantity of fresh protein, such as eggs, chicken and dairy, as well as more fresh fruit and vegetables.
“We are thrilled that our $10,000 donation will enable the OAFB to provide the equivalent of $80,000 worth of quality food to help Ontario families in need,” said Gow. “This is the result of the great relationships the OAFB has established with regional and national food producers and distributors that give them the purchasing power to buy large volumes of food to serve their 127 member food banks and hunger-relief programs across the province.”
According to Laidlaw, the donation has made “an incredible difference in our work this summer, and our continued work throughout the upcoming year.”
The OAFB is a network of 127 food banks and over 1,100 hunger relief programs and agencies across the province. Altogether, it serves 375,000 individuals, including 131,000 children, every month.
