In response to rising food and living costs and the increased use of food banks during the holiday season, last week we asked you, our loyal readers, to help us support the Guelph Food Bank with an online food drive.
The holidays can be a particularly stressful time for all of us, but especially for those in need. The added strain on our local food bank means it needs extra support from caring community members to ensure that no one in our city goes without.
With this in mind, GuelphToday embarked on a campaign to raise much-needed funds for our local food bank.
The GuelphToday Cares: Food Drive campaign was simple. We secured food packages donated by Food Basics on Eramosa Rd. and asked our readers to purchase the bags at $25 apiece through our online pop-up store, with the cash and the food to be donated to the Guelph Food Bank.
GuelphToday would then match the $25 purchase price to double the donation.
But that’s not all.
We were able to leverage the power of our community to make the donations even bigger by asking our local business partners to match our donation.
ArtMed Medi Spa, Auto Clinic Guelph, Anthony Homes, Bigelow Flooring Inc., Bisson Dentistry, Dietrich Law Office, JL’s Home Hardware Building Centre, Keller Williams Home Group, Kirtida Kitchen, NV Kitchen & Bar, Original Home Furniture, Parada Dentures, Peter A. McSherry Law Office, Right At Home Canada, Switzer-CARTY Transportation and Wise Crescent Inc. all answered the call.
With their support and yours, for each food package purchased in our pop-up store, every dollar was matched 17 times with all proceeds going directly to the Guelph Food Bank.
In Guelph, the generosity of our readers and advertisers was translated into a donation of $7,325 for the food bank, plus the food itself.
Thank you for helping us to strengthen our community and make the holiday season a bit brighter here in Guelph.