NEWS RELEASE
CITY OF GUELPH
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Guelph-Wellington’s Harve$t Impact fund will be matching one-to-one the first $90,000 in individual cash donations raised in support of The SEED’s Emergency Food Home Delivery program. This means that an individual $50 donation becomes $100 and will help The SEED feed more people – even faster. Donations can be made at harvestimpact.ca.
Harve$t Impact is a social financing program of 10C and a core pillar of the Our Food Future initiative. This collaboration with The SEED is part of Grow Back Better, Our Food Future’s 10-point recovery plan in response to COVID-19, and supports the City of Guelph’s overall economic and social recovery efforts.
COVID-19 has severely impacted many families’ ability to access and provide fresh food. In addition to this, many of the community supports that were able to provide food assistance in the past have also been negatively affected by the pandemic.
To support immediate needs, The SEED is working to quickly scale and deliver 100,000 nutritious food boxes between May and October to households that have been most deeply affected by COVID-19. Prior to COVID-19, over 20,000 people in Guelph and Wellington County couldn’t afford healthy food. That number is likely much higher now, and it’s time to help.
Collaboration is key
“The SEED has been working with an amazing roster of community partners to make this happen,” said Gavin Dandy, directing manager of The SEED. “We are grateful that people are championing this work. 10C and Harve$t Impact were instrumental in helping us expand the physical site by supporting with connections and logistics. Within hours of us identifying the need, Susan Frasson of Wood Development, Westminster Midtown Village generously provided a 30,000 square foot warehouse space at their Huron Street location that was instrumental to our expansion. The team at Linamar Transportation helped connect to Wabash Canada, GoRight, K&A Trucking, Trans 99 and Boucher & Jones Fuels who were quick to mobilize and support the immediate refrigeration needs.
These partners and more will be working to help provide the space, equipment and food needed, as well as help to connect with the individuals who are in need. The large warehouse space will allow us to operate safely and also share packing and distribution with other community partners.”
“The SEED’s goal is to make Guelph-Wellington the first community in Canada to eradicate food insecurity while a goal of Our Food Future is to increase our community’s access to affordable, nutritious food by 50 per cent by 2025. We are happy to assist in any way we can,” says Julia Grady, executive director of 10C and lead of Harve$t Impact. “As one of Guelph’s most enterprising not-for-profits, The SEED is leading the way. While immediate food access is the goal, we believe that facets of this work will be long-lasting. The SEED is well-positioned to expand its services and expand its social enterprises to tackle underlying issues. COVID-19 is throwing a magnifying glass on existing problems and the leaders like Gavin, Tom Armitage and the team at The SEED are rising to the challenge with solutions to increase access to affordable, nutritious food.”
Widespread community support is now needed to continue to expand this project and reach even more families in need of emergency food support. Funds raised will go towards:
- Sourcing of nutritious foods including fruits, vegetables, proteins, freshly made frozen meals and shelf-stable products;
- Packing and delivery of food boxes to hundreds of households each day by staff and volunteers;
- Redistribution of bulk foods to partner food service agencies such as Salvation Army, Hope House, Drop-In Centre, Chalmers Community Services Centre, North End Harvest Market, and others;
- Expanding The SEED’s fleet of delivery vehicles; and
- Increasing the ability to cook, store and distribute the thousands of frozen meals being prepared weekly by partners.
All donations over $20 will receive a charitable tax receipt from Guelph Community Health Centre. Donations can be made online and via cheque at harvestimpact.ca.
About Our Food Future
Inspired by the planet’s natural cycles, a circular food economy reorganizes and regenerates the systems that feed us, eliminating waste, sharing economic prosperity, and nourishing our communities. In Guelph-Wellington, we are working to build Canada’s first tech-enabled circular food economy that will achieve a 50% increase in access to affordable nutritious food, 50 new circular economy businesses and collaborations, and a 50% increase in circular economic revenue by recognizing the value of waste.
About Harve$t Impact
Harve$t Impact is a social finance project of Our Food Future, implemented by 10C Shared Space. 10C is a social impact organization that aims to strengthen community capacity to make positive social change in the Guelph community and beyond. 10C and its members are passionate about placemaking, community enterprise, social finance, food engagement and sustainable development as a whole.
About The SEED
The SEED is a not-for-profit food project at the Guelph Community Health Centre that was created in 2015 by a coalition of community organizations and individuals. The SEED delivers community programs and operates social enterprises that address the causes and effects of food insecurity. We are working towards a community with no barriers to healthy food.
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