Tag Archive: children

  1. Scotiabank Marathon

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    This past Sunday, for the 8th year in a row, we took part in the Scotiabank Toronto Waterfront Marathon!  It was cold.  It was snowing.  But all participants were still in great spirits!

    Our goal was to raise $15,000 in order to provide 45,000 meals to our neighbours that are hungry.

    WE’RE ALMOST THERE! We’ve already exceeded $12,000!

    Even though the race is over, YOU can still be a part of the team!

    DON’T DELAY – Donations can only be made until the end of October so please DONATE NOW

    Thank you to all our participants for getting up to race with us at 8:00 in the morning on a chilly Sunday.  Your dedication will to help feed people in your community.  We’d also like to extend our gratitude to the donors and sponsors for your generosity!

    We were excited to be joined by many of our veteran teammates in person and spirit.  Including the Fun Runners team with Peter Zissis and Chris Hilborn, who have been running with NYH for 8 years!   We also had some new faces, including Executive Director Ryan Noble and Board Member Tony Cancelliere.

    Our incredible teams this year were:

    • Fun Runners with Peter Zissis & Chris Hilborn
    • The Accidental Roamers with Anoop Chawla & Anette Chawla and team
    • NYH team – Leslie, Ryan, Emma, Sophia, Tony Cancelliere & Harold Banguero and family
    • Kevin Munn and family

    And as always, our tradition at the race is the Treasurer of the Board (Kevin Munn) best represented our team by wearing a great costume!

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    What our team had to say:

    “Taking part in the charity walk was a lot of fun and a great feeling – there was a great sense of community among the participants that represented all walks of life” – Tony Cancelliere

    “I had my best time ever and also helped families.” – Accidental Roamers

    “It was a lot of fun to walk with all my friends at the Scotiabank Marathon and see the thousands of other people.  We also raised money for the food bank.” – AR

    “My kids and I were super excited for the event.  It was the best 5KM yet Thank you to family and friends for supporting the North York Harvest Food Bank!” – Leslie Venturino

    Please help us provide 45,000 meals to your neighbours in need by donating here.

  2. World Food Day

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    Today is World Food Day and we want to know what it means to you?

    Does it make you think about all of your favourite foods?

    How they taste or smell?

    How they are made?

    Where they come from?

    Or does it make you think about people who may not have enough food to eat?

    World Food Day was created to be a day of action against hunger across the world.  October 16th was declared World Food Day in 1945 by the United Nations in an effort to end hunger.

    Many people don’t think of their community when they think of hunger in the world.  It seems to be something that you only really see on television or in the news.  But the reality is that almost 1 million Canadians use a food bank every month.  13,000 of them happen to be your own neighbours.

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    Hunger and the need for help can happen to anyone.  Low wages, loss of a job, family tragedy, health issues, and many more reasons contribute to poverty in Toronto.  54% of the people that use our services have skipped meals in order to pay for other things such as utilities, rent, transportation or even so their own children can have a meal.  A parent never wants to make the choice between feeding their children and paying the rent.

    What can you do to help?

    There are many ways that you can get involved in your community and help put an end to hunger in your own backyard.

    Together we can make a real impact and help parents, grandparents and children overcome the struggle of not having anything to eat.

    Today is World Food Day, but let’s make every day the day that we lend a hand to those in need.

    “Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot, nothing is going to get better. It’s not.”
    – Dr. Seuss

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  3. Join the Fall Food Drive!

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    It’s Thanksgiving weekend!  I hope you are all looking forward to enjoying time and a nice meal with all of your families.

    As I think about the abundance of delicious food that will be set at my table, I also am confronted with a troubling thought.  Many families in our very own community will not have the luxury to sit down to a large dinner with their loved ones.  Many won’t even have enough food to fill their bellies.

    It’s a tough thing to think about.  Thanksgiving is the time of year when we celebrate and are thankful for what we have and the food at our table. But it’s hard for someone to be thankful when they don’t have enough food to eat.

    That is where YOU come in!  Because of the incredible support from caring people like you, many of our neighbours are able to access nutritious food to feed their families.

    As the weather gets colder and we get ready for Thanksgiving, the NYH Annual Fall Food Drive to raise $100,000 and 100,000 pounds of food to provide 300,000 meals for our neighbours in need is in full swing.  Your support will make an amazing difference in the lives of so many families in Toronto.  Just $1 can provide 3 meals. Your small act of kindness today will make a lot of parents and children nourished and happy.  Will you consider helping us reach this goal?

    What can you do?

    Get involved and run a Food & Fund Drive!  It’s so easy to sign up and put together a food drive with your family, coworkers, school, clubs or friends!  Check out this really fun list of ideas to get started.

    If you don’t have time to set up a food & fund drive yourself, donate online or make a food donation at local grocery stores and fire halls.  For a list of where you can donate groceries, please click here.

    Not sure what kind of items to donate?  Here’s a handy list of food items that are in high demand, especially around this time of year.

    The top 5 needed items are:

    • Baby Food
    • Canned fish
    • Canned chickpeas and other beans
    • Cooking oil (personal sized bottles)
    • Soup

    Click here to see what other items are needed most.

    If you are digging through your pantry to find items to donate, be sure that they are not expired.  Items that are past the best before date are accepted.  For more information on expiry and best before dates, check out our blog post.

    You can make a difference in the lives of 13,000 parents, children and grandparents that rely on food banks every month.  It is because of generous people like you that we can make hunger in Canada a thing of the past.

    Let’s make this Thanksgiving a holiday that everyone can be thankful for.

  4. Sending Kids To School Hungry Puts Them At Risk

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    When was the last time you got hangry? It might be funny word, but it’s a very real feeling and we’ve all been there. If you’re like me, when you get really hungry, everything else, whether its work, studying or friends, shifts to the back-burner and you turn into an irritable, unfocused and checked out person. Sounds awful right? Well, the good news for you and me, is that this probably doesn’t happen all that often. We usually have access to lots of healthy, filling foods that keep our energy up and moods happy throughout the day. But what if this wasn’t just an occasional feeling and your hunger interfered with your happiness and productivity on a daily basis?

    It probably won’t surprise you to hear that a child needs a good breakfast and lunch each day to stay engaged and focused in school. Studies have shown that students who go to school hungry lack effort and motivation in the classroom, have trouble interacting with their teachers and classmates, and often have poor academic performance. But what if I told you that every day in Canada, nearly 1 in 7 children will go to school hungry? It’s a startling statistic that has short term and long term implications for children in our communities.

    Not only is hunger robbing our children of a great learning and social experience, but it’s also hurting their chances of becoming engaged and productive community members, and seriously jeopardizing their future economic stability.

    We know that when kids eat a full, healthy breakfast they usually have better attendance, are more attentive in the classroom, and have fewer disciplinary problems. So why are so many children going without?

    Unfortunately, for many parents in our community struggling with poverty, going without food is often the solution to making ends meet. In a recent poll, 54% of North York Harvest clients said that they regularly skip meals in order to pay for things like rent, utilities, healthcare and transportation. Putting food on the family table might seem essential, but when you stack it against these other things, you can see how a good breakfast or a healthy lunch often doesn’t make it into the family budget.

    That’s why we need you to ensure that next month every child is starting the day with a good breakfast, and is heading to school with a healthy packed lunch.

    Right now, every $1 you donate to North York Harvest can provide 3 meals to a family in need. That means that a $20 donation could feed 2 children breakfast every day for a month, or a donation of $40 could help pack a school lunch for 3 children for 2 months.

    Your donation will not only provide good food for healthy meals, but will also help to build a community with more academically successful and actively engaged young citizens.

    Let’s send our children back to school with the food that they need to thrive!

    Please donate today.