Yesterday I had the pleasure of visiting the Mississauga Food Bank to present a cheque on behalf of the Rotary Club of Mississauga Meadowvale that will go toward purchasing hams for those in need over the holiday season. For a number of years, the Rotary Club of Mississauga Meadowvale has partnered with the Mississauga Food Bank to provide meals for residents who otherwise can’t afford it.
During the visit, I had a chance to see inside the main distribution warehouse, and all the food that has been donated. I noticed dozens of volunteers working hard to get the food sorted and loaded onto pallets for distribution to over 50 local distribution partners in the Mississauga area.
Volunteers working on sorting newly received donations
If you have never had a chance to visit, what you will realize is that the Mississauga Food bank is a sophisticated operation. On top of sorting non perishable goods, the food bank raises money to purchase essential perishable foods such as meat and dairy products. They have a large freezer and refrigeration unit to store the food safely until it can be delivered to their clients.
In terms of impacting the community, on the wall I found some sobering statistics about hunger in Mississauga, but also the positive impact made by all the volunteers. What stuck out to me is that the food bank provided close to 1 Million meals so far this year. If you combine this with other organizations such as the Eden Food Bank, you can see that hunger is a real issue, even in an affluent society such as Mississauga.
Statistics about the performance of the Mississauga Food bank
Rotary and the Mississauga Food Bank
The Rotary Club of Mississauga Meadowvale has supported the Mississauga Food Bank for a number of years now, not only providing meals during the holiday season but supporting the Food Bank with other initiatives such as raising money to buy milk, among other things. For our picture we were holding hams, however the important thing is that families receive high a quality protein in their meals. The Food Bank also distributes turkey and other meats to people who don’t eat pork.
To raise money for local charities such as the Mississauga Food Bank, members of the Rotary Club of Mississauga-Meadowvale volunteer their time at the Rama Bingo facility in Meadowvale.
Aside from local projects, The Rotary Club of Meadowvale also raises money from other sources to fight Polio, and contribute to other international charity projects. Interested in Rotary? You can learn more about our club here or feel free to visit us, we have lunch every Friday at the Old Barber House in Streetsville. Also feel free to contact me if you would like to learn more.
