Some of the Hamilton Tiger-Cats gave a helping hand on Wednesday, packing Thanksgiving food hampers at Tim Horton's Field.
The hampers are for food banks and shelters all across both Halton region and the city of Hamilton, to help families have a Thanksgiving meal this weekend.
Retired linebacker Simoni Lawrence, wide receiver Shemar Bridges, and defensive back Richard Leonard were hard at work, along with 70 or so other volunteers, preparing the hampers for families across the region.
"You see how expensive groceries are, you see how everything is nowadays," Lawrence told reporters.
The drive was put on by Sodexo Canada Ltd., a Burlington-based company that provides food services to Tim Horton's Field, through its Stop Hunger Foundation.
Volunteers from Sodexo, Sodexo's vendors and business partners, Hamilton's Good Shepherd, food waste company Second Harvest and the Hamilton Ti-Cats, helped pack 500 Thanksgiving hampers.
The hampers will be distributed Thursday to families in need, through 50 different food bank and shelter organizations in Hamilton and Halton Region.
Sodexo CEO Johanne Bélanger said the project was chosen by employees in the Stop Hunger Foundation.
"Every year we come up with a different volunteer and fundraising activity. This year, this was the idea that the employees came up," she said, adding that Sodexo's volunteer projects change location every year. This year, it chose Hamilton and Halton.
The company also partnered with Second Harvest, a food rescue charity that redistributes surplus food to food banks, shelters and other organizations in need. Daniel Collings, senior manager of Ontario operations with Second Harvest, said since he started with the company in 2018, he has seen a massive growth in need in Ontario.
"People are accessing meal programs more.It could be through a food bank, but it also it could be meal programs,after school programs" he said. "People are needing food more than ever
Lawrence said he appreciated the effort by the food service company, who "not only donate their money, but donate their time to pack the food and to get everything out to make sure people are having good Thanksgiving together."
Foundation raised $300,000 for hampers
The foundation was able to raise $300,000, Bélanger said, which was put toward filling the 500 hampers.
For two hours on Wednesday afternoon, the volunteers filled boxes, emptied pallets and organized food and hygiene products for the hampers.
Each hamper was filled with dried and canned food, fruit, vegetables, juice and snacks. Hampers also included personal hygiene products and baby products. Bélanger said Sodexo sent meat to the 50 organizations that are distributing the hampers, to add when they are given out.
The hampers will be distributed to the 50 organizations in the region by Hamilton's Good Shepherd.
Greg McCausland, the head chef at the Good Shepherd's downtown centre in Hamilton, said there are thousands of people and families in need in Hamilton.
"We're fortunate that there are a few other organizations that also try and help feed the hungry," he said, thanking Sodexo and all the volunteers that helped with the project.
