On Dec. 2, The Original Six Line Pub hosted a fundraiser that raised $12,290 for the Fareshare Food Bank in just five hours. President of Fareshare Food Bank Stephen Rowe says it's "the largest donation we have had from this type of drive this year."
Fareshare Food Bank on Speers Road saw exceptionally high demand in 2023. However, they're grateful to have had such tremendous support from the community through food and monetary donations.
Rowe says, "If you take $10,000 to the supermarket and look at what that gets you in product, because of our suppliers, we could probably get $12,000 - $14,000 worth of product, so the money donations have been very good to us and we're able to then purchase the stuff that we actually need."
The Fareshare Food Bank has a "needed items" tab on its website that can guide donors when making decisions about contributions.
The stress on food banks in Canada is something on every donor's mind. Every holiday season, people think about what they want to donate to and who needs it most, and in 2023, we saw many local charity initiatives focused on supporting food banks.
This was especially true for Bob Pattison, a friend of the owners of The Original Six Line Pub, Mato Peric and Heather McEwen. "We were sitting around one day after hearing all the hype on the radio and such and feeling for the people who are suffering at the food banks," Pattison said.
Peric and McEwen wanted to do something for a community-based charity this year to give back after overcoming the challenges that bars and restaurants had faced since the pandemic. Pattison had been donating to the Fareshare Food Bank for the last six years and suggested it could be a great way to get the community involved in an important local cause.
"Fareshare, to me, was the underdog," Pattison said. "It's the smaller food bank with no paid employees, and I knew the need was there."
Peric and McEwen appointed Pattison to coordinate the event, which turned out much different than anticipated.
"Our target was $10,000," Pattison said. "We thought that might be a stretch, but we had some very generous people there and made that $12,290 in five hours with only 70 people at the event."
The pub featured a live band with a minimum donation of $10 for those just looking to watch the band and $20 to watch the band and get a ticket for door prizes. "We raised a fair bit at the door because people were generous and threw down $20 anyway or even $50," Pattison said.
The night featured a silent auction, raffles, 50/50 draws, and five major items on a live auction, which led to the most interesting purchase of the night. "A friend of ours suggested that, since it's for the food banks, 'why don't we try auctioning off a can of peas?' so we had a bidding war and got $250 for a can of peas."
Other items included Toronto Maple Leaf tickets, Toronto Raptors tickets, signed jerseys, wine baskets, and a photo of Tiger Woods when he won the Masters with the next day's newspaper.
Pattison says that the live auction likely generated the most money, coupled with the donations at the door and everything in between; it's no surprise that this sum was hit so quickly.
Reflecting on the event, owner Mato Peric said, "It's a great atmosphere when you see people giving money for something that needs to be helped." Peric, Pattison, and Rowe expressed gratitude for all those who came out and supported the cause. Rowe especially has felt Oakville's compassion this holiday season, but he knows that hard times are just around the corner.