Food In Canada

Pusateri’s committing 15,000 meals to support local food banks

By Food in Canada   

Food In Canada Business Operations Pusateri's Fine Foods


July 6, 2020, Toronto, Ont. – Pusateri’s Fine Foods is calling on all food banks in Toronto to sign up for the Feeding our City initiative where more than 15,000 meals are now available to be donated to their respective organizations.

In April 2020, Pusateri’s Fine Foods launched Feeding Our Heroes, an initiative committed to donating meals to frontline healthcare workers during COVID-19. With an overwhelming response towards the initiative, Pusateri’s successfully donated 10,000 meals to essential workers.

“Pusateri’s reached out to our team at the beginning of COVID-19 to see how they could support frontline workers at our hospitals. Our staff were absolutely thrilled to receive such delicious food during the pandemic,” says Louise Aspin, senior vice president and chief development officer, Toronto General & Western Hospital Foundation, which supports University Health Network (UHN). “It’s been a very trying time for many of our team members at UHN, and to see the smiles these meals brought to their faces was so nice.”

Pusateri’s is now committing another 15,000 meals to support local food banks.
In a 2019 report from The Daily Bread Food Bank, it was noted that 49 per cent of GTA respondents reported they will go hungry for a day, at least once a month. During COVID-19, The Daily Bread Food Bank saw a 35-per-cent increase in food bank use in Toronto.

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“Thousands of individuals need emergency food support as many have lost their jobs because of this pandemic. Through Feeding our City, Pusateri’s will be able to deliver nearly 400 meals per day to food banks as they struggle to navigate growing food shortages,” said Frank Luchetta, president and CEO of Pusateri’s. “After years of working with a number of food banks, including Daily Bread Food Bank, we are acutely aware that the number of individuals who go hungry each day is staggering and COVID-19 has only exacerbated that fact.”

“Pusateri’s has always been a great partner to the Daily Bread Food Bank, providing food and financial contributions to help support our families,” said Neil Hetherington, CEO of Daily Bread Food Bank. “COVID-19 has created many more stark realities and we are grateful for organizations like Pusateri’s to help us make the greatest impact. We hope that every food bank in Toronto takes advantage of the initiative and fuels our ability to feed the community.”

There is no qualification to be eligible for Feeding Our City, except to be located in Toronto and be registered as a food bank or charity. Each meal donated will include a pre-packaged Pusateri’s meal with sides and a snack.

Food banks can submit themselves to the initiative or community members can submit on behalf of an organization. The link is now live and food banks will be supported on a first-come, first-serve basis until all 15,000 meals are delivered.

Interested food banks can click here and complete the registration form where they will then be contacted to confirm delivery details.


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