Ottawa’s generosity makes the 40th Annual OC Transpo/Loblaw Holiday Food Drive a success
Ottawa residents demonstrated their generosity by giving to the 40th Annual OC Transpo / Loblaw Holiday Food Drive held on Saturday, December 14. This is the largest annual, single-day grocery store food drive in Ottawa and has been supporting the Ottawa Food Bank since it began operating in 1984. The annual food drive raised almost 81,000 pounds of food and more than $25,500 for the Ottawa Food Bank and its network of 71 member agencies, and three other Ottawa region food banks. This year’s total is more than twice the weight of a 40 foot bus!
OC Transpo buses and volunteers were on site at several Loblaws, Real Canadian Superstore, Your Independent Grocer and No Frills locations in Ottawa to remind residents of the opportunity to donate. Residents donated food and made monetary donations at participating stores last Saturday. All the food items collected were delivered directly to the Ottawa Food Bank, Stittsville Food Bank, Barrhaven Food Cupboard, and the Kanata Food Cupboard.
“The challenge to put food on the table has increased significantly for many residents over the last few years,” said Mayor Mark Sutcliffe. “It is heartwarming to see Team Ottawa and City of Ottawa staff step up once again to support their neighbours in times of such great need. Thank you to all the volunteers and donors, and to OC Transpo and our partners at Loblaw Companies Limited and the Ottawa Food Bank who work hard each year to make this event a huge success.”
Quick facts:
The OC Transpo / Loblaw Annual Holiday Food Drive is Ottawa's largest annual single-day grocery store food drive.
Currently, one in four households in Ottawa struggle to afford enough to eat. That is a 15 per cent increase from 2022.
Annually, more than 556,000 visits are made to food programs across Ottawa – nearly a 90 per cent increase since 2019, and the highest level in the Ottawa Food Bank’s 40-year history.
To date, this food drive has raised over three million pounds of food and thousands of dollars for Ottawa's most vulnerable residents.
The Ottawa Food Bank distributes nearly 9.8 million pounds of food; 50 per cent is fresh and includes items like fruit and vegetables, meat, dairy, bread and eggs.
The Ottawa Food Bank works in partnership with a network of approximately 100 food programs that include community food banks, food cupboards, meal programs, multi-service programs, kids’ summer nutrition programs, and after–school snack programs.
Thirty-seven per cent of food bank clients in Ottawa are children.
The OC Transpo / Loblaw Annual Holiday Food Drive collects for four local food banks: the Ottawa Food Bank, the Stittsville Food Bank, the Richmond Food Bank and the Kanata Food Cupboard.