Getting Food to the People Who Need It

I wanted to take a second to tell you about a couple of upcoming Ottawa-based charities that focus on getting food to the people who need it.

The Ottawa Food Bank is hosting Capital Dishes – Dine Out for Hunger.

This is a fundraising campaign to raise awareness and money in an effort to fight community hunger in the Ottawa Region.  On Wednesday, October 24th, some of Ottawa's local restaurants will be donating 10% of their sales to the Ottawa Food Bank.  Here's the full list of participating restaurants.  You can participate by passing on the information about the event and/or by visiting one of the participating restaurants on Wednesday.

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I just received my annual letter from the Shepherds of Good Hope letting me know that it's time to start thinking about the Christmas Hamper Program.  This program entails purchasing a meal for a local family and bringing it to the family near Christmas time.

This will be our fifth year donating a hamper of food to a family in need. Even though this charity is connected to the Christian faith and the Christmas season (religious affiliations to which I am not connected), I am happy to participate. In fact, it's one of my favourite charities because you get to have direct contact with the person who is benefiting from your donation. 

Another great way to participate in the program is to get a group of people together to create a hamper.  For example, you can encourage your colleagues at work to donate money or non-perishable food items to include in a basket for a family.  

Here is some more information on what should be included in the hamper.  I wrote about one of my experiences participating here.  If you're interested in registering or getting more information, call the Christmas Hamper Program at 613-233-7007 from Monday to Friday between 9:30 am and 1:00 pm.