The Tim Hortons Holiday Smile Cookie Campaign raised $33,645.48 for Kawartha Food Share (KFS) in a cheque presentation at the latter’s facility on Tuesday morning.
The campaign ran from Nov. 13 to 19, when KFS was announced as the fundraiser recipient in early November.
“In the past, we have donated at Christmas to Kawartha Food Share,” said Erika Rowe-Gallagher, Tim Hortons owner and operator. “It becomes a little more special and a little more meaningful at Christmas when we think of family.”
The proceeds were split 50/50 between the Tim Hortons Foundation Camps for youth aged 12-16 with disadvantaged circumstances. The other half was for KFS to help them fill their food bank.
“Hopefully this will stretch us a couple months into the new year. We're busy right now filling up our Christmas orders and getting things out before the year's end,” said Ashlee Aitken, KFS general manager. “Come January, the need is just as high so this will help us ensure that we can purchase food items for that time of year as well.”
The money came in time to help meet KFS's increasing demand over the holiday season.
“In the last couple of years, we have our numbers have significantly risen,” said Aitken. “Pre-pandemic, we were feeding anywhere from 7,500 to 9,000 people a month. Now we're feeding close to 12,000 people a month at food banks. Sometimes that number increased as high as 15,000.”