Summer Food Drive Ends With 8,000 Pounds of Donated Goods

Peterborough County showed its generosity as over 8,000 pounds of food was donated to Kawartha Food Share (KFS) in a summer campaign announced Tuesday.

(left to right) Murray Jones, Ashlee Aitken and Dave Smith at Kawartha Food Share. KFS distributes 150,000-200,000 pounds of food in a month which feeds over 9,000 individuals. Photo by David Tuan Bui.

The drive began in early June where Peterborough-Kawartha MPP Dave Smith toured around participating grocery stores around the county. Roughly $5,000 in cash donations was given as part of the drive.

Smith was accompanied by KFS general manager Ashlee Aitken and warden of Peterborough County, J. Murray Jones to make the announcement of the food drive’s conclusion at the KFS warehouse.

Over the summer, food drives were held twice at Morello’s Your Independent Grocer, John’s Valu-mart Lakefield Giant Tiger, Buckhorn Foodland and Havelock Foodland.

“This is our second food drive since the COVID-19 pandemic began,” said Smith. “I am always shocked at the generosity of the people in our community, having raised over 8,000 pounds of food for our communities and $5,000 in cash donations.”

“The food drive truly reaches those who need a helping hand,” said Jones.

These drives supported the local food banks in Lakefield, Havelock-Belmont-Methuen, Curve Lake First Nation, Buckhorn, North Kawartha, and the Lovesick Lake Native Women’s Association.

“This initiative has raised over 3000 pounds of food for our local North Kawartha Food Bank which is incredible,” said Carolyn Amyotte, North Kawartha mayor. “Having lost our only grocery store to fire last December, Dave’s efforts to re-stock community food banks like ours is humbling and very much appreciated.”

Local Man Andrew Parnell Is On a Mission To End Nation Wide Hunger With Panda Feeds Canada

Peterborough local, Andrew Parnell, has his sights set on ending nation wide hunger - and he is going to do it on Instagram.

Photo courtesy of Panda Feeds Canada.

In early March of 2021 Parnell started the Instagram page PandaFeedsCanada.

The name comes from the nickname ‘Panda Parnell’ given to him in elementary school.

The goal is to gain enough followers to have the ability to present advertisements and sponsorships via the social media platform. Once he is able to do so 100 percent of revenue generated on Instagram will be donated to food shares across the country, he says.

Before he started on this journey a close friend of his passed away and he was laid off from his construction job for the winter.

“I just decided ‘you know what, I need to do something more productive with my time,” Parnell said. “ I figured this was the best way I could possibly make an impact of my community, follow in my parents footsteps and be a hardworking volunteer.”

Parnells parents, Don and Lesley Parnell, spend much of their time volunteering around the community. Lesley represents the Otonabee Ward on City Council and plays a major role in the Festival of Lights. She is a recipient of a Peterborough Volunteer of the Year Award.

Don is a recent inductee into the Peterborough Pathway of Fame having played a major role in the staging of the annual Victoria Day fireworks presentation over Little Lake and serving as a full-time member of the Pedal For Hope support team.

Amanda Shaw from Real Canadian Superstore, Ashlee Aitkins from Kawartha Foodshare and Andrew Parnell from Panda Feeds Canada. Parnell often stands outside of grocery stores accepting monetary and food donations for Kawartha Food Share. Pictures is Aitkins accepting a $1000 donation to Kawartha Food Share on June 10, 2021. Photo courtesy of Panda Feeds Canada.

“Most donations to this point have been my close friends and family really wanting to help out and launch the name Panda Feeds Canada,” said Parnell.

Panda Feeds Canada does not currently accept donations, but Parnell directs those interested in donating to Kawartha Food Share and will celebrate the donor on his Instagram page.

“If a small business wants to make a donation to the Food Share, I can do a little write up and post their business on my page,” he said. “I’m starting small but I’d love to get some bigger companies on board when I gain more followers.”

Panda Feeds Canada also hosts giveaways and raffles on Instagram with any monetary proceeds going directly to the Kawartha Foodshare.

In June Parnell hosted the first annual Panda Feeds Canada Golf Tournament at Keystone Links Golf and Country Club and donated $6100 to Kawartha Food Share.

Parnell presents the Kawartha Food Share with $6100 raised at the first annual Panda Feeds Canada Golf Tournament. Photo courtesy of Panda Feeds Canada.

“I’d love for people to put some energy into this, and encourage their friends to follow us on Instagram,” said Parnell.

While Parnell’s main goal right now is building his following on Instagram to help launch his idea, he hopes if anything he is able to inspire others to pursue their own aspirations.

“Try and make a difference. You might put some hard hours into it but you’ll feel good about what you’ve done, even if you only make a minor change and help one person it’s worth it,” said Parnell. “There’s too much negativity in this world right now so any kindness and compassion that we can put out into the universe is only going to help everyone in the long run.”

To donate to Kawatha Food Share click here. To be featured on Panada Feeds Canada send a screenshot of your donation via direct message.

Engage with us on social media on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook. Write to us at tips@ptbocanada.com. Sign up for PTBOBuzz newsletter here.

Kawartha Food Share Receives $5,000 For Reliable Emergency Food Sources

The Peterborough and the Kawarthas Association of REALTORS (PKAR) has donated $5,000 to Kawartha Food Share (KFS) for reliable access to emergency food sources Monday morning.

Ashlee Aitken (left), Kawartha Food Share General Manager and Jon Maxwell (right), PKAR President at the Kawartha Food Share facility with the cheque presentation of $5,000 towards reliable emergency food sources. Photo by David Tuan Bui.

The donation will help to fight food insecurity in the community through the KFS programs that help to feed over 8,900 men, women and children each month.

Jon Maxwell, PKAR President brought the $5,000 cheque to Ashlee Aitken, KFS general manager at their facility at Neal Drive.

Aitken says food donations typically diminish over the summer since people typically associate giving with the holidays. KFS receiving this money comes as a nice and welcomed surprise.

“(The money) will all go towards food purchasing,” she said. “This week, we’ll get that money spent and get it to the food banks.”

The $5,000 donation gives KFS $30,000 of purchasing power according to Aitken. Food purchased includes tuna, pasta sauce, canned soup and canned vegetables.

The money spent on food will go towards four meal programs, four City food banks, six housing projects, seven county food banks and over 20 food cupboards across the City & County of Peterborough. Last year their warehouse distributed over $5 million worth of food and emergency care needs.

“As an association, we love to give back to the community that we’re part of”, said Maxwell. “There are so many families struggling to make ends meet. It’s just a great feeling to give back and be part of the solution.”

KFS’s first truck was purchased with the help of a PKAR donation over seven years ago.

Engage with us on social media on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook. Write to us at tips@ptbocanada.com. Sign up for PTBOBuzz newsletter here.

Peterborough's Generosity Fuels Food Drive By Kawartha Food Share

The bins were filling up with donated goods as Kawartha Food Share (KFS) held its month-long county-wide food drive at Morello’s Independent Grocer on Friday.

Customers were quickly filling up the donation bins at Morello’s Independent Grocer at Willowcreek Plaza. Photo by David Tuan Bui.

The food drive will restock food banks across the county that saw higher demand for food during the pandemic according to Ashlee Aitken, KFS general manager.

The event is one of five stops that will take place during the month of June in five different cities in Peterborough County. All proceeds donated at Morello’s will be donated to the Apsley food bank which lost Sayer’s Foods last December to a fire.

The other food drives will take place in Bridgenorth, Buckhorn, Havelock and Lakefield every Saturday of the month. All items donated will be circulated in their town’s respective food banks.

Each food drive is being from from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. Photo by David Tuan Bui.

Peterborough-Kawartha MPP Dave Smith and a few volunteers were present to collect food and cash donations and give away free items such as reusable bags and water bottles.

“We’ve had a number of people who’ve come and said they changed their day just so they can come out and make a donation to Kawartha Food Share today,” said Smith. “It’s fabulous to see the generosity in our community. So many people looking out for their neighbours, it’s just wonderful.”

Peterborough-Kawartha MPP Dave Smith helped Kawartha Food Share last November in their “Winter is Coming Food Drive” which raised almost $40,000 in cash and food donations. Photo by David Tuan Bui

Morello’s donated $500 to the campaign according to one of Smith’s volunteers. The grocery store had prepackaged food bank bags available for purchase for either $10 or $20.

Several bins were already full of donated goods by the first half-hour of the food drive according to Smith.

Food Bank Bags were piled at the store’s entrance to be purchased and donated to Kawartha Food Share. Photo by David Tuan Bui.

KFS distributes 150,000-200,000 pounds of food in a month which feeds over 9,000 individuals.

Engage with us on social media on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook. Write to us at tips@ptbocanada.com. Sign up for PTBOBuzz newsletter here.

Month-Long Food Drive Announced for Peterborough County

Kawartha Food Share will host a county-wide food drive during June to support local food banks was announced in a Zoom meeting media release on Tuesday morning.

Kawartha Food Share’s “Porch Pirates for Good” food drive held on April 9 and 10 received more than 50,000 pounds of food for both days. This broke the previous record of 26,000 pounds. File Photo.

The campaign is meant to restock the food banks across the county by partnering with local grocery stores.

Peterborough-Kawartha MPP Dave Smith will take part in the food drive and helped the “Winter is Coming Food Drive” in November last year. The campaign raised almost $40,000 worth of cash and food donations.

 “Every opportunity to support our townships is an opportunity that can’t be passed up,” said Smith. “COVID-19 has placed tremendous stress on the support system in our rural communities; these food banks support many families and it is critical these supports remain strong.”

He noted that grocery stores in Peterborough, Havelock, Bridgenorth Buckhorn and Lakefield are participating in the drive.

Kawartha Food Share typically distributes 150,000-200,000 pounds of food in a month which feeds over 9,000 individuals. File Photo.

The first and special drive will be held at Morello’s Your Independent Grocers on Friday from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. The cause is to support the Apsley foodbank, who has lost its community’s only grocery store in a fire in December 2020.

“On behalf of Apsley and North Kawartha, I want to thank Morello’s Your Independent Grocer for hosting a special food drive to support our local food bank,” said Carolyn Amyotte, North Kawartha Mayor. “Not having Sayer’s Foods to host our own food drive right now is very hard.”

The following is a list of participating grocery stores, dates, times and locations:

Photo Courtesy of Dave Smith.

Ashlee Aitken, Kawartha Food Share general manager says food banks typically have more clients during the pandemic.

“Donations tend to decrease during the summer months so we are excited at the opportunity to lend a hand and help ensure our agencies’ shelves are well stocked,” she said.

Engage with us on social media on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook. Write to us at tips@ptbocanada.com. Sign up for PTBOBuzz newsletter here.