Over $1.9 million and 647,904 pounds of food was raised by The Mississauga Food Bank and Mayor Bonnie Crombie’s 2022 holiday food drive.
This comes in the midst of a record-breaking number of visits to food banks across Ontario.
The food drive ran from Nov. 14, 2022 to Jan. 6, 2023, and exceeded its goal of $1,700,000 and 450,000 pounds of food, marking the largest amount of money and food raised in its history.
The total monetary donations raised was $1,962,088.
“This holiday season, during a time when the need was more acute than ever, Mississauga stepped up and showed their support for their community, allowing us to not only meet but exceed our goals,” Crombie said in a release on Wednesday.
In Nov. 2022, the highest-ever number of monthly users visited The Mississauga Food Bank and its network of over 50 agencies.
Since Jan. 2022, The Mississauga Food Bank has seen an average of 18 per cent more food bank users every month compared to the same time last year, according to the charity.
“Every month that we are breaking a record is not a cause for celebration but a cause for alarm,” CEO of The Mississauga Food Bank Meghan Nicholls said in the release. “This emergency need continues past the holidays, and there is still more work to do to ensure our most vulnerable neighbours no longer face food insecurity.”
Nicholls is urging community members to get involved with their local food banks and ensure people have access to food all year round.
