Ottawa Food Bank executive director Peter Tilley thinks Canada’s chicken farmers and Ottawa-area beef producers are a blessing.
They both provide high-end meat protein that food banks cannot afford on their own.
“So when someone goes to a food bank, they’re not just getting noodles and sauce to get them to the next day,” he said.
“They might also be getting beef or a chicken breast. It’s just unbelievable that this would be possible at a food bank.”
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Tilley appeared at Chicken Farmers of Canada’s annual general meeting last week to tell its members how grateful he is for their support and how important it is for Ottawa’s hungry.
Ottawa is one of Canada’s largest and most affluent cities, but its food bank has 43,000 customers every month.
CFC has supported the Ottawa Food Bank by donating more than $87,000 in cash since 2007 through staff donations and profits from its annual July 1 barbecue on Parliament Hill.
In addition, CFC takes bids each year from processors interested in being the source of chicken for the food bank. It picks the most competitive price and buys its supplies there.
Quebec-based Exceldor is this year’s supplier. CFC said it bought $50,000 worth of frozen chicken products for donation last year between April and November.
As well, Sunrise Farms of British Columbia donated 600 frozen stuffed chicken breasts in early March.
Beef producers also support the Ottawa food bank.
Local beef farmers, with the support of the Canadian Cattlemen’s Association and the Canadian Meat Council, hold an annual beef barbecue in front of Ottawa City Hall to raise money that will be used to buy beef for the food bank.
Tilley said the food bank also has a relationship with local vegetable growers and plans to start growing some of its own vegetables.
“Since we’re in the food business, it is wonderful and gratifying to have this kind of relationship and support from the people who grow our food,” he said.
CFC communications manager Lisa Bishop-Spencer said the organization supports the Ottawa Food Bank because it is the community where most of the agency’s employees live. She said it may become the model for similar food bank support efforts in other cities.
“This is sort of our sticking our toe into the water of our Social Responsibility mandate . With what we learn from this, there may be others.”
