Editor's Note: This story was previously posted on StratfordToday.ca.
NEWS RELEASE
UFCW LOCALS 175 & 633
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MISSISSAUGA – As food insecurity and food bank use continues to rise across the province, the United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) Locals 175 & 633, on behalf of its 70,000 members, will once again donate nearly $200,000 to food banks and charitable organizations across the province this holiday season.
Over the last week, UFCW Locals 175 & 633 members and staff have delivered cheques for $3,000 to the Local Community Food Centre in Stratford, the Salvation Army in Listowel, and the Food Bank of Waterloo Region. Members of the Union are also making $3,000 donations in London, St. Thomas, and 55 more organizations across Ontario.
“Our Executive Board members know that our Local Union is in a position to provide this support and I continue to be proud of their commitment to the communities across this province where our members live and work,” said Kelly Tosato, President of UFCW Local 175. “We also recognize that the vital work these food charities and community groups are doing is only a temporary fix that cannot correct the systemic root causes of food insecurity.”
“It is heartbreaking to see our policy makers and lobbyists with deep corporate pockets consistently value obscene profit at the expense of a growing number of people and families experiencing food insecurity,” said Tosato.
Food Banks Canada HungerCount 2024 noted that in March 2024, more than 2 million visits were recorded to the nation’s food banks, marking the highest number in history for these visits.
In September 2024, Feed Ontario released a report with sobering numbers that set another record: over 1 million people in Ontario visited a food bank over the last year. With 7.6 million visits to Ontario’s food banks between April 2023 and March 2024: that marks a 134 per cent increase in visits over 2019-2020.
“Real change must be implemented through government policies to make sure that not one person, not one family, in this province is left behind,” added Tosato.
Among the many services to their communities, the organizations supported with these donations provide: front-line food provision for families and individuals; hot meals for vulnerable community members; assisting with school nutrition programs, and; food distribution and support through other area agencies and charitable initiatives.
The Local Union will continue its donations to 60 organizations across Ontario through December.
UFCW Locals 175 & 633 represents more than 70,000 Union Members across Ontario working in most sectors of the economy including retail grocery and pharmacy, industrial, food processing and manufacturing, health care, hospitality, and much more.
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