Daily Bread Food Bank's Spring Drive kicks off in the kitchen

TORONTO, March 18, 2015 /CNW/ - The Spring Drive to stock the shelves starts today and ends April 10. In those three weeks, Daily Bread hopes to raise $215,000 and 150,000 pounds of food.

Daily Bread runs three major fundraising drives a year – each drive helps to ensure that a supply of healthy and nutritious food is sent out to over 200 food programs. Fifty-eight thousand food hampers a month are distributed by Daily Bread to families across Toronto who are struggling with poverty and can't afford to put food on the table.

Daily Bread also has an industrial-sized kitchen that is used to reduce waste and save fresh and healthy food by turning it into thousands of servings of nutritious soups, stews, casseroles and stir fries. Financial donations help Daily Bread run the kitchen as well as purchase perishable food such as fresh fruits, vegetables and milk. To kick off the Spring Drive, Daily Bread's executive director, Gail Nyberg, joined kitchen manager Todd Lamswood to help make 1000 servings of Chicken Vegetable Soup with broccoli, celery and mushrooms. This soup will later be delivered to 85 homeless shelters and meal programs in Toronto.

"Those financial donations also allow us get our trucks and our food out across the city to where it's needed most," said Nyberg. "We can have all the food in the world, but it doesn't do anyone much good stuck in a warehouse in Etobicoke." For every dollar donated, Daily Bread can distribute $5 worth of food.

Most needed food items include: pasta, dried/canned beans or lentils, rice, canned fruit and vegetables, pasta and pasta sauce, peanut butter, canned fish/meat, oatmeal, baby food/formula/cereal as well as high fibre/low sugar cereal. Food donations can be dropped off at any local fire hall or participating grocery store.

Financial donations can be made easily and securely online at www.dailybread.ca or by mailing a cheque to Daily Bread Food Bank, 191 New Toronto St., Toronto, Ontario, M8V2E7.

About Daily Bread Food Bank

Daily Bread Food Bank is a registered charity that is fighting hunger in our communities. A distribution hub, Daily Bread provides food and support to almost 200 food programs across Toronto. Daily Bread also works towards long-term solutions to hunger and runs innovative programs to support people on low incomes including a food services training program and an information and referral services program that trains member agencies to support food bank clients by connecting them to community resources.

SOURCE Daily Bread Food Bank

Sarah Anderson or Jessica Ward, Communications, E: [email protected], M: 416-450-2196