The 2013 Extra Helping™ Spring Food Drive kicks off on April 19
BRAMPTON, ON, Feb. 13, 2013 /CNW/ - Ontario food banks got a big boost
last year thanks to the $700,000 and 850,000 pounds of food donated by
customers and our teams from Loblaws®, Loblaw great food®,Fortinos®, Zehrs Markets®, Zehrs Great Food™, Your Independent Grocer®, valu-mart®, Real Canadian Superstore® and nofrills®during last year's food drives.
"Food banks in Ontario assist an average of more than 400,000
individuals each month, 40 per cent of whom are children," says Bill
Laidlaw, executive director at the Ontario Association of Food Banks.
"The donations collected through the annual spring and holiday
campaigns held at these stores go a long way to helping us keep our
shelves stocked all year long."
Across Canada, Loblaw banner stores like Loblaws®, Loblaw great food®, Fortinos®, Zehrs Markets®, Zehrs Great Food™, Your Independent Grocer®, valu-mart®, Real Canadian Superstore®, Atlantic Superstore®, Provigo®and nofrills®raised $1.8 million and 1.47 million pounds of food for local food banks
in 2012. Thanks to customers' generosity and support, donations in 2012
exceeded those of 2011.
Loblaw grocery stores have a long history of supporting food banks in
their local communities. In 2009, the Company rebranded their efforts
to the Extra Helping™ Food Drive campaign, a bi-annual national campaign in an effort to
reduce hunger. Since then, Loblaw stores have raised more than $5.4
million and more than 5.7 million pounds of food.
"Loblaw is committed to fighting hunger across Canada and we want to
express our utmost gratitude to our customers for sharing our
dedication to this cause and for their generosity in helping to feed
families in local communities," says Peggy Hornell, senior director,
Community Investment, Loblaw Companies Limited.
In addition, through annual corporate donations, Loblaw Companies
Limited has contributed $1.125 million to date to Food Banks Canada in
support of their National Food Sharing Program.
The 2013 Extra Helping™ Spring Food Drive kicks off on April 19, 2013 at Loblaws®, Loblaw great food®, Fortinos®, Zehrs Markets®, Zehrs Great Food™, Your Independent Grocer®, valu-mart®, Real Canadian Superstore® and nofrills®stores in communities across Ontario.
About Ontario Association of Food Banks
The Ontario Association of Food Banks is a network of 120 food banks and
over 1,100 hunger relief programs and agencies across the province.
Together, we serve 412,900 individuals, including 160,000 children,
every month. We are committed to reducing hunger in Ontario through
sustainable solutions that ensure the long-term health and success of
communities across the province. To learn more, please visit: www.oafb.ca.
About Loblaw Companies Limited
Loblaw Companies Limited, a subsidiary of George Weston Limited, is
Canada's largest food retailer and a leading provider of drugstore,
general merchandise and financial products and services. Loblaw is one
of the largest private sector employers in Canada. With more than 1,000
corporate and franchised stores from coast to coast, Loblaw and its
franchisees employ more than 135,000 full-time and part-time employees.
Through its portfolio of store formats, Loblaw is committed to
providing Canadians with a wide, growing and successful range of
products and services to meet the everyday household demands of
Canadian consumers. Loblaw is known for the quality, innovation and
value of its food offering. It offers Canada's strongest control
(private) label program, including the unique President's Choice®, no name® and Joe Fresh® brands. In addition, the Company makes available to consumers President's Choice Financial® services and offers the PC® points loyalty program.
SOURCE: Loblaw Companies Limited
