Paying It Forward: Order a Harvest Box and help us donate food to Parkdale Food Centre

This spring, Farmhouse Food is partnering with the Parkdale Food Centre, a community food centre in Hintonburg, to pledge food donations for the coming harvest season. For every Harvest Box subscription Farmhouse Food sells this May, the co-op's farms will “pay it forward” by donating $25 of fresh food directly to PFC, who will distribute it to food insecure neighbours. 

“Farmhouse Food came together in order to increase access to local food in the Ottawa-Gatineau region,” says Farmhouse Food General Manager Leela Ramachandran. “Our farms grow a lot of amazing food, and we want it to be available to as many people as possible. We realize that affordability is a real issue for many people, so we’re creating options to help make our food available to a wider audience.”

Meredith Kerr, Director of Communications and Development at the Parkdale Food Centre, agrees. “As inflation rates and food prices continue to rise, food security and poverty will rise too. When income is limited, fresh produce, or anything local or organic, is often the first thing to go. And yet these are the foods that can have such a positive impact on health and well-being, and that link us to the land and the seasons.”

Parkdale Food Centre will share Farmhouse Food’s products over the harvest season through its new grocery program Mino’weesini, or Fresh Eats, which allows food insecure neighbours to shop at no charge once a month, with access to plenty of fresh produce and healthy options. Food donations will also be used in their Community Kitchen where community meals, cooking workshops, after-school food support and food literacy are shared.

Help us reach our goal of donating $2500 in fresh local food to the Parkdale Food Centre! We've extended the deadline to the end of May: All you have to do is order your Harvest Box subscription by May 31, and your food dollars go even further to bring good food to people in our community. We’ll keep you posted on the grand total and report back on our donations over the harvest season.