Ottawa food bank hopes holiday donations last through winter
By Brett Throop and Jordanna Tennebaum It’s the busiest time of year at the Ottawa Food Bank’s warehouse in Gloucester. As shelves fill, volunteers cross their fingers that the food being collected will last after the season of giving has passed. “The challenge is that we feed people every month, 12 months of the year,” said Michael Maidment, executive director of the Ottawa Food Bank. “It’s definitely more difficult to collect food after Christmas.” Ottawa Food Bank event coordinator Maggie Rose said those who work at the food bank joke about waiting for the snow to fall for donations to start flooding in. Luckily the snow came early this year, and donations came with it. Maidment said the holiday season is a big spur for people to donate. “People are feeling very charitable and they’re starting to get into that holiday spirit,” he said. Many families and corporations make collecting food and money donations part of their holiday events, Maidment said. But this still might not be enough food to last the winter. The Ottawa Food Bank estimates that it receives almost half of its annual donations during the holidays. Maidment expects the food being collected now will last until about mid-February. Donations plummet in January and February, “so we need to make sure that the inventory that we have in the warehouse can sustain families into that time as well,” Maidment said. Adding their share to stock the food bank’s shelves on Tuesday were eight members of the local charity GoodGuysTri, who unloaded 1300 kilograms of donated goods collected during a month-long food drive. “At this time of year the Ottawa Food Bank is on a number of people’s minds, because it is the holiday season, whether it be Eid, Hannukah, Christmas or whatnot,” said Mike Herzog, founder of GoodGuysTri. Heightened awareness doesn’t necessarily result in the donation of healthy, balanced foods, however. For that reason, the Ottawa Food Bank is asking for donations from a list of healthy items they currently lack. Maidment said canned meat and fish, peanut butter, rice and whole wheat breakfast cereals are most needed right now. The food bank also fundraises money for perishable foods like fresh fruits and vegetables that food drives aren’t able to collect. In fact, the food bank’s activities reach well beyond the traditional food drive. It runs a breakfast and after school snack program for children, a baby supply cupboard and donation programs for chicken, vegetables and other perishable goods. Ottawa Public Health bolsters the food bank’s programs by helping those who access the donated goods meet their nutritional needs. “The reality for those who access food...
Ottawa group makes the case for non-profit fundraising
By Jordanna Tennebaum, Mara Selanders and Diana Matthews A small philanthropic team in Ottawa is reinterpreting traditional models of charity work through a local holiday food drive that relies on grassroots fundraising. The 11 members of GoodGuysTri, or as they like to call themselves, “Do-Gooders,” are focusing their food drive on communal involvement and the exclusion of corporate spending. The group came together in 2007 when founder Mike Herzog heard reports of charities spending large sums of money on administrative and legal fees. http://cusjc.ca/wintertimes/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/Clip-1-Mike-Herzog-Interview-for-Photo.mp3 “Having been involved in fundraising, I thought somebody needs to do something about this,” Herzog said. Now in its second year of operation, GoodGuysTri already has 20 organizations participating, ranging from the Orleans Veterinary Hospital to a sports injury-oriented Holistic Clinic. Cheryl Rutherford of the Orleans Veterinary Hospital supports the medical center’s shift from aiding pets to people. “At this time of year there is a greater need. Last year we did a food drive that helped animals only and this year we opened up our boxes to people with needs,” Rutherford said. Herzog’s ability to incorporate diverse organizations with differing mandates is central to his project as he aims to include the interests and contributions of over 100 volunteers. “We’re a collection of all sorts of different people. It’s open to everybody. People come to me and ask ‘what should I do to help?’ and I try to answer that question, even if it doesn’t have to do with us. I’m not trying to build an empire.” According to Herzog, empire building tends to be at the heart of many affiliate charity organizations that have experienced exponential growth over the past decade. Herzog is particularly critical of the Movember campaign, an annual event that addresses men’s health issues through its focus on prostate cancer. While it has enabled many participants to hit lofty fundraising targets, he points to a potential lack of substance and concern for its mission. “I’m not sure how much awareness growing a mustache for Movember brings in. There’s so much white noise. It’s the lowest common denominator of effort that you can put into doing something,” Herzog said. https://cusjc.ca/wintertimes/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/Clip-2-Good-Guys-Tri-Interview-Food-Photo.mp3 ‘Having been involved in fundraising, I thought somebody needs to do something about this.’ –Mike Herzog For the group’s food drive this year, Herzog wants community members to collect and deliver non-perishables to the Ottawa Food Bank. He said they must take logistics into account when putting multiple food bins in place throughout the city. As such, one of the greatest challenges he faces during the execution of the holiday food drive is ensuring the participation and engagement of...
Ottawa shelters already at capacity as cold sets in
By Clayton Andres and Thomas Hall As the winter weather worsens, Ottawa’s homeless try to find a place to escape from the cold. But many local shelters are facing difficulties of their own. “We’re at capacity and there’s not a whole lot more room,” said Shirley Roy, manager of community relations at Ottawa Mission. The shelter has more than 230 beds available during the year, but already filled them six weeks ago. Every night, the staff put out mats on the floor to accommodate the overflow of people seeking a place to stay. According to Roy, one of the contributing factors to this overflow is “chronic homelessness,” where people cycle in and out of shelters and many of them end up staying at the same place for several years. ‘I really want to drive home how vulnerable these kids are. If we’re not here to provide these spaces, other people will jump in.’ –Jason Pino Greg Morley has been staying at different shelters around town since July. He is currently spending his nights at the Shepherds of Good Hope in the Byward Market but was previously at the Ottawa Mission on Waller Street. Morley said at both places he saw “pretty much the same” group of people staying over every night. “Generally speaking, once they got a bunk, they’re pretty much there.” Roy said the Ottawa Mission rarely turns away people seeking shelter, but the number of people staying long term has become more of a concern for the staff. Between 40 to 50 of the Mission’s current residents have been staying there for more than two years, Roy said. “It’s an emergency shelter, it’s supposed to be for people in crisis,” he said. “But we don’t want to turn anyone away, especially during the winter.” Homeless adults aren’t the only ones worried about the number of full shelters. Jason Pino is the director of Restoring Hope Youth Shelter, which is aimed towards teens and young adults who can’t find any other place to stay. “There’s two other youth shelters running at 100 per cent capacity all the time,” Pino said. Most of the young adults Pino encounters, he said, were turned away from other youth shelters because there’s no room or because they were too old. Young adults over 19 years old are usually sent to shelters like the Ottawa Mission, despite the lack of beds. The youth shelter is only able to run once a week providing six beds for anyone who comes by looking for a place to stay. Pino said since the shelter set aside a room for girls, he hasn’t had to turn anyone...