Help Food Banks Fight Hunger with Local Food

Support a farm to food bank donation tax credit to help people facing hunger in Ontario with Ontario-grown surplus food.

•  Prevent surplus food on Ontario farms from going to waste
•  Help food banks receive millions of pounds of fresh food
•  Thousands of children and families will receive Ontario grown fruits and vegetables
•  It’s easy to help end hunger. You can make a difference today:
»  Please sign your name to our petition below.

As a proud citizen of the province of Ontario committed to supporting my neighbours, I support the creation of a farm donation tax credit as an incentive for fresh, local food donations to benefit people facing hunger in Ontario. An estimated surplus of over 25 million pounds of fresh fruits and vegetables in Ontario that is currently tilled back into the soil or sent out for disposal could provide nutritious meals for 350,000 people forced to turn to food banks each month.

Even though there are 140,000 children in our province who live in a home without enough food, there is an abundance of fresh, surplus local food available at Ontario’s farms that is tilled back into the soil or sent out for disposal.

Add your name to our online petition to help increase farm to food bank donations.

We’re asking our friends and partners to help us build a considerable call to action for a donation tax credit to help farmers donate surplus food to food banks. Our farmers are eager to help our communities. You can help the OAFB reach our goal of bringing 5,000 voices in support of our request to Premier Dalton McGuinty. We need to bring together as many supporters as possible. The petition will be presented to the Premiere in mid October.

It is more important than ever before to support our local food banks. Many families are struggling to make ends meet during tough economic times and food banks are seeing dramatic increases in demand.

In the first three months of 2009, demand for food banks has increased by twenty per cent annually. Communities hit hard by job losses are unable to donate enough perishable food to keep up with the rising demand. Ontario’s food banks have also lost one million pounds of donated foods due to the closure of many major food manufacturing plants across Ontario. We are in urgent need of more, healthy food. Fortunately, our province remains rich in agriculture.

Add your name to the petition, forward this email to friends and family, and immediately help people facing hunger in Ontario with Ontario-grown foods.

Please take a moment today to help us make a difference: Sign the petition.

Thank you!