For the last three years, a fruitful partnership with the Orangeville Food Bank (OFB) has benefited so many of our Food & Friends programs within the town of Orangeville. 

Heather Hayes, Executive Director of the Orangeville Food Bank, had reached out to our Food & Friends’ program manager with the opportunity to provide donated food to a handful of student nutrition programs in the area through the Community Food Share program. This program now offers in-kind donations to ten student nutrition programs located in the town of Orangeville. 

With Food & Friends, along with other local agencies such as The Lighthouse, Family Transition Place, Choices Youth Shelter, and local churches with food pantries, the OFB is now able to accept skids of donated food through the Community Food Share program, which will benefit these agencies' own clients each month. 

This incredible partnership continues to grow each year. After discussing the high need for volunteers in some of the Orangeville programs, Heather has offered the use of the OFB kitchen facilities and volunteers to help prepare fresh fruits and vegetables for the Montgomery Village Fresh Friday snack and help bag crackers for the Credit Meadow’s Elementary snack program.

The OFB also works with the Westside Secondary School hospitality program to prepare hot meals for the lunch program at Parkinson Centennial Pubic School who has found it difficult to recruit volunteers during the lunch hour. They also partner with the high school to prepare meals from surplus food items that are then distributed to the OFB clients.

With an amazing partnership like this, Food & Friends is able to bring even more healthy food to hungry minds.