Cereal Drive continues to feed hungry kids in memory of Brady Faroldi

The Faroldi family is again encouraging others to think of the hungry children in schools this November. Their sixth annual cereal drive, in memory of their late son, Brady Faroldi, will provide cereals for school meal and snack programs, through The Food Sharing Project.

“On the first day of his teacher candidate placement, Brady was heart-broken when he saw some young kids going to the breakfast program room and when he asked why they didn’t have breakfast before school, one little girl said they didn’t have any food at home,” his mother, Roberta Faroldi, said. “He was so moved, that he began going to school early to help with the breakfast program.”

The breakfast program is where Brady learned about the organization that supplied food to the school: The Food Sharing Project.

Unfortunately, Brady passed away suddenly in June 2016. To honour his passion and his legacy, his family started a cereal drive in November 2016, and every November, they invite donations of yellow box Cheerios and Shreddies, as well as cash and gift cards, to continue to feed hungry kids.

“The folks at The Food Sharing Project have been telling us more students than ever are accessing food programs at school this year,” Faroldi said.

Many families have been negatively impacted by the COVID pandemic, and are relying on the healthy food available at schools for their children, according to a release from the Food Sharing Project.

Andy Mills, Executive Director of The Food Sharing Project says that school food orders are up considerably: “In pre-pandemic times, we were packing and delivering about $15,000 of food every week – these days, it is closer to $20,000 each and every week.”

Eighty-eight schools all across Kingston, Frontenac and Lennox and Addington receive weekly support from The Food Sharing Project, according to the release. “About half of all students in the region access school meal and snack programs, either regularly or once in a while, each year. That number – 16,000 students – is staggering,” he added.

Mills said that schools are still operating with enhanced food safety protocols due to the pandemic, so they are ordering more individually-portioned, pre-packaged foods. “Not all schools are back to sharing food items, like cereal boxes, so with Brady’s family’s blessing, we are encouraging supporters of the Faroldi cereal drive to also consider donations of cash or gift cards that can be used to purchase other foods,” he said.

Donors are invited to purchase a box of cereal and drop it off in the grey bin at the Faroldi’s, 1212 Amanda Court in Kingston. Donors can also support The Food Sharing Project by making cereal donations at their location, 37 Rigney Street, Unit 4, or by making a financial donation by mail or online, or by supporting the United Way’s annual campaign.