Mealshare, A&W support local food bank with new initiative
Kingston’s Partners in Mission Food Bank will be the local recipient of funding for a new initiative rolling out across Canada.
Mealshare, a national organization committed to helping end youth hunger, and A&W Canada have teamed up to provide meals to youth in need across the country. According to a release from Mealshare, all seven Kingston A&W locations are participating in “Mealshare Mondays”.
“For every ‘Mealshare Item’ purchased at A&W, we’ll share one simple, healthy meal with a youth in need,” said Valerie Ellah, Ottawa Community Leader for Mealshare. “This is the first partnership of its kind to fight youth hunger across the country.”
Mealshare says 80 per cent of the financial support stays in local communities where the Mealshare Item is purchased, and 20 per cent goes internationally to Save the Children.
“When choosing charities to receive our funding we look for well established and long standing organizations in the community that focus on providing fresh and healthy food to youth and their families,” Ellah shared with Kingstonist. The local Partners in Mission Food Bank was an obvious choice, she said.
The Mealshare program began on Monday, Feb. 1, 2021, and Partners in Mission say it is their first experience with this program.
“Partners in Mission Food Bank is very excited with the A&W and Mealshare partnership,” said Dan Irwin, Executive Director of Partners in Mission Food Bank. “This provides a new avenue for our community to help support us. The food bank will receive $1 from every A&W Mealshare meal, which will be used to help provide nutritious food for children.”
Every Monday, the purchase of a Cheddar Bacon Uncle Burger Combo will provide one meal to a youth in need through Mealshare. Any day of the week, customers can “Make it a Mealshare” by adding $1.00 to their order.
Mealshare says they hope to share 1.25 million meals in 2021. A trial of this program, which ran from November 2019 to December 2019 in Saskatchewan and Ottawa, saw 41,640 meals shared with youth in need.
“Our national partnership with Mealshare will help us make a bigger difference with our operators and their teams across the country. Local franchisees from coast to coast are excited to be a part of this program because they’ve seen first-hand the needs in their communities and how these programs can provide immediate benefit and support,” says Susan Senecal, Chief Executive Officer at A&W Canada. “No child should ever go hungry, especially in a country like Canada, so we’re thrilled that we can be a part of this initiative.”
Partners in Mission would like to remind everyone that they are here to help. If you need a food hamper, please call them at 613-544-4100.
About Mealshare
Mealshare believes nutritious food is essential for all children, especially when 1 in 5 children are food insecure in this country. They are committed to creating a world where it’s easier to share with those in need, and every child and youth is fed as a result.
Mealshare was founded in 2013 with four partner restaurants in Alberta. The organization has expanded to 1200+ restaurants across Canada and partnering with A&W Canada is the next milestone for the organization.
The social enterprise has provided over 3.8 million meals since inception, with their simple “Buy One, Give One” model. Canadians can purchase a Mealshare menu item at a participating restaurant and one meal will be donated to youth struggling with hunger through our network of local city charity partners and our international partner, Save the Children Canada.
For more information, visit the Mealshare website.