What began with the generosity of one customer has snowballed into a community effort to keep people fed during the COVID-19 pandemic.
A woman entered R Cottage in Washago on Sunday and explained to staff that she had recently cancelled a trip, had some money to spend and wanted to buy a meal for someone who needed it. She asked if they knew of anyone.
The staff called owners Sarah Valiquette-Thompson and Ian Thompson, who had just seen a post online about someone in need.
R Cottage made its own post on Facebook about that act of kindness.
“Moments later, I was contacted by a lady at Osteoworks. She said, ‘Listen, we need to band together,’” Valiquette-Thompson recalled.
The Orillia business offered to sponsor a meal to be delivered to a vulnerable person in the community.
It didn’t take long for more people to reach out to R Cottage, with one person offering to sponsor 10 chicken dinners. That’s when the R Cottage couple decided to match that, donating another 10 meals.
“Then I said, ‘This is starting to turn into something,’” Valiquette-Thompson said.
She contacted Chris Peacock, executive director of The Sharing Place Food Centre in Orillia, to see if he could arrange for meals to be delivered to individuals and families in town. He jumped on board and the Feed a Friend/Feed a Family program was born.
People can sponsor a meal for an individual ($15) or a family ($45). They will be delivered to The Sharing Place, which will distribute them in the community.
R Cottage is also encouraging people to sponsor meatloaf dinners that will be delivered to seniors. The business will match each meatloaf sponsorship.
Restaurants are experiencing difficult times, having been told to close or to restrict service to takeout and delivery, but that isn’t stopping some of them from doing their part to help.
“We’re in a position where we can help those in need and we’ll continue to until we can’t anymore,” Thompson said. “For those who do have the ability to help out, now is the time to do so.”
“This all came about in the hope that we could supply food to those in need,” he continued. “Those people we speak of are supporters of us, too. It takes a community.”
Added Valiquette-Thompson: “It’s also an opportunity to support local businesses. It’s a win-win.”
She said she was compiling a list of restaurants in the area that are remaining open for takeout or delivery and she’s going to contact them to see if they’ll follow suit with meal sponsorships.
“We need to come together,” she said.
For more information about meal sponsorship, email [email protected].
Updates will be posted to the R Cottage Facebook page.
