As more than 200 people sat down for lunch Thursday, they were reminded of those in the community who struggle to feed themselves and their families.
The 10th annual Mac and Cheese Luncheon took place at Casino Rama, raising $30,000 for The Sharing Place Food Centre.
Executive director Chris Peacock welcomed the guests and wasted no time letting them know more than 60 per cent of households living in poverty include family members who are employed.
“If you are making minimum wage or receiving social assistance, it is extremely difficult and, in many cases, impossible to make ends meet at the end of the month,” he said.
“There is no if, and or but about it: Until there is a solution that provides people in poverty with enough income to afford life’s necessities, we will continue to have this deadly spiral of intergenerational poverty.”
There needs to be a “foundation of support,” he said.
“But, for now, we have wonderful organizations like The Sharing Place that are responsible for mending that foundation.”
It is doing so, in part, by working with grocery stores and farmers to receive surplus food that might otherwise go to the landfill.
“We recovered, in April alone, 15,000 pounds of food,” Peacock said.
Earlier this year, The Sharing Place moved from a small space on West Street to a more spacious facility on Dufferin Street.
“With this new space, it will allow The Sharing Place to look beyond being just a food bank and develop additional capacity and programs that can truly make a difference in our members’ lives,” Peacock said.
The guest speaker for Thursday’s event was Kevin Donovan, chief investigative reporter with the Toronto Star, who donated his time.
He shared some experiences from his career, including his time in war zones in Iraq and Afghanistan. Donovan has also been covering the murders of Toronto billionaires Barry and Honey Sherman, and he’ll be releasing a book about it.
Donovan told the audience about stories he wrote regarding a fraudulent charity. When he told his wife he was speaking at an event for an Orillia charity, she asked him if he had “looked into it.”
“That’s a good question,” he replied. “So, I did, and this is a good charity.”
Peacock hoped the guests left with “an understanding of how people in poverty truly need assistance, and the importance of organizations like ours.”
Home Hardware will host a Ladies Night on May 28, with proceeds going to The Sharing Place. There are still tickets available. For more information, call Home Hardware at 705-326-7371.
The Sharing Place invites the community to an open house at its new facility at 95 Dufferin St. It will take place June 13 from 4 to 6 p.m.
