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Toronto Vegetarian Food Bank #Fast4Hunger 2018
Help us feed people who are very much in need AND win a tonne of AMAZING prizes while you’re at it (prizes listed below)!
Sign up for the #Fast4Hunger here: https://www.canadahelps.org/en/charities/toronto-vegetarian-food-bank/p2p/Fast4Hunger2018/
And check out our (2015) video A Day At Toronto Vegetarian Food Bank here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dyj_SajJ3IU
What is our 30 Hour #Fast4Hunger you ask!? On Wednesday, June 20, we will be fasting (not eating) for the whole day to raise money to keep Toronto Vegetarian Food Bank (TVFB) going strong – but the fundraising starts today!
Fasting in solidarity with those who go hungry on a regular basis is a symbolic action. Once you’ve pledged to fast, you then raise money by asking family, friends, co-workers, etc. to sponsor your fast by donation to your fundraising page.
Create your page here: https://www.canadahelps.org/en/charities/toronto-vegetarian-food-bank/p2p/Fast4Hunger2018/
TVFB is a volunteer-run registered charity that runs on donations from people like you! The food bank is 100% vegan, all donations go directly toward purchasing groceries at wholesale prices, 60% of our budget goes toward fresh fruits and vegetables! And we have a matching donor who will match every dollar that you raise!!!
We currently serve about a week’s worth of groceries to almost 300 people in need every month. From folks with diabetes or cancer whose doctors have told them they need to switch to a plant-based diet, to students barely scraping by, those on social assistance, to refugees brand new to Canada & struggling to start their life here.
One in eight Canadians experiences marginal, moderate, or severe food insecurity. And the sad reality is that regular food banks don’t have as many options for vegetarians and generally have almost nothing that vegans can eat.
“We want the food bank system to reflect the city’s diverse diets and needs. Food banks are in place because people are down on their luck. We don’t want them to have to compromise their health, or their ethics, when they are already in such a vulnerable position.”– Matt Noble, Executive Director
For the #Fast4Hunger we will be pledging to not eat anything after dinner the night of Tuesday, June 19th, then to wake up hungry and go the whole day of the 20th without eating anything and without drinking anything other than water until breakfast the morning of the 21st. (If these times and dates don’t work for you then you can still raise money and fast on another day that works for you).
Because we have an anonymous matching donor, the amount that we raise will be doubled! And because we are using CanadaHelps.org a tax receipt will be automatically sent to the inbox of anyone who donates to your fundraising page! (These are both important points to mention when setting up your fundraising page, as people are probably more likely to donate if they know that their donation is being matched and that they will be automatically emailed a tax receipt for their donation).
Last year, with under 20 participants, we raised almost $12,000 (before matching donor)! This year, with your help, reaching our goal of $15,000 should be easy!
Creating your own fundraising page is a snap and if you are looking for some inspiration, you can check out our participants’ pages from last year here: https://www.canadahelps.org/en/charities/toronto-vegetarian-food-bank/p2p/Fast4Hunger/#participants
Raising just $10 means we’ll be able to feed one person a week’s worth of fresh, healthy, environmentally responsible, cruelty-free food!
Invite your friends to this Facebook event! Share it on your wall. Tweet about it. And post on Instagram with the hashtag #Fast4Hunger and tag @vegfoodbank!
But most importantly, create your own page and fundraise to win some of these amazing prizes!
Prizes
1st Prize (value – $800)
– Doshi.Shop Saddle Bag ($200 value – @doshishop)
– Changemaker Breakthrough coaching package with Kimberly Carroll – Body/Mind/Spirit Coach ($150 value – @coachkimberlycarroll)
– All 7 cheeses from Vegan Stokes Cheese (value $100 – @veganstokes)
– $75 gift for Mythology Diner (@mythologydiner)
– $75 gift for The Imperative (@theveganimperative)
– Copy of Lauren Toyota’s Vegan Comfort Classics cookbook (@laurentoyota)
– $50 gift for Parka Food Co. (@parkafoodco)
– $50 gift for Loblaw’s –
– ??? from SUDSATORIUM…(@sudsatorium)?
– $10 gift for Tori’s Bakeshop (@torisbakeshop)
2nd Prize (Value – $525)
– $200 gift for Queen’s Shop – Fine Hairdressing (@queensshophair)
– $100 gift for Fiesta Farms (@fiestafarmsto)
– $75 gift for Kupfert & Kim
– Copy of Lauren Toyota’s Vegan Comfort Classics cookbook (@laurentoyota)
– $50 gift for Urban Herbivore (@urban_herbivoreto)
– $50 gift for Live Organic Food (@liveorganicfood)
– $50 gift for Loblaw’s
– $25 gift for Sweets from the Earth (@sftebakery)
3rd Prize (Value – $350)
– 30 Day Whole Food Cleanse, from Dr. Pamela Fergusson, Registered Dietitian (@drpamela.rd)
– $100 gift for Fiesta Farms (@fiestafarmsto)
– $75 gift for Doomie’s Toronto (@doomiestoronto)
– $75 gift for Kupfert & Kim
– Copy of Lauren Toyota’s Vegan Comfort Classics cookbook (@laurentoyota)
– $25 gift for Loblaw’s
Join the #Fast4Hunger today >> https://www.canadahelps.org/en/charities/toronto-vegetarian-food-bank/p2p/Fast4Hunger2018/ <<
* For any questions, or to donate to our prizes please contact us at TOvegfoodbank@gmail.comHappy fundraising!
** Please don’t post your personal fundraising page to Facebook pages, or groups like Toronto Vegans, Canadian Vegan and Vegetarians, etc. as we will already be promoting this event via these pages; but do feel free to fundraiser for your page on private groups that you are a part of.
Banner image design by Crrumb
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“From the national statistics, we see that the prevalence of food insecurity in Canada has increased significantly from 11.3% in 2007-2008 to 12.4% in 2011-2012.”
“Most (70%) households reliant on social assistance in Canada are food-insecure; almost a third (29.4%) are severely food-insecure. Local food costing tells the same story – social assistance rates are too low to enable recipients to meet their basic needs.”
“Food insecurity leaves an indelible mark on children’s wellbeing. Experiencing food insecurity at an early age is associated with childhood mental health problems, such as hyperactivity and inattention. Experiences of hunger in childhood increase the risk of developing asthma, depression, and suicidal ideation in adolescence and early adulthood.”
“Adults living in food-insecure households report poorer physical health and are more vulnerable to a wide range of chronic conditions, such as diabetes, heart disease, hypertension, arthritis, and back problems. They are also more likely to be diagnosed with multiple chronic conditions. There is a particularly strong relationship between food insecurity and poor mental health. The risk of experiencing depression, anxiety disorder, mood disorders, or suicidal thoughts increases with the severity of food insecurity.”
“Food insecurity also makes it difficult for individuals to manage existing chronic health problems, such as diabetes and HIV, and it can lead to worsening conditions. Food insecure individuals may struggle to adhere to therapeutic diets or forego necessary medication because of the expense.”
“The health consequences of food insecurity are a large burden on our healthcare system. Healthcare costs are considerably greater for food insecure households, rising in a step-wise fashion with more severe food insecurity. Even after adjusting for other well-established social determinants of health, such as education and income levels, the healthcare costs incurred by a severely food insecure adult in Ontario are more than double that of a food secure adult. These findings imply that addressing food insecurity would drastically reduce the associated health care costs and improve overall health.”
”We did the math: Every year a severely food insecure Ontarian costs the healthcare system $2,300 more than their food secure counterparts. For $2,300 ($4,600 with our matching donor) we can provide 4,600 meals worth of healthy, eco-friendly, cruelty-free groceries to the most food insecure – which equates to feeding a family of four for an entire year! “
http://proof.utoronto.ca/food-insecurity/
In November 2017, based on StatCan census data, Press Progress reported that “less than half of all Canadian workers (49.8%) between the ages of 25 and 54 worked full-time, full-year jobs in 2015,” which PP said is the lowest it’s been since Statistics Canada started keeping records.
PP reported that StatCan attributed the shift to more part-time or part-year work to “social and economic changes, such as the 2008-2009 financial crisis” and other factors.
“Eighty two percent of the wealth generated last year went to the richest one percent of the global population, while the 3.7 billion people who make up the poorest half of the world saw no increase in their wealth.” (Oxfam, January 2018)
(International) https://www.oxfam.org/en/pressroom/pressreleases/2018-01-22/richest-1-percent-bagged-82-percent-wealth-created-last-year