Ottawa foodies will not want to miss the Flavours of Ottawa: Westboro Easter Food Market on Saturday, April 12th. Taking place from 10 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. at St George’s Parish Hall, eighteen local artisan food vendors will be selling their delicious goods at this Easter Market and raising funds for the Parkdale Food Centre at the same time. This event is generously sponsored by Diane & Jen, Kitchenalia and Givopoly.
To learn more, visit the Ottawa Specialty Food Association’s website.
Summer Baird, the owner of the Hintonburg Public House, comes by almost weekly to donate…and how do we count the ways….
The HPH is a glowing example of Community Social Responsibility. They give because they care, because they feel morally committed to helping their neighbours. They care with flair! Nearly every week in November and December they collected specific items, engaging their customers in the process and encouraging the discussion about need in their neighbourhood. A highly successful raffle and party, of course, capped off weeks of giving. Next up? A TWEET UP with a green theme… You don’t want to miss this!
Visit the HPH website to keep tabs on their upcoming events.
To celebrate the end of their first year in business, Beyond the Pale decided to host a party at Orange Gallery, asking for donations to the PFC as a feel-good (and giving back) way of celebrating.
They put the word out on social media and SO many people showed up.
When Karen stopped by to pick up a cheque from BTP co-founder Rob McIsaac and discovered the amount — $1000! – she couldn’t contain herself and just had to plant a kiss on his cheek! We absolutely adore the partnership we have with BTP and their commitment to our community. In addition to helping us raise funds, they also share the spoils of some of their brewing processes with our clients, delivering naked grapefruit — they use the rind for their delicious Pink Fuzz beer, and save the grapefruits themselves for the PFC. We wish Beyond the Pale many, many more successful years of brewing — their fun-loving company bordering the Parkdale market is a model for others and a great part of our community!
One of our wonderful volunteers, Catherine Cox, who is a part of our Tuesday shift, surprised us recently with a huge haul of food donated by her colleagues at the City of Ottawa’s ATIP & Elections office. When asked how she motivated her colleagues to collect so much for us she told us: “Actually, I didn’t have to motive one bit! All I have to do is tell my colleagues about some of the people that come in to get food; the looks on their faces; the need. People in this city are actually hungry. I tell them about how a box of Kleenex is a luxury item. I have never actually asked them for anything — they just care.” The Access to Information and Privacy (ATIP) & Elections office is located off site from City Hall, and is a legislated unit dealing with confidential privacy issues. Staff decided that their goal this Christmas was to fill Catherine’s SUV with food for the PFC.
Catherine is very proud of her colleagues explaining “Over the past year, my SUV has been filled to the brim with food, clothes, and children’s books. If I happen to mention we ran out of sugar last night at the food bank, the next day my office floor is covered with bags of sugar. This is an office that just keeps on giving no matter what the season.” Thanks to Catherine for being one of our great volunteers and inspiring others!
Brett Serjeantson, CEO of MediaMiser and a dedicated Board member of the Parkdale Food Centre, has motivated his company to think of several ways to contribute to the Parkdale Food Centre. From 10 years worth of Christmas food drive to this year has seen some other amazing initiatives. In September, they held a donation campaign for hygiene products. This included toothpaste, toiletries, toilet paper, soap, and 150 toothbrushes! At Thanksgiving they raised $360 for the Good Food Box initiative – enough for 3 families to receive a box of fresh produce once a month for a year.
Finally they held a Christmas Raffle for two gift baskets – nicknamed the ‘Games and Glamour’ Pack and the ‘Mill Street Game Night’ Pack – raising $415 for the Parkdale Food Centre’s nutrition / dairy program! When asked what partnering with the PFC means to their company, they explained “The ongoing relationship with the Parkdale Food Centre has made the staff at MediaMiser feel like part of the Hintonburg / Mechanicsville community, whether they live here or not. We are really pleased to be able to partner with such a passionate and important organization.”
Thanks MediaMiser for being a wonderful Community Partner!
It’s hard to know how to explain the many ways Thyme & Again helps us out throughout the year. Our clients love being greeted by a slice of one of their amazing desserts. We appreciate tremendously them placing one of our special donation bottles on their front cash. They recently held a Caring Tuesday event for us where a portion of sales was given to us as a donation. When we tweet we are short on a particular item, they find a way to get us some. Today for our second Christmas baking workshop with our clients, they are donating all the ingredients. They are truly always coming up with new ways to help us help others.
On a wintry day last Saturday, December 7th , the 24th and 32nd Scout Groups took to Wellington Street. They were manning hot chocolate stations in front of the Harvest Loaf and Hintonburger and asking for donations for each cup of hot chocolate they handed out. In only three hours, they were able to raise $711 in donations for the Parkdale Food Centre! That is a simply outstanding accomplishment! We thank all the hardcore volunteers including the parents and the leaders who helped make this event a success.
Thanks to all the folks who attended the amazing party and raffle at the Carleton Tavern on December 7th. A MOUNTAIN of toilet paper was donated and cash donations of $362 were raised. This annual event has grown and is organized by Lorrie Marlow, from the Hintonburg Economic Development Committee and a volunteer on the Parkdale Food Centre’s Fundraising Committee.
Global Pet Foods – Hintonburg hosted a barking good fundraiser for us on the weekend. Santa was there and many adorable pooches, including this one, came by to tell Santa if they’d been naughty or nice. When Santa checked his list at the end of afternoon he saw two people in the “nice” category – Co-Owners Karla Briones and Shawn Hoey who topped up the proceeds to PFC to $250! We love our Community Partners who keep finding creative ways to raise money for us.
Our Charitable Registration Number is: 889365003 RR 0001
Community Kitchen – 30 Rosemount Ave #2, Ottawa
Grocery Program – 5 Hamilton Ave North, Ottawa
