GFL steps up to the plate to relieve hunger

May 28 is World Hunger Day, an annual event that provides opportunities to explore worldwide solutions to hunger. Through the Full Circle Project, GFL is helping at the local level by partnering with organizations that provide food to those in need.

First held in 2011, World Hunger Day highlights the global hunger crisis that almost a third of the people on our planet don’t have enough food. This year’s World Hunger Day theme is #YouthEndingHunger and with youth making up one quarter of the planet’s population, the 10 to 24 age group is seriously impacted.

GFL teams in Canada and the United States have chosen to partner with local food security charities that are actively helping to solve hunger in their communities. From providing backpacks full of food to school children, to volunteering to sort and package food at food banks, GFL’s teams contribute in a variety of ways.

Starfish Pack

GFL’s Mission, BC, facility partnered with Surrey’s Starfish Pack program. A CA$2,500 donation will help support children in four Surrey schools who rely on school breakfast and lunch programs during the week but don’t have enough food to eat on weekends. Each Friday afternoon, the Surrey program provides a backpack of food containing two breakfasts, two lunches, two dinners and snacks to 70 students. Proper nutrition improves students’ mood and ability to focus while in class. Started in 2013 by a teacher in Abbotsford, BC, this program is now in 20 cities across BC and in neighboring Whatcom County in Washington state.

Food Bank of Central and Eastern North Carolina

GFL’s Durham, NC, branch partnered with the Food Bank of Central and Eastern North Carolina. A US$10,000 donation will help provide food to people in need and build solutions to end hunger in these communities. The food bank works with a network of more than 800 partner agencies including soup kitchens, food pantries, shelters and programs for children and adults through distribution facilities in Durham, Greenville, New Bern, Raleigh, the Sandhills (Southern Pines) and Wilmington. GFL employees also volunteer at the Durham and Raleigh food bank facilities sorting and packaging food.

Daily Bread Food Bank

GFL’s Etobicoke, Ontario, branch partnered with the Daily Bread Food Bank, one of the largest food banks in Canada. A CA$15,000 donation will help Daily Bread deliver food to almost 200 programs across Toronto, from its 108,000-square-foot distribution hub. They serve breakfast, meal, prenatal, snack and tenant programs, as well as food banks. Daily Bread’s staff, volunteers, member agencies and Board of Directors are working to end hunger by providing low-barrier food access to adults, seniors and children who are experiencing food insecurity while working to change the way people think about poverty.

Lancaster County Project for the Needy

GFL’s Lancaster, PA, branch partnered with the Lancaster County Project for the Needy. A US$2,500 donation will help provide meals to families during the holiday season. Providing meals for the past 34 years, in 2021 the Project provided 1,200 boxes of holiday food, including a turkey, vegetables, potatoes, fruit, bread, milk and eggs. 

“Donating to people who have less is a wonderful demonstration of kindness, and we were happy to help make a difference," said Chez Morton, general manager at Newmanstown, PA. “We want to ensure that, even for one day, no one is left behind.”

Food on Foot

GFL’s Morristown, TN, branch partnered with Food on Foot. A US$5,000 donation will help provide food, toiletries and backpacks filled with school supplies to children and families in need who live in the Tennessee Lakeway Area. Food on Foot provides 5,000 monthly food bags to many local elementary schools for children in need. Before each school year, hundreds of backpacks of school supplies are distributed and topped up throughout the year, as funds allow. Special events are also held for various holidays throughout the year.

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