Kingston-area businesses join fundraiser for school food program, as demand soars

There’s a new addition to a typical place setting in some Kingston, Ont. restaurants this month, and it’s a way to donate to the region's school lunch program.

At Toast and Jam on Bath Road, you can find the tabletop QR codes for the Food Sharing Project’s 'Care 2 Share' Campaign.

It is one of more than 20 local restaurants and hotels participating in the campaign to support the region's school lunch program, as inflation continues to hit families and the organization hard.

Head baker Melissa Tan says the cards placed on the table help customers to make a donation directly to the Food Sharing Project. 

"It’s an incredible idea by the Food Sharing Project to collect funds to keep kids fed," Tan says. "A lot of us are parents to young kids. You know, if you don’t have breakfast you don’t learn as well as you normally would."

The organization provides free boxes of food to schools in Kingston, Frontenac, Lennox and Addington. There they are distributed through school breakfast, lunch and snack programs to students who could use them no questions asked. 

Chair Brenda Moore says the new way to donate was thought up because the organization is facing crushing pressure under inflation; all while more students are seeking their services.

"We’re putting $25,000 worth of food out the door every week. That has never happened in the life of the Food Sharing Project."

Moore explains that this year they will spend $200,000 more than last year.

Each week, volunteers pack more than 450 boxes with fresh fruit and vegetables for more than 80 area schools. 

Donations can make up a third of the organization’s funding. They hope the QR codes will raise awareness and donation totals.

"We’re just continuing to see school coordinators call us and apologize because they have to increase their order, because the kids are just inhaling everything we give them," explains Moore.

People can use their cellphone to open the QR code, which takes customers to the Food Sharing Project website directly, and the organization says that a $2 donation can help feed a student.

The Care 2 Share campaign runs until the end of the month and can be found at:

• Aquaterra 
• Atomically Kitchen and Cocktails
• Black Dog Tavern
• Bread and Butter Bakery 
• Card’s Bakery
• Copper Penny
• Chez Piggy 
• Dianne’s Fish Shack and Smokehouse
• Diamond Hotels including the Delta Hotel, Quality Inn & Conference Centre and Holiday Inn Express
• Harpers Burger Bar
• Hydrathletics
• Muddy Waters Restaurant, Verona 
• Pan Chancho Bakery and Cafe
• Paradiso Pizza, Division St. And Inveraray locations. 
• Pasta Genova 
• Red House Restaurant
• Riverhead Brewing Company
• Skeleton Park Brewery
• Tango Nuevo
• The Elm Café
• The Greek Islands
• The Grocery Basket
• The Toucan
• Toast & Jam Café
• Whiskey & Rosé