CTV Morning Live Holiday Helpers Food Drive fundraising total to be announced Friday
Ottawa residents opened their wallets and their hearts on Thursday to help fill the shelves at the Ottawa Food Bank this holiday season.
CTV Morning Live hosted its annual Holiday Helpers Food Drive, collecting donations and raising awareness about the importance of donating during this critical time of year.
Viewers, community organization representatives, Bell Media personalities and others dropped by during the four-hour show on Friday morning to support the food drive.
"It's special this year because the need is so great," CTV Morning Live host Annette Goerner said.
"Half of the people that came here today I recognized because I've been with them year after year taking their donations, and that to me is one of the warmest parts that warms my heart."
Donations included $21,000 from SerCo Construction Ltd. and Serco Realty Group, $10,000 from Boyd Moving and Construction, $5,000 from Yardman Store, $10,000 from Doyle Salewski, and $3,000 from Coventry Connections.
"This year is incredibly important for us, we're seeing unprecedented and historic numbers of people needing access to food banks," Ottawa Food Bank chief executive officer Rachael Wilson said. "An event like this will help us through the holiday season and into the new year."
The fundraising total will be announced on Friday morning's show.
The food drive comes as the Ottawa Food Bank sees a nearly 20 per cent increase in the number of visits this year compared to 2021.
You can still make an online monetary donation if you couldn't make it down to 87 George Street.
Every dollar donated gives the Ottawa Food Bank $5 worth of buying power to purchase needed items.
Three items in need at the Ottawa Food Bank are:
- Baby items: Diapers, cereal and baby food
- Non-perishable items
- Pasta and canned meats
Since 2007, the CTV Morning Live Holiday Helpers Food Drive has collected over 572,00 pounds of food and $1.3 million in cash donations.
With files from CTV News Ottawa's Peter Szperling
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
BREAKING NEWS Honda to get up to $5B in govt help for EV battery, assembly plants
Honda is set to build an electric vehicle battery plant next to its Alliston, Ont., assembly plant, which it is retooling to produce fully electric vehicles, all part of a $15-billion project that is expected to include up to $5 billion in public money.
BREAKING New York appeals court overturns Harvey Weinstein's 2020 rape conviction from landmark #MeToo trial
New York’s highest court on Thursday overturned Harvey Weinstein’s 2020 rape conviction, finding the judge at the landmark #MeToo trial prejudiced the ex-movie mogul with improper rulings, including a decision to let women testify about allegations that weren’t part of the case.
Residents of northern Alberta First Nation told to shelter in place
Residents of John D'Or Prairie, a community on the Little Red River Cree Nation in northern Alberta, were told to take shelter Thursday morning during a police operation.
Monthly earnings rise, payroll employment falls: jobs report
The number of vacant jobs in Canada increased in February, while monthly payroll employment decreased in food services, manufacturing, and retail trade, among other sectors.
Doctors say capital gains tax changes will jeopardize their retirement. Is that true?
The Canadian Medical Association asserts the Liberals' proposed changes to capital gains taxation will put doctors' retirement savings in jeopardy, but some financial experts insist incorporated professionals are not as doomed as they say they are.
Secret $70M Lotto Max winners break their silence
During a special winner celebration near their hometown, Doug and Enid shared the story of how they discovered they were holding a Lotto Max ticket worth $70 million and how they kept this huge secret for so long.
Remains from a mother-daughter cold case were found nearly 24 years later, after a deathbed confession from the suspect
A West Virginia father is getting some sense of closure after authorities found the remains of his young daughter and her mother following a deathbed confession from the man believed to have fatally shot them nearly two decades ago.
Something in the water? Canadian family latest to spot elusive 'Loch Ness Monster'
For centuries, people have wondered what, if anything, might be lurking beneath the surface of Loch Ness in Scotland. When Canadian couple Parry Malm and Shannon Wiseman visited the Scottish highlands earlier this month with their two children, they didn’t expect to become part of the mystery.
Metro Vancouver mayors call for serial killer Robert Pickton to be denied parole
A dozen mayors from around Metro Vancouver say federal Attorney General and Justice Minister Arif Virani should deny parole for notorious B.C. serial killer Robert Pickton, and reassess the parole and sentencing system for 'prolific offenders and mass murderers.'