Montrealers are being asked to give from their hearts and their pantries in the city’s first-ever Miracle food drive, an initiative to bring as much non-perishable food as possible to those in hunger and need.
The Miracle food drive will take place on Sunday, September 13, between noon and 4 p.m. Giving is easy: residents of the Greater Montreal region, including the island and north and south shore suburbs, need only place a non-perishable food item on their porch or stoop, and a team of thousands of volunteers will collect them. Every door will be stopped at.
The pandemic has presented many challenges, but one of the most pressing is securing enough food for those who are finding that feeding themselves and their families affordably is difficult.
The food drive will not put anyone at risk; no one will ring or knock at the door. Volunteers will simply scoop up the food item(s) residents have left for them.
The beauty of this initiative is that it will happen if 4.2 million people hear about this and everyone participates in spreading the word.
The first Miracle drive took place in Chatham-Kent, Ontario in May and was a huge success, with other food drives spreading to other counties, in the process recruiting thousands of volunteers and amassing millions of pounds of food. An estimated 65% of the population participated.
Yan Niesing, organizer, and his children get in on the act.
The Montreal territory covers a much larger area so building a tidal wave of support is needed to make a real difference. Spearheaded in Montreal by volunteer Gillian Aitken and a growing team of volunteers from every part of the city and area of expertise, the potential for Montrealers to come together and donate as more and more individuals and families struggle to make ends meet is enormous.
“I am hearing so many Montrealers saying that they want to do something to help those struggling during this pandemic,” Aitken said. “This food drive gives us all a way to contribute and participate in feeding our communities and supporting each other during this crisis.”
Visit miracle13septembre.org for more information and to sign up as a volunteer. Tap here to donate.
I live in an Apartment complex on the west Island (Point Claire) will volunteers come to apartments??
Are they passing in St !eonard
They have not picked up–140 Saint Maurice Brossard–will they be around or do I take it somewhere
I have quite a bit non perishable –in box and a bag–probably about 20 lbs
*This is unfortunately the second that I left food (two bags full) in my lobby and I know I left the address in my registration. What went wrong?