Cambridge man raises $5,700 so food bank can buy back-to-school snacks

Jamie Colwell of Cambridge says when he heard the city's food bank was out of "luxury items" like nut-free bars, fruit cups and peanut butter, he needed to act.

Colwell says he knows what it's like to have to go to the food bank. In 2005, he and his partner at the time needed help.

"We were going through some challenging times with finances. We both were employed but at the same time we had some unexpected costs that came out at that time and," he said.

"We had the choice of paying our bills or eating and we decided to pay our bills and we ended up getting support through the food bank at that time."

He said it was a really tough time.

"I always remembered how they were able to help me ... and I wanted to be able to return that favour," he said.

He said after having a conversation with Cambridge Food Bank executive director Dianne McLeod in June, he wanted to see what he could do.

"I found out the amount of one skid of nut-free bars would be, a skid of fruit cups and that was my compass. With taxes it was $5,400," he said. "Those are staple items that are kind of almost the luxury items that they get donated to them." 

Then he turned to his friends, family, people he met through a local chapter of a networking group BNI GLobal.

He started the campaign at the start of July and raised the full $5,400 by the end of the month. He was able to collect just over $5,700, which he has donated.

Part of the campaign saw him standing at Zehrs in Hespeler collecting donations from shoppers, including more than 546 kg of food.

'New faces every day'

The donation comes at a busy time for the food bank, when families will be requesting items for school lunches, says Sarah Tooze, the food bank's donor development manager.

"Jamie's initiative will go a long way to help us meet the increased need that we are seeing as students return to school this year amid the rising cost of food and fuel," she said in an email.

"Families' budgets are already stretched thin. Compounded with the added expenses associated with sending children back to school, parents may be faced with the tough choice of either paying for housing or food."

Tooze said school-aged children make up approximately 25 per cent of the people who access emergency food hampers through the food bank. The items donated and purchased through Colwell's initiative will be available to families for the start of school.

"Unfortunately, the supply won't last long, as we are seeing new faces every day," Tooze said.

"Food is still flowing in, but it's being distributed just as quickly. We are hoping that our community will help us to keep shelves full during this time of need, as they have in the past."

Items the Cambridge Food Bank is in need of include:

• Fruit cups.
• Nut-free bars.
• Oatmeal.
• Protein sources like canned tuna and peanut butter.

Plans for another fundraiser

This isn't Colwell's first fundraising campaign for the food bank and he says it's not his last. In fact, he's planning another fall fundraiser and plans to release details about that soon.

"With the cost of food, with inflation and just what we've been going through for the past few years with COVID, some of the worst hit are the places that you wouldn't think of like the food bank," he said.

"For example, they need breakfast products like pancake mix … Their shelves are empty. So my hope is that it encourages others and inspires others to look at ways that they can help their community."

Colwell's mom had a fondness for Princess Diana and he says he's found inspiration in a quote from her: "Carry out a random act of kindness, with no expectation of reward, safe in the knowledge that one day someone might do the same for you."

"I've had people that have helped me when I've needed it, so I look forward to helping others in return," he said.

LISTEN | Cambridge man raises money to ensure city's food bank has back-to-school snacks: