Food Banks Canada Launches Next Phase Campaign: ‘I ATE’ to Raise Remaining $70M in $150M Appeal

TORONTO – Today, Food Banks Canada is announcing the next phase of its campaign, I ATE with the goal of raising $70 million. This amount marks the remainder of the $150M appeal that was initially announced in March.

Concerned about ‘COVID-19 fatigue’, Food Banks Canada CEO Chris Hatch explains the intent of this campaign is to remind Canadians that their food insecure neighbours still need help, even more so once the pandemic restrictions are eased.

“As the federal and provincial governments begin lifting the COVID-19 lockdown measures, that doesn’t mean the demand for support from food banks disappears,” cautions Hatch.

“We’re still dealing with the aftermath of the Great Recession, and that was more than a decade ago.

Now we have to brace ourselves for an even greater surge over the coming months, with many food banks across Canada already reporting spikes in client visits.”

To date, $80 million of the $150 million goal has been secured; $12 million from individual donors, of which $8 million was a result of the stronger together concert (the most watched non-sports Canadian broadcast on record), $18 million via corporate partners and private foundations, and $50 million from the Government of Canada. Funds raised to date are going towards sourcing essential food and support items for the food banks across the network and providing financial support to change their operations to adhere to the social distancing guidelines.

What can be more powerful than knowing your donation is helping to put food on the table for struggling Canadians as we face an unpredictable economic future, at least in the short-term. As many people are feeling hardly secure in their current situations, they are faced with having to make difficult choices between paying for food or housing costs, or even tuition. ‘I ATE” are two simple, yet powerful words that speak to being able to access adequate food with dignity. For donors, these compelling words translate into being part of a community that is able to support one another when help is needed.

At the crux of the campaign is the microsite, which is supported by social media and digital ads running on donated ad space from media partners. At launch, the campaign includes digital out-of-home media donated by Pattison Outdoor and ad properties on the dating platform Plenty of Fish (ca.pof.com). The campaign was created by The Local Collective, a Toronto brand and advertising agency.

“The problem Food Banks Canada is trying to solve—eliminating hunger—was already massive in scale before the COVID-19 pandemic struck.

We knew that in the face of this crisis, they would need a much bolder approach than usual to meet their fundraising goal,” explains Matt Litzinger, President and Chief Creative Officer, The Local Collective. “Every person should have the ability to say I ATE, every day, as often as they need to.

And that is our mission, with your help and all of our help we can make sure every family, friend and person can say this powerful phrase.”