Team Effort: OpenRoad Foundation Spearheads Food Rescue Volunteer Opportunity with Vancouver Food Runners
In honour of Earth Month, OpenRoad Foundation organized several volunteer opportunities for OpenRoad Group staff, with the aim of increasing awareness about the community’s environmental efforts. Among these activities was a special food rescue campaign, led by Vancouver Food Runners, a grant recipient. Notably, Genesis Richmond Brand Ambassador Kirk McLean and his wife Genevieve McLean joined in as special participants.
“We were thrilled to have the Genesis Richmond team, Genesis Richmond Brand Ambassador Kirk McLean and Genevieve McLean join us on one of Vancouver Food Runners’ food rescue initiatives,” says Shea Studler, OpenRoad Foundation Manager. “It’s essential for us at the OpenRoad Foundation to engage directly with our grant recipients and witness firsthand the impactful work they do every day. It’s eye-opening and we look forward to spearheading more opportunities like these in the near future.”
On the morning of April 12th, the group arrived to pick-up surplus food at Fresh Direct Produce, a community partner of Vancouver Food Runners. They helped load the produce into vans and delivered them to the Downtown Eastside Distribution Hub with Tattooed Heart Society, which plays a vital role in receiving and redistributing food, supplies, donations, and other goods to the community in-need.
Vancouver Food Runners’ mission is to respond to the unfortunate disconnect between the fact that 58 per cent of all food produced in Canada is wasted or lost, while one in seven households in British Columbia are food insecure. Its aim is to prevent perfectly good food from entering the waste stream – where it will negatively harm the environment – and instead redirect it to nonprofits in Vancouver that work with the most vulnerable members of the community.
Raymon Hothi, General Manager, Genesis Richmond adds, “It starts with the community, and when OpenRoad Foundation presented us with the opportunity to volunteer, our staff jumped at the chance. It was wonderful to have Kirk and Genevieve participate as well.”
For more information about Vancouver Food Runners, please visit www.vancouverfoodrunners.com.
