Feeding our community
Food for Life delivers blessings to
those who need it most.
– By Suzanne Soto-Davies
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Have you ever wondered what your preferred
supermarket does with all those fresh baked
goods, in-store breads, store-baked pies and
roasted chickens that aren’t sold that day?
Unfortunately, they’re most likely being thrown
out in the dumpster behind the store.
More than 28,000 residents in Halton Region
live below the Statistic Canada Low Income Cut
Off (LICO after tax), which is commonly used
to measure poverty in Canada. This is equivalent
to 8.5% of Halton’s population, and includes 1
out of every 10 children.
“No man, woman or child should
have to go to bed hungry while stores,
restaurants and other food suppliers
are tossing food in our landfills.”
– George Bagaco, founder of Food for Life
According to Halton Region’s annual Nutritious
Food Basket report, more than 19,000 Halton
residents are considered to be “food insecure”.
This means they lack the resources to obtain a
healthy diet for themselves or their family.
Humble beginnings
In 1995, Oakville resident George Bagaco would stop at
a bakery on his way home from work, and fill his trunk
with baked goods to distribute to needy families in his
neighbourhood. Later with the help of the Rotary Clubs,
which donated a vehicle, and Kerr Street Ministries in Oakville,
which provided warehouse space, Food for Life was formed
from very modest beginnings by hiring a driver and a parttime Executive Director.
Officially incorporated in 2003, Food for Life was now a
registered charitable organization which had established a
number of partnerships with local social service agencies, to
whom they would deliver food on a weekly basis. Over the
next years, a number of these social service agencies and food
banks in the Region would then initiate a collaborative process
that would focus on collecting large volumes of food from the
corporate and retail food sectors (wholesalers, distributors,
manufacturers, retail locations), and delivering, or sorting
Volunteers at Food for Life pick up, sort and deliver the goods.
Silver & Gold Magazine • Summer 2014
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