Tim Hortons restaurants across the Kitchener-Waterloo Region have been selling Holiday Smile Cookies in support of The Food Bank of Waterloo Region.
Through a Tim Hortons application process, The Food Bank of Waterloo Region got selected to partner up for the first Holiday Smile Cookie fundraiser.
The campaign kick-off event occurred on Nov. 13 where locals could meet staff and volunteers, grab some coffee, and be the first people to try the new cookie.
Six meals will be provided to families and individuals within the community experiencing food insecurity for every four cookies sold and for every box bought, the food bank will provide 18 meals.
The food bank has been providing emergency food assistance and support throughout the region since the 1980s.
Distributing fresh, frozen, and non-perishable food to the Community Food Assistance Network, which is a system of more than 120 community programs and agency partners working together to provide food, support, and services to people in need.
“With food insecurity on the rise here, there is one in 10 households in Waterloo Region that are accessing a food assistance program so the need is definitely there,” said Michelle Rickard, Manager, Marketing and Communications of Waterloo Region Food Bank.
They are seeing the highest need for food assistance in our almost 40-year history. A few partners the food bank works with: House of Friendship, A Better Tent City, Salvation Army (Kitchener), Conestoga College, and many more important organizations.
With the Holiday Smile Cookies being sold, people not only will be helping kids go to camp through the Tim Hortons Foundation Camps but also individuals and families struggling to access the food they need.
The food bank will receive 50 per cent of the proceeds from the cookies sold at participating Tim Hortons restaurants in Kitchener-Waterloo.
“It’s the first time we’ve donated to a charity where they were so hands-on and so eager to help,” said the manager of a Waterloo-area Tim Hortons, who didn’t want her name used in the media for authorization purposes.
“They came into my store, decorated cookies, put up banners, and did a portion of the work that is involved with making the cookies too which is really nice to see.”
The campaign ended on Nov. 19, running for a week total. The sales for the campaign so far have beaten the original projected estimate and customers can look forward to the new Holiday Smile Cookies being around next year.
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