Within the rising tide of food precarity, local youngster Ellie Burk and her philanthropic work are a ray of hope.
The seven-year-old recently raised $55 from her lemonade stand, which she then donated to the local food bank, the Georgetown Bread Basket (GBB). Her endeavour made her eligible to become a #GeorgetownHungerHero. GBB lauded her on their socials, a new tradition they have continued with others.
The little girl – who wants to help people by becoming a nurse when she grows up – said it felt good to help GBB because she found out “over 600 people go to the food bank in a month.”
She said she would do another such lemonade stand because she wants to “keep helping people.”
Her father Josh says he and his wife Janine try to encourage “giving back to people that aren't as fortunate.”
Tagging and promoting individuals such as little Ellie on social media is one of the ways the GBB hopes to encourage people to give.
The public now has access to the Bread Basket’s own Amazon wish list too, which local residents can browse through and buy goods on the food bank's behalf.
All of this, combined with a recent call out for support on social media, has yielded dividends as the GBB's Facebook page is full of photos of smiling faces and a huge haul of food.
But in the weeks before the bonanza, the food bank was not doing so well. Too few donations and rising client demand meant the Bread Basket had to take drastic measures to keep the shelves stocked.
“Donations don't keep up with the output. So we are buying food, sometimes at retail,” GBB chair Rob Simpson told HaltonHillsToday.
In the past two years, the number of GBB clients has risen by 58 per cent and the number of visits to the food bank has climbed by 78 per cent. So not only are there more people asking for help, they are coming in more often.
The quantity of food moved is up 43 per cent from 267,000 pounds in 2022 to 382,000 in 2024.
Cash spent on food purchases also increased 199 per cent in the same period, from $67,000 to $200,000.
Food Banks Canada’s poverty report card paints a dire picture of a worsening affordability crisis in Ontario. It states that “overall, children [under 18] make up 19 per cent of the province’s population, but represent 31 per cent of food bank visitors.”
It explained further: “Nearly one-fifth of all food bank visitors in the province come from single-parent families.” The report card gave Ontario a D- for its response to the crisis.
Georgetown Bread Basket is happy to accept help from people like little Ellie Burk to megachain grocery stores. Real Canadian Superstore, FreshCo, Food Basics, Walmart and the Georgetown Market Place all have bins to collect donations.
Local residents who want to do their part can have a look at GBB’s wish list and find additional ways to donate on their website.
