Central Smith Creamery launches third annual ‘Fill the Truck’ campaign in support of Kawartha Food Share

I scream, you scream, we all scream … to fill the truck!

On Friday, December 15th, when Central Smith Creamery loads up their delivery truck, it won’t be with the premium ice cream for which the Selwyn-based company is known. Instead, they’ll be filling it with donated non-perishable food items collected by local businesses and organizations for Kawartha Food Share.

This will mark the third year the family-owned business has organized the “Fill the Truck” campaign. After running a food drive during the first pandemic holiday season to support the community through a difficult time, in 2021 the team at Central Smith decided to do something even larger.

“The great thing about this whole campaign is it was driven by staff,” says Central Smith vice president and co-owner Jenn Scates. “It started in a meeting where somebody suggested it would be cool if we could fill the truck, and (Fill the Truck) was born. We had a great committee of people that started reaching out to a lot of our partners.”

Participating businesses and organizations will launch their own independent food drives over the coming weeks to collect items for Fill the Truck. Then, on December 15, Central Smith “elves” will visit each location and collect the donated items, with the ultimate goal to fill at least one truck.

“What’s been great to see this year is that businesses are reaching out to us instead of us reaching out to them,” says Shannon Meagher, Central Smith’s inventory control coordinator. “People are getting to know what it is that we do every year.”

Meagher adds that it’s not just local businesses taking part, but organizations, churches, and schools. While some have participated each year since the inaugural campaign, the list has continued to grow, with more than 35 organizations already signed up to be involved this year. There is still opportunity for other groups to participate by contacting Central Smith before Friday, December 1st.

You can donate non-perishable food items at participating businesses and organizations, which include:

You can also drop off donations at the bins outside of Central Smith Creamery (and “buy a four-litre tub of ice cream at the same time,” jokes Scates).

At the end of last year’s collection day, Central Smith had dropped off 14,500 pounds of non-perishable food items — a full truckload — to Kawartha Food Share, as well as $10,000 in monetary donations.

“Since COVID, everyone knows that the community needs more assistance year after year, and that need continues to grow,” says Meagher. “This is a really great way for businesses to make a big impact.”

Central Smith will provide participating businesses with promotional material, including printed flyers and social media posts, as well as a list of high-demand non-perishable food items identified by Kawartha Food Share.

On pick-up day, the Central Smith truck will travel two separate routes, with one going through Lakefield and another visiting Peterborough locations. A map of the routes with participating locations will be released ahead of the collection date

Beyond the food collection itself, Scates acknowledges how rewarding it is to see the community coming together in support of a good cause and finding their own ways to get staff and clients involved. For example, Dentistry on Sherbrooke in Peterborough is encouraging clients to donate by welcoming them with a lobby display that includes a truck resembling the Central Smith truck.

“They’re having fun with it,” says Scates. “It’s been a real community builder for us, and we’ve gotten to know some new friends.”

Scates adds that while food donations are always appreciated at Kawartha Food Share, which distributes food to 37 food banks and cupboards in Peterborough County, monetary donations are just as highly valued and can often go a long way — for every $1 donated, Kawartha Food Share can purchase up to $3 worth of food.

“(Kawartha Food Share) has better buying power than you and I do,” says Scates. “We actually encourage a lot of our participants to give money because we know they can stretch it a little further than we can.”

Central Smith’s planning manager Katie Watt explains that, when dropping off the donations last year, the team was given a tour of the Kawartha Food Share to get a better sense and appreciation for what the organization does on a daily and weekly basis.

“We found out a lot more about the reach that they have and the amount of need that they’re fulfilling,” she says. “That’s only grown more and more this year with food insecurity on the rise. We can get the food to them, but they’re certainly the pros in distributing it amongst the community to the people that really need it.”

Given the increase in food insecurity and community need, Scates hopes Central Smith can exceed last year’s goal.

“We’re thrilled to be able to help host it again as a company and I’m so proud of all our staff for the initiative,” Scates says. “Last year we filled one truck fully, so if we can fill a truck-and-a-half or two trucks this year that would be amazing.”

Businesses and organizations interested in being a part of the Fill the Truck campaign can email shannon@centralsmith.ca or jenn@centralsmith.ca before December 1.

For more information about Central Smith Creamery, visit www.centralsmith.ca. For more information about Kawartha Food Share, visit www.kawarthafoodshare.com.