With peanut butter, canned tuna, and other items dwindling on the shelves at Kawartha Food Share, Peterborough’s “Porch Pirates for Good” will be combing porches across the city on Saturday, June 1.
The “Porch Pirates for Good” team of volunteers is collecting food and other essential items for the food bank’s city-wide spring food drive.
Ashlee Aitken, general manager of Kawartha Food Share, said the need is currently high for a number of reasons.
“A food drive (at) this time of year is extremely helpful for us to ensure food bank shelves remain stocked during the summer months,” Aitken told kawarthaNOW.
“Typically the majority of our donations come during the holiday season, but unfortunately the need is still present all year long. Throughout the summer months, close to 80 per cent of the food we distribute is purchased product, so this food drive will help us stretch those dollars a little further.”
In addition to donations only trickling in during the warmer months, current food prices are also a big factor contributing to the need for inventory at the Peterborough food bank.
“We know times are tough and food costs are extremely high, so we’re really grateful for any and all donations we receive,” Aitken said.
On a broader scale, the number of people using food banks across Canada has reached an all-time high. Kawartha Food Share said that, in addition to food costs, supply chain shortages have affected Kawartha Food Share clients, donors, and the organization’s own purchasing power.
During previous Porch Pirates for Good food drives, volunteers have collected more than 80,000 pounds of donations on event days.
“We’re thankful for every last donation and, no matter how much food is collected, it’s still more than we had,” Aitken said.
On collection day, community members who wish to take part are asked to leave a bag of non-perishable food items on their front porch. Beginning at 9 a.m., the porch pirates will drive around the city and collect the items and deliver them to the Kawartha Food Share warehouse.
“In the last four years, our pirates have brought in over 140,000 pounds of food and over $13,000 in monetary donations,” Aitken noted in a media release.
The origin of the Porch Pirates for Good food drives go back to the beginning of the pandemic in March 2020. Local filmmaker and performer Megan Murphy organized a porch food drive for Kawartha Food Share called “Spare A Square,” so named beccause toilet paper was in short supply at the time and one of the needed items. In October 2020, she organized another food drive called “Spare A Square #2.”
In March 2021, more volunteers became involved, and they began calling the food drive “Porch Pirates for Good.” Some volunteers got into the spirit and dressed up as pirates on collection day. Kawartha Food Share later took over organizing the spring and fall food drives.
Flyers for the food drive will be distributed the week prior to June 1, and Kawartha Food Share asks donors to include the flyer with their donation so it’s easy for the pirates to spot on porches.
Items needed include peanut butter, canned tuna, canned vegetables and canned fruit, individually wrapped school snacks, pasta and pasta sauce, Heinz Alphagetti, Kraft Dinner, Chef Boyardee, breakfast cereal, gluten-free items (e.g., pasta, cookies, oats), canned soup and stew, feminine hygiene products, and diapers.
People can also give monetary donations to Kawartha Food Share. For every $1 donated, the organization can purchase up to $3 worth of food. Volunteers will be able to collect cheques made out to Kawartha Food Share during their pick-ups on June 1, or donations can be made online at kawarthafoodshare.com/donations.
The organization is still looking for a few more people to help with collection efforts on June 1. For more information or to volunteer, email admin@kawarthafoodshare.com.
