Published November 13, 2018 20:06
Source https://winnipegsun.com/news/news-news/local-restaurants-join-fight-to-end-youth-hunger
Nine Winnipeg restaurants will later this month be added to the roster of local establishments taking part in Mealshare, a national social enterprise committed to help end youth hunger by partnering restaurants with local charities that use food as a catalyst for change.
Set to come on board on Nov. 27, the nine restaurants are the four Nuburger locations plus Clementine, Smith Restaurant, Degrees, Tallest Poppy and The Goodwill. They will join 19 restaurants already taking part including Stella’s, Original Joe’s, The Merchant Kitchen, Little Goat, Pizzeria Gusto, Fionn’s, and the Confusion Corner Bar and Grill.
Restaurateurs select a few items on their menu and put the Mealshare logo next to them and an explanation of the logo on the bottom of their menu. Each time a customer orders a Mealshare item, the restaurant contributes to Mealshare, which forwards most of the funds to its charity partners to provide a meal to a youth in need.
“It’s a really simple and easy giving program that we can help out our community through a Buy One, Give One model,” said Chantel Lacoste, Winnipeg Mealshare Community Leader. “Customers are able to help feed youth in our community as well as abroad by just buying a Mealshare menu item. It’s very simple.”
Half of the meals Mealshare provides stay local and are provided through The Boys and Girls Clubs of Winnipeg and the other half are provided internationally through Save the Children Canada.
According to the 2017 Manitoba Child and Youth Report, Child Poverty ranges from 12% to 22% in Manitoba, with over 60,000 people across the province using food banks, and 53% of those experiencing food insecurity in Manitoba are children. In addition, 11% of Manitoba households with children under 18 are food insecure.
On the other hand, eight million Canadians dine out every single day. With these statistics in mind, Mealshare says it’s easy to see how collectively a change can be made.
Launched in July 2013 by cousins Jeremy Bryant and Andrew Hall, Mealshare has provided more than two million meals through operations in Vancouver, Victoria, Calgary, Edmonton, Toronto, Ottawa, Montreal, and Winnipeg.
“We do find that when people find out how easy it is to come on (board) and how they are giving back to the community and they see the impact that they are making, it’s really easy to (attract restaurants to join),” said Lacoste.