Posted on Jul 05, 2022
Rotary clubs from Kingston to North Bay, to Woodstock united on July 5th to purchase and pack 117,000 meal kits for people in need. The effort spanned a total of 6 cities, with concurrent food-pack events in Burlington, Toronto, North Bay, Belleville, Barrie, and Kingston. Here in North Bay a total of 10,368 meal packs were prepared.

The effort is in partnership with Kids Against Hunger, a Canadian food-aid charity which focuses on feeding people in need, both here in Canada and around the world.
 
Each meal pack contains a full day’s nutrition for six people. The food ingredients include rice, fortified vegetable protein, dehydrated vegetables, and a special blend of 21 vitamins & minerals. The food packed at this event will be shipped to communities in Northern Canada as well as locations in the Philippines.

This July 5th is a special day for members of Rotary. It marks the Toronto stop on a cross Canada tour for Jennifer Jones, the incoming President of Rotary International. Jones is Canadian and will be the first woman to take office as Rotary International President in the service organization’s 117 years of existence.

The tour has already taken her to Whitehorse, Windsor, Ottawa, St. John’s, and Quebec City. After Toronto, she goes to Winnipeg, Calgary, Edmonton, Vancouver, and Victoria. Projects planned for the tour include a watershed clean-up in Toronto, a build-a-bed workshop for children in need in Windsor (Ontario), planting an urban garden in St John’s (Newfoundland), planting trees in Edmonton (Alberta), a beach clean-up in White Rock (BC), and sorting food at a donation center in Victoria (BC).

“In recent times, we have all witnessed incredible acts of service and kindness – especially throughout the pandemic,” said Jones. “Canada’s 21,000-plus Rotary members are providing leadership during this challenging time in history. This tour is an opportunity to uncover the best of what we do and share it with others.”

For more about the Imagine Rotary Canada Tour check out the tour Facebook page.