During the spring of 2020 (May 28th, 2020) nine intrepid members of Harris Corporate left the comfort of their remote/home offices destined for farmland in rural south Ottawa. They abandoned their desk chairs and laptops in support of the Ottawa Food Bank‘s Community Harvest Program. The team volunteered their day to till, weed, and fertilize the fields, preparing them for spring planting. Their contribution will support the growing of 16 varieties of vegetables and fruit which supplement the non-perishable donations distributed to Food Bank’s client base. Promoting a balanced and healthy diet is equally beneficial to all. 50% of the labor needed at the Farm is done by volunteers, approximately 700 part-time farmers put in 3000 + hours to help provide fresh produce to empty stomachs.
The Ottawa Food Bank supports over 100 emergency food programs throughout Ottawa including Community food banks, meal programs and after school snack programs. In 2016/2017 almost 50% of the food distributed through the Ottawa Food Bank was fresh, thanks in large part to the Community Harvest.