The Agape Centre has launched its One-Bag Veggie Challenge,running from September 23 to 30, 2024, as part of Hunger Action Month. This year, the challenge specifically encourages donations of canned vegetables in response to growing food insecurity in the Cornwall area.
“The One Bag Challenge is an annual food drive aimed at involving the community, increasing our social media presence, and mostimportantly, stocking the shelves of the Community Market,” said Lisa Duprau, Executive Director of the Agape Centre. “This is the first year that our challenge is specific to one item—canned vegetables, which are flying off the shelves lately.”
Participants are invited to donate canned vegetables, take a selfie while dropping off their donation, post it on Facebook, and challengetheir friends to do the same.
Food bank usage at the Agape Centre has seen a significant increase. “Our August statistics show 193 new visitors, bringing our monthlyfood bank usage to over 3,600 people, 1,300 of which are children,” Duprau shared. “These are unprecedented numbers for the Agape Centre.”
This local spike reflects a broader trend across Ontario. According to Feed Ontario, a record 1,001,150 Ontarians relied on food banksbetween April 2023 and March 2024. That is a 25% increase from the year before. “Over one million visits to food banks is unacceptable in our province,” Duprau said. “Living with food insecurity should not be considered normal, which is the case for far too many people.”
For more information on how to participate in the One-Bag Veggie Challenge, visit the Agape Centre’s Facebook page.
