The Farmer's Market Returns

And the beat goes on…

Weekly Food Drive will help families in need

The Pickering Town Centre will be kicking off its Second Annual Farmers’ Market

this coming Tuesday, June 26^th. And once again, they will be holding an ongoing,

weekly food drive.

The Market will take place every Tuesday from noon until 7pm, right up until October

16^th. It’s located near Entrance 4 at the Pickering Town Centre’s east parking lot, right

across from Pickering City Hall and adjacent to the Durham Region Transit bus loop.

The Market will help farmers and growers sell their fresh products directly to the public. And Lorna Murphy, Marketing Director, Pickering Town Centre, also adds, “A number of new vendors have also joined us, offering everything from hot sauce to home made soups, jams and jellies.”

In keeping with its ongoing commitment to the community, the Market will once again be collecting donations for the area’s two food banks: St. Paul’s on the Hill and the Salvation Army House of Hope. Those planning to visit the Market are encouraged to bring non-perishable food donations.  Last year, 2,600 food items were collected, and they hope to collect 5,000 items this year. 

The Market will not just feature food: they are also committed to promoting local performing arts and culture. Joining in on the fun will be two new mascots: “Slice” an apple with attitude and “Phil” the bag man. There will be music and entertainment, again provided by the talented students from Creative Math & Music. 

We hope to see you out and about at the Market this season! For further information, please visit the Pickering Town Centre’s website: www.pickeringtowncentre.com

Final Wrap-up 2012 with video

We are blessed to have a video summary of our Food Drive this year. 

                             2012 Video Hilites for food drive

Mountains of Food and Thanks

     Thank you Pickering! Your support of our 3^rd annual door-to-door Community Food Drive was a tremendous success. On Saturday, May 12^th we collected just over 10,600 lbs. of food. That’s a lot of jars of pasta sauce!

Mayor Ryan Offers Encouragement

Volunteer Sign Up Table

     Volunteers started their collection around 10am on Saturday morning. Mayor Dave Ryan stopped by to provide some supportive words for our crew who braved the heat and some wildlife (the geese and raccoons are fully at home in the suburbs) to carefully bring back thousands of items to the collection centre. There was non-stop activity in the sorting and packing area as teams worked hard to make sure items were properly packed up for distribution to each of the partner food banks. And we are also very grateful for the wonderful refreshments provided that kept our team moving and hydrated for the entire day.

     So a big thank you to all who came out and spent their time and energy in the planning and execution of this day; thank you to the residents of Pickering for donating thousands of food items for our volunteers to collect; and a special thank you to the Pickering Town Centre for supporting our execution of the donation bags; and to the News Advertiser for getting the bags out in the hands of their readers!

     This day would just not have come together without everyone’s support!

Food Sorting and Packing

Bags Coming In From Door to Door Pickups

Final Boxing of Food Items before delivery to Food Banks

     If you missed our pick-up day, and would still like to support this cause, we are still accepting food donations at the Pickering Town Centre (by Zellers) and at any Pickering Fire Hall until May 19^th. 

Here is the text from an article in The News Advertiser, Pickering Edition May 9th, 2012
(You can find the article here:http://www.durhamregion.com/community/article/1350622--pickering-cares-launches-community-food-drive)

Pickering Cares launches community food drive

Collections to benefit area food banks

PICKERING -- The battle to combat hunger continues in Pickering with the third annual Community Food Drive campaign.

Organized by Pickering Cares, the food drive will collect donations for St. Paul's-on-the-Hill and Salvation Army food banks. On May 12 volunteers will collect donations from homes to benefit the community food banks, with more than 25,000 Pickering homes included in the campaign area.

Donations can be dropped off at all Pickering fire halls or at the drop box in the Pickering Town Centre at the Zellers entrance until May 19.

"This year we're pleased that the Pickering Town Centre has come on board to support our efforts," said Mike Fischer, project manager for the food drive.

'Going into our third year we were looking at doing something a little different, and the team has really come through with something great."

Donation bags were distributed to homes through the News Advertiser on May 3 and people are being asked to leave donation bags on their porches by 9 a.m. on Saturday, May 12, when volunteers will come around to collect items. Food will be sorted and packed at the Amberlea Church and then delivered to the food banks.

In 2011, more than 300 volunteers spent over 2,000 hours helping with the Community Food Drive campaign. As a result, 10,491 pounds of much-needed food was collected and split between both food banks.

The team is hoping to exceed these numbers for 2012 and volunteers are still needed to help with collection. Anyone interested in volunteering can sign up via e-mail at pickeringcaresvolunteers@gmail.com These hours qualify as volunteer hours for Grade 9 through 12 students.

Most Wanted

     This year our partner food banks St. Paul’s on the Hill and the Salvation Army have identified the most needed food items to carry them through the summer months. These items are:

1. Pasta sauce
2. Canned fruit or vegetables
3. Pekoe tea/Instant coffee/sugar
4. Crackers
5. Cold cereal

     In 2011 we collected over 10,491lbs. of food! We were thrilled with the community support and are looking forward to an even more successful food collection for 2012! 

Extra! Extra!

     Did you get a food donation bag today in the News Advertiser? If you live in the Pickering area, chances are you’re one of the approximately 23,000 households that did.

     Missed the News Advertiser this week? Not to worry! Donation bags are being handed out at the Pickering Town Centre, on Saturday, May 5^th by our Youth Groups. Look for them at the main entrances at the mall starting at 11am. 

Calling All Volunteers!

    Are you a student in grades 9 through 12 looking for volunteer hours?  Why not come down and donate your time to the Pickering Cares Community Food Drive? In 2011, over 300 volunteers spent over 2,000 hours helping out with our food drive. We’re looking for volunteers starting at 10am on Saturday, May 12^th to help us collect, sort and pack food donations. If you’re interested in this event (or know someone who may be) send us an e-mail at pickeringcaresvolunteers@gmail.com. 

And so it begins

    We’re excited to announce that the Pickering Cares Community Food Drive has officially begun! New to the food drive this year is the donation bag. Thanks to the Pickering Town Centre and News Advertiser, a donation bag will be delivered with the News Advertiser on May 3^rd, to approximately 23,000 households in Pickering. We are asking residents to place food items in the bags and then place their front porch – by 9am. In order to ensure a successful pick-up from our volunteers, we ask that you place the bags in an area visible from the street.

    If you don’t get a copy of the News Advertiser, donation bags will also be distributed by our Youth Volunteer groups at the Pickering Town Centre on Saturday, May 5^th starting at 11am.

    Please be aware if you live in an apartment building or condo, or on a rural road, donations can be made directly at the Pickering Town Centre, by Zellers, or at any Fire Hall in Pickering from May 4^th through to the 19^th. 

Our 2012 Food Drive Announcement

    We are pleased to announce our 3rd annual door-to-door food drive. On May 12th our volunteers will again visit the houses in urban Pickering and collect their donations. But here is the change. Instead of delivering a flyer (door knocker) to each house, we will be distributing brown paper bags with collection instructions on them via the News Advertiser. Our youth volunteers will also hand out bags at the Pickering Town Centre the weekend before the door-to-door drive.

    Keep coming back to check our updates. We will give more detailed instructions in a few weeks. Thanks for your ongoing support.