The Katimavik group’s community involvement project (CIP) in Woodstock, ON was planned and run by two of its participants: Rose Bright, from Toronto, and Antaya Schneider, from British Columbia. It all started when Antaya, Rose and their work supervisor – Steve, from the local community partner organization Operation Sharing –
were brainstorming ideas for the CIP, and Steve mentioned that the local radio station, Heart FM, wanted to take their cars and visit all of the grocery stores in the county that had the Food for Friends program in them.
The Food for Friends program is a new, innovative program that Operation Sharing started in Oxford County, and that allows people who don’t have a lot of money for food to visit participating grocery stores in the county and shop for themselves. Here’s how it works: when customers go through the till, they are asked by the cashiers if they would like to donate a quarter for Food for Friends, then that money is put into an account designated for the community it was collected in. Afterwards, people who need some extra help with food apply for the cards and are issued one according to their needs - the cards range from $10 to $60. Then, they take the cards into participating grocery stores and can purchase non-taxable foods like dairy products, vegetables, meat, bread, and juice, and when they go through the till, the cashier takes their card and they sign two receipts that are later collected by Operation Sharing. This is an ingenious alternative to using food banks, since it avoids the potential embarrassment of having to wait in line at this type of place. The originality of this Food for Friends program has been previously discussed at the House of Commons.
With this idea in mind, the Woodstock participants started to plan what they could do with Heart FM to help promote the Food for Friends program and Operation Sharing in Oxford County, ON. The plan was enacted on June 2nd, when the Woodstock Katimavik group and the London group spent a day at all the grocery stores in the county that were participating in Food for Friends, thanking customers for donating, on behalf of Katimavik, and spreading the word about the program.
The week following the 2nd was officially proclaimed “Operation Sharing Week” by the government in Oxford County and Woodstock, during which the Woodstock Katimavik group and the Ingersoll group plan to start up the “Mystery Shoppers” program, where a few participants will go into a grocery store and purchase something as regular customers. If their cashier asks them to donate a quarter for Food for Friends, the respective participants will reveal themselves by saying that they are from Katimavik and the cashier will then win a gift from a local business for participating in the program. This will give the cashiers an incentive to ask every customer for a quarter and creates some fun for everyone.
In order for all of this to happen, Rose and Antaya contacted all the mayors and the warden of Oxford County, asking them to mention the Operation Sharing Week and Food for Friends in their council meetings. They also contacted all the grocery stores to ask if Katimavik could come in on June 2nd to talk with customers and give out flyers about Operation Sharing and Food for Friends. Furthermore, they have invited a number of politicians to come to the stores and witness how Katimavik is making a difference for the poor. Some of the politicians included the local MP, MPP, and some city councilors from the county.
The media in Oxford County played an essential role in raising awareness for the Food for Friends program, and the Operation Sharing organization. Heart FM and Rogers TV interviewed Woodstock Katimavik participants on a number of days. During these interviews, participants were able to talk about issues such as poverty in Oxford County, as well as tell the county about the Katimavik program. Newspaper articles were also published in most of the local newspapers throughout the various towns within the County of Oxford, ON.
The participants of Woodstock, London and Ingersoll took pride in helping to make a difference in Oxford County. The Food for Friends program is in its first year, but has already raised almost $90,000 and helps over 270 families in the area! We all hope that it will continue to grow, and be able to help more and more people. Congratulations to Oxford County for being able to make such an innovative program a real success!
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