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Monthly Message: Orangeville Food Bank announces Can-Do Challenge

June 4, 2026   ·   0 Comments

June is here at the Orangeville Food Bank and Dufferin Food Share Grand Valley, which means something new and exciting this year… and we are so extremely excited about it.

Welcome to our first-ever Can-Do Challenge.

Picture this: schools, workplaces, sports teams, and other organizations all coming together to collect canned goods before the leaner months of summer arrive. It’s community-based, a little competitive, fun, and focused on one particularly important goal: making sure local families have access to food when they need it most.

And this year, we are inviting you to jump in with both feet!

Summer can be a difficult time for many families. While school is out and routines shift, many children lose daily access to the food security supports in their schools, like breakfast programs, snack bins, and school lunches. And we know that kids and their families miss out on food.

That is why the Can-Do challenge is so important… We want to head into our leanest months of the year with our shelves full.

Canned Goods are important because they are shelf-stable, easy to prepare (sometimes no prep is needed), and versatile for families. Things like canned pasta with meat, canned meat and fish, canned vegetables, and canned tomatoes help create quick, accessible meal options for busy households.

Here is something you may have never thought about…Did you know that we love pop-top cans?

Why? Because we keep emergency food kits for unhoused friends in the community, and many of them just don’t have access to a can opener… have you ever tried to open a can without one? And when someone is already navigating a crisis, something as simple as accessing food shouldn’t become another barrier.

Pop-top cans allow people to safely and immediately access food wherever they are. This is dignified access to food.

Schools are a huge part of this challenge, and some will use this opportunity to celebrate the end of the school year. But this challenge is not just for the kids.

We are officially asking all local businesses, service clubs, gyms, workplaces, churches, and teams to join us.

Have a friendly competition with another business? Impressive! Build a tower of cans in your condo lobby? Brilliant! Want to teach your kids about giving back to the community? Yes please!

If your organization, school, or workplace would like to participate, I would love to connect with you. We can help provide ideas, posters, banana boxes, social media graphics and more to help set you up for success.

You can reach me, Carrie-Anne DeCaprio, Donor Engagement and Outreach Manager, by email at carrie-anne.decaprio@orangevillefoodbank.org or by phone or text at 226-558-2109.

Now here’s one really important thing that you should know. We could use plain, old-fashioned money the most.

I know dropping off a mountain of canned food feels so wonderful, and we are super grateful for those, but financial donations allow us to stretch your gift even further.

Because we partner directly with wholesalers, we are often able to buy food at reduced costs. Recently, we received an offer to purchase bagged pasta for 67 cents each. At most grocery stores, this same bag of pasta costs $2.

That means we can purchase three bags for the price of one!

Financial donations allow us to buy exactly what we need, fill critical shortages quickly, and make every dollar work as hard as possible for our community.

That said, if donating food is your preferred way to support, I’ve recently updated our most-needed canned goods list on our Amazon Wish List. You can shop from home, and the items are delivered directly to our doors.

You can shop the Amazon list here:
https://a.co/03MOql06

If you would prefer to make a monetary donation, there are several easy ways to help.

Donations can be made online through the Orangeville Food Bank website, in person at the Orangeville or Grand Valley food bank locations, or by e-transfer to administration@orangevillefoodbank.org using the password “foodbank” (all lowercase, all one word).

If you would like a tax receipt for your e-transfer donation, I highly recommend including your mailing address in the notes section.

At the end of the day, the Can-Do Challenge is about more than food.

When people come together, amazing things happen, and I can’t wait to see what this incredible community can do for our first year with the Can-Do Challenge.

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