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Orangeville Food Bank hosting 8th Annual Coldest Night of the Year amidst rising demand

February 13, 2025   ·   0 Comments

By Sam Odrowski

Food insecurity and affordable housing are two issues impacting more people in Dufferin County and communities across Canada than ever before.

To help offset the growing demand for social services, particularly the need for food locally, the 8th Annual Coldest Night of the Year (CNOY) fundraising walk is returning to Orangeville on Feb. 22.

Proceeds from the event support the Orangeville Food Bank, which saw 1,529 people (615 families) in December last year.

“We’ve never seen that many people before,” said the food bank’s executive director Heather Hayes, who previously told the Citizen she saw just 380 monthly visitors when first joining the organization in 2015.

“These are astronomical numbers, and we expect to see another increase this year – 15 to 20 per cent – and that’s optimistic, if the tariffs impact people in manufacturing and that sort of thing.”

She added, “We have a lot of local plants around us that this will have a trickledown effect on and lots of families don’t have wiggle room in their budget to even miss a paycheque.”

Check-in for CNOY begins at 4 p.m. at the Orangeville Food Bank (5 Commerce Rd., Orangeville). Chainsaw carving artist Jim Menken will be on site carving ice sculptures and creative burn barrels will be set up to keep attendees warm.

At 4:45 p.m. there will be opening remarks and the send-off is slated for 5 p.m. At that time, walkers will complete either two-kilometre or five-kilometre routes, ending back at the food bank.

Following the walk, there will be a light meal and participants will receive send-off goodie bags, with the event concluding at 7 p.m.

The Orangeville Food Bank’s fundraising goal is $200,000 this year. Last year, $170,000 was raised.

“We need 90 teams in order to make that a reality, and we’re at about 68 teams right now,” said Hayes. “That’s one of the ways that people can support us, putting together a team of your family and friends and walking the 2k or 5k route in support of the food bank. That’s the big way that we raise funds.”

CNOY in Orangeville had 375 walkers registered as of press time, but Hayes said 550 are needed to hit the fundraising goal. She’s hopeful this target will be reached when the event takes place on Feb. 22.

Hayes noted the importance of supporting systemic changes to the food system so events like CNOY and her organization are no longer needed.

“Every time somebody walks into the food bank, it is a policy failure, and we continue to fail people as a province – that a million Ontarians need food banks,” Hayes said.

“We shouldn’t be necessary. There’s enough food in Canada that people should be well fed. But until we get to a better distribution system, or until a level of government recognizes the need for policy change, we have to plan for the worst-case scenario to keep people fed.”

She added, “We have an election coming up on Feb. 27. It’s really important that if you want those, protections and those safeguards put around people, we have to vote for policy change so that we don’t exist anymore. It’s shameful, really, that people have to use a food bank in this day and age.”

Hayes said the feedback from attendees of CNOY in past years has always been positive.

“Everybody says the same thing, that this is just a fun experience. It’s good camaraderie, everybody coming together for a cause. It’s a great group feeling that happens there and it’s a great way to involve the kids and getting together with your friends,” Hayes enthused.

“It is a few hours of commitment to support those in our community who really need help, so I would encourage anybody to come. We have a whole ton of fun here. The food is awesome at the end of the event, and you’re just going to leave with a lighter heart knowing that as a community, we pull together to support those in need.”

To register as a team or individual, visit cnoy.org/location/orangeville.

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