After an incredible 90 days, the Step Up to the Plate program with Food Banks Canada slides into home for a season-end win. Step Up to the Plate started in June at Rogers Centre in Toronto, with Rogers employee volunteers and their families filling food hampers with non-perishable food items that provide an individual with a week’s worth of meals. Then, trucks loaded with hampers and pallets of food drove to communities across the country to reach local food banks and agencies to help fill the plates of Canadians. A winning team and a winning season generates some great stats. Here’s a look at Step Up to the Plate, by the numbers:
Step Up to the Plate: By the Numbers
- 9.75 million pounds of food were packed and delivered
- 8 million meals provided to Canadians across the country
- 400,000 hampers assembled, each will feed one Canadian for a week
- 395,881km travelled to deliver hampers coast to coast
- 20,000 volunteer hours donated to complete the initiative
- 5,000 volunteer shifts by Rogers employees and community volunteers to pack and deliver hampers
- 3,000 local food banks and community agencies are supported by our partners, Food Banks Canada
- 9 provinces received hampers to deliver through local food banks and community organizations; Quebec received pallets of food for distribution
- 3 months to make an incredible difference in the communities where we live and work!
Step Up to the Plate is part of The 60 Project, a year-long initiative to mark Rogers 60th anniversary by giving back and building a stronger Canada – from donations of time, money and fundraising support, to investing in Canada and the networks that keep our customers connected. We are bringing this commitment to life by partnering with community organizations like Food Banks Canada, Women’s Shelters Canada, Big Brothers Big Sisters, and Pflag; providing Ted Rogers Community Grants to support organizations that help youth succeed inside and outside the classroom; investing in a 100% Canadian-based Customer Service team and in our networks to help Canada’s economy thrive and grow; and connecting the next generation to education and the support they need to build a bright future. The 60 Project is about making hope possible, right here, in the Canadian communities we call home. And with Step Up to the Plate and other initiatives this year, our Rogers family – all 25,000 strong – will come together to give back an unprecedented 60,000 volunteer hours. With action, we will stand together with those who need us most, to ensure that all Canadians have an opportunity to move forward to discover a new normal that is better than the one that came before.