Community Food Centres Canada (CFCC) is once again encouraging people to eat out for a good cause.
The organization, which provides resources to community food centres, is holding its third annual Restaurants for Change fundraising event. On Oct. 19, 66 restaurants in 15 Canadian cities will donate the proceeds from dinner service to support healthy food programs across the country. In 2015, Restaurants for Change raised $200,000 and this year, CFCC is aiming for $250,000.
“Our goal is to bring together some of the country’s best and most innovative restaurants and have them join together on one night to donate the proceeds from dinner service to Community Food Centres Canada and our local community food centre partners,” said Christina Palassio, director of communications at CFCC.
A kick-off event for media, guests and sponsors will take place on Sept. 26 at Propeller Coffee in Toronto. The day before, many of the national participating chefs will tour the Community Food Centre at Regent Park and have a private dinner at Richmond Station.
The fundraiser is being promoted with a PSA airing on The Food Network and Global (both are media sponsors), print and online ads, and social media. The PSA was created by Dot Dot Dash, which also developed the creative identity and promotional materials, including print collateral and website. Participating restaurants will feature signage and POS materials.
For the third year, The Siren Group is handling PR, including local market outreach in the participating cities with the restaurants, chefs and CFCC spokespeople, as well as social media support and event support.
“Our goal is to get everyone dining out on October 19, so word of mouth, buzz and publicity are key for awareness,” said Susan Willemsen, president of The Siren Group. “Our goal grows every year: more sponsors, more like-minded restaurants on board, more cities, more diners to support the cause, and more awareness for Restaurants for Change and ultimately CFCC and the important work they do across the country.”
The event has already grown significantly since it launched in 2014. That year, it had 25 participating restaurants in nine cities, and raised $120,000.
Aside from the money raised for CFCC, another area has really grown: the relationships between the participating restaurants and local food centres.
“We’ve had quite a few instances over the past couple years of restaurants connecting to their local community centre through this event, and then building that relationship throughout the year through other fundraisers and events,” said Palassio. For example, in Dartmouth, N.S., chefs have volunteered in a community food centre, helping to cook healthy lunches.
“Chefs and restaurant staff are pretty important in our movement: they care about food, where food comes from and how it’s grown,” said Palassio. “Increasingly, we want to work with them on the issues we address, which is who has access to that food, and making sure that all Canadians have access to healthy food.”
