Fresh Fruit Supply Grows For Hospital Food Insecurity Program

ADAMA Canada and Niagara Orchard & Vineyard Corp pair up to donate to Hamilton Health Sciences’ Food Pantry program 

Hamilton, ON,– ADAMA Canada, a global leader in crop protection, announced today a donation to Niagara Orchard & Vineyard Corp (NOVC) and McMaster Children’s Hospital that will be used to deliver fresh fruit to patients’ families who experience food insecurity as part of Hamilton Health Sciences’ Food Pantry program. The $10,000 donation is part of ADAMA’s All In On Your Stomping Grounds program, a new initiative to help fund community projects across the country.

Over the next four weeks, NOVC will deliver fruit to both McMaster Children’s Hospital and Ron Joyce Children’s Health Centre. Each hospital will receive 15 cases of peaches, five cases of plums and five cases nectarines per week. As the harvest continues, fruit will change to seasonal grapes and pears. 

“When a family is already dealing with the stress and heaviness of their child being in the hospital, they shouldn’t have to think about where their next meal is coming from on top of it all,” said Victoria Lamond, McMaster Children’s Hospital Food Pantry Coordinator. “We see the difference the Food Pantry program makes on patients and their families every day — this donation from ADAMA and NOVC will mean these families will have one less thing to worry about during their time at the hospital.

The Food Pantry program is one of 19 initiatives supported by ADAMA Canada’s All In On Your Stomping Grounds program, which issued a cross-country call for Canadians to share community space improvement projects, agricultural education projects or community food bank projects in their hometowns that needed funding earlier this year. The program donated up to $10,000 to each recipient and a total of $120,000 after receiving 60 applicants.

“The Food Pantry program is clearly an important cause, but it hits close to home for us because of the industry we serve,” said Karin Younghans, the Regional Sales Manager for Eastern Canada. “We’re in the business of feeding people, and everything we do comes back to that. We hope to continue supporting initiatives like this so we can do our part in reducing food insecurity for Canadians everywhere.”

There will be a gifting ceremony on Friday, August 25 at 12 p.m. EST in the front lobby on the main level of McMaster Children’s Hospital with an opportunity to interview and photograph the people involved.