Kawartha Food Share Named Recipient For 2025 Tim Hortons Holiday Smile Cookie Campaign Fundraiser

There are a lot of happy faces at Kawartha Food Share (KFS) after they were selected as recipients of Tim Hortons’ Holiday Smile Cookie Campaign, announced on Friday.

Last year, Kawartha Food Share received $43,992.81 from the Holiday Smile Cookie fundraiser. Photo by David Tuan Bui.

The campaign runs form Nov. 17 to 23 at all Tim Hortons locations in Peterborough, Lakefield, Bridgenorth and Curve Lake. The cookies retail for $2.00 each, and all proceeds will be split between Kawartha Food Share and Tim Hortons Foundation Camps.

The Tim Hortons Holiday Smile Cookie is a white chocolate chip sugar cookie, infused with red and green sprinkles, finished with a hand-decorated smile.

Last year, this campaign raised $87,985.62 locally, with half going to KFS.

“We are so thrilled to be partnering with Tim Hortons for this wonderful initiative. The funds raised during this campaign will assist us in purchasing much needed food items to keep our agencies shelves well stocked,” said Ashlee Aitken, KFS general manager. “Our volunteers are excited to get to work decorating cookies for our community.”

Kawartha Food Share is a central collection and distribution warehouse that partners with 37 member agency food banks, food cupboards and other food action programs in the City and County of Peterborough.

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Kawartha Food Share to Pillage Peterborough In 'Porch Pirates For Good' Food Drive This Saturday

Kawartha Food Share (KFS) is pillaging Peterborough for 2025 as part of its ‘Porch Pirates For Good’ food drive to restock its empty shelves, occurring this Saturday.

In the last five years, the campaign brought in over 185,000 pounds of food and over $20,000 in monetary donations. Photo by David Tuan Bui.

Households are asked to leave a bag of non-perishable food items on their front porch with a flyer sent in mailboxes (or anything that makes the donation easy to identify) for the Porch Pirates to collect starting at 9 a.m.

The number of clients using food banks has reached an all-time high throughout the nation, according to KFS. They continue to state that the rising cost of food and supply chain shortages have affected their clients, donors and purchasing power.

The following are the most needed items requested for donation from KFS:

• Peanut Butter

• Canned tuna

• Canned vegetables and canned fruit

• Individually wrapped school snacks

• Pasta and pasta sauce

• Breakfast cereal

• Gluten-free items – like pasta, cookies, oats etc.

• Canned soup/stew

• Feminine hygiene products

• Monetary Donations (can be made online or during item collection)

For every one dollar donated, three dollars worth of food can be purchased, according to KFS. Volunteers can collect cheques or cash during their pickups on Oct. 25.

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Fill It Up With 'Burst the Bus' Food Drive For Kawartha Food Share

To help stock the shelves at Kawartha Food Share (KFS), a ‘Burst the Bus’ food drive is happening this Saturday from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Photo courtesy of Kawartha Food Share.

STC Bus Lines drivers will be at grocery stores collecting non-perishable food items, toiletries, feminine hygiene products and diapers for Kawartha Food Share.

Collections are at Greg’s No Frills, Chub and Nikki’s No Frills, FreshCo (Brock Street), and Foodland in Norwood (all food items collected at this location are delivered to the Norwood Food Bank).

The following are items in need:

• Peanut Butter

• Canned tuna

• Canned fruit

• Individually wrapped school snacks

• Pasta and pasta sauce

• Alpha-getti, Kraft Dinner and Chef Boyardee

• Breakfast cereal

• Gluten-free items – like pasta, cookies, oats, etc.

• Canned vegetables

• Canned soup/stew

• Feminine hygiene products

• Diapers

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Kawartha Food Share 'Porch Pirates For Good' Food Drive Pillaging Peterborough This Saturday

Kawartha Food Share (KFS) is pillaging Peterborough for another year as part of its ‘Porch Pirates For Good’ food drive to restock its empty shelves occurring this Saturday.

In the last four years, the campaign brought in over 165,000 pounds of food and over $15,000 in monetary donations. Photo by David Tuan Bui.

Households are asked to leave a bag of non-perishable food items on their front porch for the Porch Pirates to collect starting at 9 a.m.

The number of clients using food banks has reached an all-time high throughout the nation, according to KFS. They continue to state that the rising cost of food and supply chain shortages have affected their clients, donors and purchasing power.

The following is a list of items requested for donation from KFS:

• Peanut Butter

• Canned tuna

• Canned vegetables and canned fruit

• Individually wrapped school snacks

• Pasta and pasta sauce

• Alpha-getti, Kraft Dinner and Chef Boyardee

• Breakfast cereal

• Gluten free items – like pasta, cookies, oats etc.

• Canned soup/stew

• Feminine hygiene products

• Diapers

• Monetary Donations (can be made online or during item collection)

For every $1 donated, $3 worth of food can be purchased, according to KFS. Volunteers can collect cheques or cash during their pickups on October 26th.

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Kawartha Food Share's 'Porch Pirates For Good' Food Drive Is Back to Plunder Peterborough On June 1

Kawartha Food Share's (KFS) ‘Porch Pirates For Good’ food drive is back in Peterborough to restock empty shelves for June 1.

For the past four years, the food drive has yielded over 140,000 pounds of food and over $12,000 in monetary donations. Photo courtesy of

Households are asked to leave a bag(s) of non-perishable food items on their front porch for the Porch Pirates to collect starting at 9 a.m.

Food bank clients have reached an all-time high throughout Canada as rising costs of food and supply chain shortages have affected their clients, donors and purchasing power, according to KFS.

The following is a list of items requested for donation:

• Peanut Butter

• Canned tuna

• Canned vegetables and canned fruit

• Individually wrapped school snacks

• Pasta and pasta sauce

• Alpha-getti, Kraft Dinner and Chef Boyardee

• Breakfast cereal

• Gluten free items – like pasta, cookies, oats etc.

• Canned soup/stew

• Feminine hygiene products

• Diaper

• Monetary Donations (can be made online or during item collection)

For every $1 donated, $3 worth of food can be purchased, according to KFS. Volunteers can collect cheques or cash during their pickups.

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Central Smith Creamery's Third 'Fill the Truck' Campaign Collected 8,000 Pounds of Food and $8,000 For Kawartha Food Share

The third year of Central Smith Creamery’s ‘Fill the Truck’ campaign brought roughly 8,000 pounds of food and $8,000 cash donations for Kawartha Food Share (KFS) on Friday.

Central Smith Creamery Staff with Ashlee Aitken (far right). Two delivery trucks were need to collect and haul all the donations to KFS. Photo by David Tuan Bui.

The campaign had approximately 40 local businesses and organizations collect non-perishable goods and money from their respective communities since it was announced in late November. Goods and cash were collected from Nov. 27 to Dec. 14.

Central Smith had two delivery trucks collect the donated items on Friday and deliver them to Kawartha Food Share on the same day.

The list of drop-off locations for the ‘Fill the Truck’ campaign. Photo courtesy of Central Smith Creamery.

While the annual campaign is young, being in its third year, the participating businesses inquired about the campaign being run again before Central Smith had announced it according to Ian Scates, Central Smith president.

“They're already letting us know that they were keen and excited about contributing this year,” he said.

The excitement was a mutual feeling from Central Smith and its employees as well.

“It's the most fun day,” said Shannon Meagher, Central Smith inventory control coordinator. “We all really look forward to it. Everyone wants to participate.”

KFS typically sees an uptick in demand during the Christmas season and the extra donations help stretch that into the early months of the year says Ashlee Aitken, KFS general manager.

“Post-pandemic, we're feeding anywhere from 10,000 to 12,000 people a month, sometimes in the winter, that goes up to about 15,000,” she said. “We'll do what we can and hope to alleviate some pressures for some families.”

Aitken concluded that KFS is always looking for volunteers especially during the holiday season.

“We need about 100 volunteers doing various jobs,” she explained. “We're always looking for help so if anyone's ever interested, just give our warehouse a call and we'll find a position that fits you well.”

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'Porch Pirates For Good' Food Drive Plundering Peterborough For Kawartha Food Share

Kawartha Food Share (KFS) is plundering Peterborough again as they are doing their “Porch Pirates For Good” food drive to restock their empty shelves this Saturday.

Since the inception of the pandemic, our porch food drives have brought in over 120,000 pounds of food and over $12,000 in monetary donations. Each month, KFS serves more than 4,500 children under the age of 18. Photo by David Tuan Bui.

Households are asked to leave a bag of non-perishable food items on their front porch for the Porch Pirates to collect starting at 9 a.m.

The number of clients using food banks has reached an all-time high throughout the nation, according to KFS. They continue to state that the rising cost of food and supply chain shortages have affected their clients, donors and purchasing power.

The following is a list of items requested for donation from KFS:

• Peanut Butter

• Canned tuna

• Canned fruit

• Individually wrapped school snacks – very helpful

• Pasta and pasta sauce

• Alpha-getti, Kraft Dinner and Chef Boyardee

• Breakfast cereal

• Gluten-free items – like pasta, cookies, oats etc.

• Canned vegetables

• Canned soup/stew

• Feminine hygiene products

• Diapers

• Toiletries

• Monetary Donations (can be made online or during item collection)

For every $1 donated, $3 worth of food can be purchased, according to KFS. Volunteers can collect cheques or cash during their pickups on October 28th.

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Forest Hill Real Estate Hosting Second Pumpkin Giveaway Food Drive For St. Vincent de Paul

Forest Hill Real Estate Inc. Brokerage is bringing back its ‘Annual Great Pumpkin Giveaway’ with a two-day event to collect non-perishable goods for St. Vincent de Paul this weekend.

Last year, Forest Hill gave away over 500 pumpkins and collected three bins of food items. File Photo.

The event runs from runs from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. on both days. Saturday is at Highlands Park in Millbrook (where Station Drive meets Pristine Trail) while Sunday is at Jackson Creek Meadows (where Chandler Cresent meets Avery Avenue).

The real estate business requests one non-perishable food item in exchange for a pumpkin (one pumpkin per family while supplies last). The event also has contests, giveaways, prizes and more.

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Porch Pirates For Good 'Plundering' For Donations For Kawartha Food Share On May 27

‘Porch Pirates for Good’ is returning to scour Peterborough to restock the dwindling shelves at Kawartha Food Share (KFS) for May 27.

six Porch Pirate food drives have collected 177,340 pounds of food. Photo courtesy of KFS.

Residents can leave a bag of non-perishable food items on their front porch. Starting at 9 a.m., volunteers dressing in pirate attire will drive around the city, collect the items and deliver them to the KFS warehouse.

Money can also be donated on KFS’s website. Every dollar donated allows Kawartha Food Share to leverage more than four dollars of food purchasing power.

The food drive aids families who are unable to afford groceries due to employment-related reasons and the high cost of housing, health and food.

KFS is looking to receive the following donated items:

• Canned tuna

• Pasta and pasta sauce

• Alphaghetti, Kraft Dinner and Chef Boyardee

• Breakfast cereal

• Peanut Butter

• Any non-perishable fruit and vegetable items

• Rice

• Canned soup/stew

• Feminine hygiene products

• Baby formula

• Diapers

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Central Smith Creamery's Second "Fill the Truck" Campaign Donates 14,000 Pounds of Food and Over $10,000 for Kawartha Food Share

Year two of Central Smith Creamery’s “Fill the Truck” campaign built on its inaugural year, delivering roughly 14,500 pounds of food and $10,030 in cash donations for Kawartha Food Share (KFS) on Friday.

This year’s campaign nearly tripled last year’s food weight and raised more money than last year’s event. Photo by David Tuan Bui.

The campaign rallied 38 businesses to collect cash and non-perishable goods as Central Smith drove their delivery trucks and collected the donated items on the same day they were delivered.

The campaign ran from Dec. 1 - 15 and beat the previous year’s goal of 5,000 pounds and $9363.50.

“Just given what's happened with the economy with food prices and all of that, I'm just amazed that we were able to be successful in our campaign,” said Jenn Scates, Central Smith Creamery co-owner. “With the work of my team and everybody contributing, it's not just one person, it's a whole bunch of elves that helped and it's just amazing.”

“It's been difficult for us to stretch our dollars as far as it once did but it's also difficult for our donors to continue to donate as much as they did in the past,” said Ashlee Aitken, KFS general manager. “We know times are tough, we know food costs are extremely high and so to see this many people donate this many items is so heartwarming this time of year and we really appreciate the support.”

The timing for the donations could not have been better for KFS as the demand for food banks goes up during the holiday season according to Aitken. She says Christmas is an added expense that not all families can afford.

“Heat and hydro bills are up, kids are home from school, there's a couple of extra meals they have set them up with there, there's just a lot of added expenses to families that are already struggling and already don't earn enough money for their families,” explained Aitken. “Every little donation goes a long way. Something like this where they're bringing in thousands of pounds of food for us, it really helps us stock the shelves at the food banks before we get into that busy crazy season.”

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