It Takes a Community to Feed a Community: Kawartha Food Share in Need of Volunteers for Porch Pirates for Good

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By Scott Arnold

Kawartha Food Share is calling on Peterborough residents to help make its 7th Annual Porch Pirates for Good food drive a success on Saturday, October 24th, with volunteers needed to collect donations on the day of the food drive and distribute flyers the week prior, which will help get food to local families and individuals who need it.

Kawartha Food Share is looking for volunteers and food donations for its 7th Annual Porch Pirates for Good food drive on Saturday, October 24th. (photo courtesy of Kawartha Food Share)

The annual event brings the community together for a citywide food drive, with residents leaving non-perishable food donations on their doorsteps for volunteers to collect. Since the event began, Porch Pirates for Good has collected a combined 180,000 pounds of food.

But an event of this size takes plenty of helping hands to make it happen.

“We are absolutely still looking for help,” says Kawartha Food Share General Manager Mackenzie McIlwain. “We need our community to also help us support our community and those community members who are experiencing food insecurity in Peterborough.”

A Citywide Food Drive With a Big Impact

Porch Pirates for Good will cover 57 routes across Peterborough, with volunteers collecting donations beginning at 9am on Saturday, October 24th.

In the days leading up to the event, flyers will be distributed throughout the city from Monday, October 19th to Thursday, October 22nd. Residents can attach the flyer to their food donations and leave them on their doorstep for volunteers to pick up on Saturday morning.

The donations will go directly to Kawartha Food Share, which supports 37 member agencies and 51 schools across Peterborough City and County.

McIlwain says the food drive plays an important role in helping the organization replenish its warehouse heading into the fall and winter months.

Why October Is Such a Critical Time

With Thanksgiving behind us and the Christmas season approaching, this is an important time for Kawartha Food Share to build up its food supply.

“The need is very, very high for us here and for our community as well,” says McIlwain.

“This is a very critical period of time for us to be able to get donations into the warehouse and then get those donations out to our 37 member agencies and the 51 schools that we support here in Peterborough City and County.”

Some of the most-needed items include pasta, pasta sauce, noodles, tuna, peanut butter, canned vegetables, canned fruit and fruit cups. Peanut butter can be particularly difficult to obtain, while peanut-free snacks are also needed for schools.

Every donation helps Kawartha Food Share continue supporting the local organizations and schools that rely on its food supply.

The People Who Make It Happen

While food donations are essential, volunteers are just as important to the success of Porch Pirates for Good.

Volunteers are needed both to distribute flyers ahead of the event and to collect food donations on October 24th. McIlwain recommends teaming up with friends or family to distribute flyers, noting that covering a route alone can involve a lot of walking.

“It does turn into a lot of steps if you're just by yourself,” she says.

High school students are also welcome to volunteer and can use the opportunity to earn community service hours.

The work continues at Kawartha Food Share's warehouse, where volunteers help receive donations and unload vehicles throughout the morning. Typically, 30 to 40 volunteers help at the warehouse between 8am and 1pm.

“We usually have about 30, 40 volunteers just here to make all of that smoothly go well and to ensure that our porch pirates who are dropping off don't really have to lift a finger to pull out the food out of their cars. That's what we have our volunteers here for,” says McIlwain.

“Without our volunteers and without our generous community to help us out, we won't be able to run the food drive.”

Yes, You Can Dress Like a Pirate

As the name suggests, Porch Pirates for Good is meant to be fun, too.

Volunteers are encouraged to embrace the pirate theme and dress up while collecting donations or helping at the warehouse.

“If you do end up being a porch pirate, please dress up. It always adds to the fun of the day,” says McIlwain.

“It's going to be a really fun and impactful event.”

How to Get Involved

Anyone interested in volunteering for Porch Pirates for Good can contact Kawartha Food Share's office administrator at porchpirates@kawarthafoodshare.com for more information.

Residents can also take part by preparing a bag of non-perishable food donations, attaching the flyer distributed to their home and leaving the items on their doorstep for collection starting at 9am on Saturday, October 24th.

With 57 routes to cover, donations to collect and a warehouse to replenish, the success of the event depends on people throughout Peterborough stepping up to help.

Because feeding a community takes more than food. It takes people willing to show up for one another.


Scott Arnold is a Journalist and Content Creator at PTBOCanada Media Inc

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