A group of nine people pose in a line at a Burlington Helping Burlington and Florian Realty food drive event.

Left to right: Dania Thurman, Andrea Florian, Burlington Food Bank's Robin Bailey, and BHB team members Julie Neal, Sean Campbell, Daryl Fowler with daughter Olivia, Sondra Pollock, and Michael Desjardins.

This weekend’s Burlington Helping Burlington and Florian Realty Team Fill the Truck event saw families gather in the parking lot of North Burlington Baptist Church with food donations in hand, in exchange for some balloon-twisting, game-playing fun.

And given that the Burlington Food Bank has seen something in the order of a 50%-plus increase in the use of their services over the same time period last year, according to Executive Director Robin Bailey (“It’s staggering, really,” he says), it couldn’t come at a better time.

Bailey and Food4Kids’ Executive Director Dania Thurman were at the event alongside team members from Burlington Helping Burlington (BHB), and Andrea Florian and her colleagues. Other sponsors included Ward 2 Councillor Lisa Kearns, who donated popcorn to add to the festivities, and Chef Stef from Save the Day Catering, who served up his delicious soup, and Jennifer Grindatto of Dominion Lending Centres. “It’s all about helping people,” says Grindatto, who was not surprised to hear about the massive increase in food bank use, as she sees what’s happening with people’s financial situations every day through her work.

Left: Stephanie and Michael Desjardins of Pets N Groom and part of the BHB team. Right: Burlington Helping Burlington t-shirts ready for purchase.
Attendees line up to get raffle tickets.
Left: Chef Stef of Save the Day Catering and one of the food bins ready to fill the Access Storage cube van — then on to the Burlington Food Bank truck .

The families and kids in attendance enjoyed 905 Game Zone’s game truck, hot chocolate, goody bags — and the community spirit.

Two big bins were already filled up when Amanda and Jeff Waud pulled up with their donation of dozens and dozens of items. The Wauds have been regulars to Florian’s weekly food drive since 2020; “When their names are on the list, we know we need to get a separate truck!” says Florian of the Waud’s generous donations.

For the Wauds, “It all started with COVID after we moved from Mississauga,” says Jeff. Amanda heard about Florian Realty’s weekly drive, and did “a pantry clear-out” for that first donation. From then, it became a bit of a challenge — “We see what kind of good deals we can get and clear out shelves,” explains Amanda. A recent sale on children’s winter coats at Carter’s meant a big donation to the Compassion Society; for the Fill the Truck event, the Wauds filled their car with cereal, instant noodles, tinned tomatoes, and pasta.

Left: Jeff and Amanda Waud with Sean Campbell, part of the BHB team. Right: Balloon twisting from Beebop the Clown’s team.
From left to right: Sondra Pollock (BHB), Councillor Lisa Kearns, Andrea Florian, Michael Desjardins (back, BHB team), Julie Neal (BHB), Robin Bailey of the Burlington Food Bank, and Sean Campbell (BHB).

And BHB is not done yet: their next event will be on Monday, Nov. 13, from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. at the Slye Fox Kitchen and Public House. This event has two purposes: to celebrate the Slye Fox’s 24th birthday by showing its appreciation to their customers, and to collect donations of non-perishable food for BHB. Alongside a complimentary buffet, there will be entertainment by musician and emcee for the evening Mykul, and a silent auction table, proceeds of which will be going to BHB.

Aside from food donations, BHB is also collecting cash to go towards ten local charities: Compassion Society, ROCK, the Rotary Club of Burlington, United Way Halton and Hamilton, Halton Women’s Place, Shifra Homes, Carpenter Hospice, and Woodview Mental Health and Autism Services.

Find BHB on Facebook and on their GoFundMe page; more information will be coming soon on the silent auction items for the Slye Fox (4057 New St.) event on Nov. 13.

Update/correction notice: this article has been amended to reflect the most up-to-date list of charities that will benefit from Burlington Helping Burlington’s fundraising. Our apologies for any inconvenience caused.