Pros & Conversations
Pros & Conversations
Food Insecurity - What can Businesses Do?
In this episode of Pros and Conversations, host Peter Reynolds and co-host Damon Adachi dive into the pressing issue of food insecurity affecting communities across Ontario and beyond. They explore the vital roles that entrepreneurs, small businesses, and large retailers can play in ensuring that no one in their community goes hungry.
Joining them are two insightful guests: Stephanie Ashton-Smith, Vice President of Development and Partnerships for Feed Ontario, and Aaron Wade, Manager of Public Relations and Community Investment at Farm Boy. Together, they discuss the mission of Feed Ontario, the importance of food banks, and the systemic changes needed to combat food insecurity.
This episode is part of our Community Impact Series, where we look at how businesses can make a real difference in their communities—by breaking down barriers, creating inclusive spaces, and stepping up to support local needs. It’s not just about doing good; it’s also good for business. When companies give back and care about the communities around them, everyone wins.
Interested in learning more about the fight against food insecurity? Visit www.feedontario.ca to find out how you can get involved.
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Peter Reynolds: 00:04.338 - 00:56.553
Hi, I'm Peter Reynolds, and welcome to Pros and Conversations, the podcast that explores what it takes to be successful, whether you're from the world of business, science, or the arts. Today, we're diving into an issue that affects communities across Ontario and beyond, food insecurity. We'll be exploring the role that entrepreneurs, small businesses, and even large retailers can play in helping ensure that no one in their community goes hungry. This episode is part of our Community Impact Series, where we look at how entrepreneurs and businesses can support their local communities. Because giving back isn't just the right thing to do. It also makes good business sense. And joining me as someone who always knows about sense, dollars and sense, is my co-host, Damon Adachi. How you doing, Damon?
Damon Adachi: 00:56.553 - 00:56.553
I'm great, Peter. Happy to be here.
Peter Reynolds: 00:59.827 - 01:11.253
Well, I'm really excited about this series. Up until now, we've been focusing on how, on how entrepreneurs can grow their businesses. But I think when those businesses invest in their communities, everybody wins.
Damon Adachi: 01:12.526 - 01:38.298
Yeah, it's very important. I think we have to remember that as we talk about how to be successful in small business, we're very much focused on those highest levels of success that we're trying to attain. And we have to recognize there are still many individuals and families in our province, in our country that are still struggling with the basic levels of success as in, you know, shelter and food and things like that. So we want to be part of the community, want to give back and support strong infrastructure for everybody in our, in our country.
Peter Reynolds: 01:39.244 - 02:23.282
Absolutely. Absolutely. And I think we've got two people that are going to be great to talk about this topic. So joining us today, we have Stephanie Ashton-Smith, Vice President of Development and Partnerships for Feed Ontario, the province's leading collective of hunger relief organizations. And from the business side, we're joined by Erin Wade, Manager of Public Relations and Community Investment at Farm Boy, a company well-known for its commitment to both fresh food and strong local partnerships. Stephanie, Erin, welcome to Pros and Conversations. Thank you. Thank you for having us. Stephanie, perhaps I could start with you. And can you tell us a little bit about Feed Ontario and its mission in the community?
Stephanie Ashton-Smith: 02:24.747 - 03:44.100
Feed Ontario is a provincial organization. We support over 1,200 food banks and hunger relief agencies across the province, and we really focus our work under three key pillars. One is a pillar we call Feed On, which is primarily about getting food to the different food banks across the province. So we do that in a number of ways. We partner with retailers like Farm Boy, we partner with the agricultural sector, the transportation sector. It is an all hands-on approach to move food around the province as we do. Additionally, we have a program called Feeding Possibility where we provide grants to food banks across the province. And that's largely for them to be able to equip themselves with resources that they need to serve the communities. Sometimes it's as simple as a fridge or a freezer or, you know, warehouse shelving. So we provide grants to the food banks across the province so that they can better equip themselves. And then the third focus of our work is really about feeding change. And that's really the advocacy work that we do. So we work with the provincial government to really advocate for additional supports to social services, increasing Ontario disability, Ontario works, that type of thing. So food banking is really, it's not a food problem, it's really an income problem. And so a lot of the work that we do is really, how do we advocate for long-term sustainable change?
Peter Reynolds: 03:45.305 - 03:53.752
Well, I was going to ask about that because it seems there's sort of two sides to your organization, the immediate relief and sort of tackling systemic change.
Stephanie Ashton-Smith: 03:54.733 - 04:09.847
That's right. Yes. We always say that food banks, they were never intended to be a long-term solution. They were always intended to be a short-term emergency. We always say that we're trying to work ourselves out of a job, but that's not happening anytime soon. We're far from that.
Damon Adachi: 04:12.014 - 04:30.266
Very interesting. And from a branding point of view, I'm, I recognize that what you're preaching is to support the food banks, but to also come up with a solution where we no longer even need food banks. And it almost seems, you know, counterproductive in messaging, but you're tackling it very well. What is the solution beyond food banks?
Stephanie Ashton-Smith: 04:32.037 - 05:45.058
Well, the solution to ending food banks, as we say, is really about how do we put the right supports in place for people to be able to afford their basic necessities. So as I mentioned earlier, you know, by providing, you know, our most vulnerable members of the community are those that might be on disability or Ontario Works, for example. So how do we make sure that the income and the financial support that's provided to them is adequate for them to be able to afford their rent to their basic necessities? You know, the average person is getting less than $800 a month, which we know here in Ontario, it's nearly impossible to be able to pay for rent and food on that type of income. And then additionally, we really advocate for employers to provide a living wage to their employees, provide them with benefits and full-time wages. There is a rise of what we call precarious work in this country, where a lot of employees are not being given full-time wages, they're not being given benefits, and that has a huge impact on their ability to be able to afford their basic needs. So those are two main areas that we advocate for. Because it's really, like I said, it's really about an income issue. It's really about how do we make sure that the people in our community have the adequate income to be able to afford their most basic needs, which includes food.
Peter Reynolds: 05:46.379 - 05:54.348
Can you put it in context for us? I was looking at some statistics and they were saying there's over one million people are using food banks in Ontario.
Stephanie Ashton-Smith: 05:55.563 - 07:19.038
Yeah, this is actually, last year was our eighth consecutive year of increased food bank use in Ontario, which is really, it's a stark number. We never thought in a million years we'd reach that number of a million people, but that's a million people visiting a food bank 7.6 million times, and that's just Ontario alone. About one third of those are children. And we know that over 60% of people coming to a food bank have said after they paid for their rent, they have less than $100 left at the end of the month. And that's, you know, to pay for the rest of their necessities, which we know is not enough. So we do anticipate this year seeing another increase. We're hoping to see it slow. Sometimes we're seeing 25-38% year-over-year increases, which is incredibly difficult for the food banks to keep up with that kind of increased demand. Many of our food banks have expressed challenges. They've declared states of emergency. They've had to lay off staff. They've had to suspend services in some cases because they just don't have the resources to provide for that level of demand. And additionally, we're preparing for a year potentially where the tariffs could have an impact on job loss and other things like that. So we are preparing for that and how can we best support those communities as well.
Damon Adachi: 07:20.546 - 07:28.236
Well, I'm sure we're going to ping pong back and forth a little bit, but I think we should get our other guests involved here. Aaron, please tell us how you work into this mix from a farm boy perspective.
Aaron Wade: 07:28.316 - 09:32.886
All right. Well, farm boy, we are, as Peter indicated at the start of this, we are a very connected retailer in our communities. We pride ourselves on how we integrate ourselves into the communities that our stores belong to. And we do that through various partnerships with organizations like Feed Ontario, Second Harvest, Sustain Ontario, Farms Cafeteria. And we have three focuses when we go out to the community. The first is food and nutrition. The second is, sorry, children and youth. And the third is is community and experiences. And that one really comes to life through things like sponsorships of sports teams and community events and those types of things. But specifically why we work with Feed Ontario, it actually comes from three different areas. The first is we know that their mission to really highlight and champion the impactful work that food banks do, as well as go out there and try to end food insecurity, is completely aligned with our first pillar of food and nutrition. The second is that our partnership really comes to life through our holiday food drive. And what we basically do is we collect funds in store and then we purchase food and we donate it back to Feed Ontario. Now, I've been part of other retailers where campaigns like this can be very, very cumbersome to run because each store has to go find a food bank that they can connect to. They're responsible for coordinating the deliveries. It's very cumbersome on the poor store managers. So when we identified Feed Ontario as being a potential partner, we knew that they had the logistical arm to help us with making those connections and removing some of the barriers that our stores were experiencing. And the third, and I'm really glad that I'm talking with Stephanie today, is that they are a great partner. There's a keenness and a willingness with them to work with us in a way that works for our stores, and more importantly, our customers. At the heart of everything that we do is our customer experience, and Feed Ontario helps us live up to that value.
Peter Reynolds: 09:35.458 - 09:47.151
That's fantastic. I'm wondering, I was looking at your website and you talk about food rescue and I'd never heard that term before. Can you talk a little bit about food rescue and how that plays?
Aaron Wade: 09:47.251 - 10:49.577
So what food rescue is, is basically as food approaches its best before date, which is not about the food being edible, it's actually about the actual quality of the food, it's literally best before this date, we're able to pull that product off the shelf and then donate it through an organization called Second Harvest. They connect our stores with the local food bank, the food bank comes and picks that up, and then they're able to distribute that food within the community. It makes a substantial difference in some of our communities and we know that. It also allows food banks to get food that they don't normally do because, you know, the average person is not going to be giving, you know, things like meat, dairy products, produce, which is kind of the stuff that we need to move out of our stores as it gets closer to not being sellable anymore. Um, the food that we do donate is still high quality and is still lives up to our farm boy commitment. And we're always very proud to make sure that it goes to people in need.
Damon Adachi: 10:52.898 - 11:22.328
So when I was on the field, Ontario said, I noticed that the programs are named specifically for things like the chicken program and Turkey program and pork and eggs and milk. And what you'd said earlier really resonates with me that the food insecurity issue is not a lack of food. It's not that there isn't enough food for people and farmers get so involved. I'm sure because of their integral part of the supply chain. Uh, I don't get the sense from, from the brand necessarily that we're talking about farming, but that's a big part of this, isn't it?
Stephanie Ashton-Smith: 11:24.252 - 12:15.383
Yeah, Feed Ontario, we hold partnerships with all of the provincial producer groups. So that's, you know, the chicken farmers of Ontario, beef, pork, turkey, egg farmers, and all of those associations at the beginning of each year, they make a commitment to intentionally donate a percentage or a certain amount of their product to Food Bank. So that ensures that we get, you know, fresh poultry, fresh meat, fresh eggs. fresh milk through the dairy farmers of Ontario. And then we're able to, you know, plan ahead, basically, because we know we might be doing a million liters of milk a month, for example, from the dairy farmers. And then that gets distributed throughout the province. So it's really great that we're able to do that. And it's the farmers themselves, for the most part, that make that commitment, because it's coming out of their quota. And they're sort of saying, this is an important issue. I want to do my part. And so they commit to making that donation up front.
Peter Reynolds: 12:17.537 - 12:38.139
Can you talk a little bit, uh, Stephanie about the different levels of food insecurity, because the, maybe the assumption, maybe it was just mine that, you know, people that are below the poverty line are who we're talking about when we talk about food insecurity. But it looks like that food insecurity affects people above the poverty line as well.
Stephanie Ashton-Smith: 12:39.867 - 14:06.594
Yeah, we, you know, I think there's a lot of, you know, preconceptions or, you know, misunderstanding sometimes when it comes to people that come to a food bank. You know, people might make the assumption that, yes, they are those that are, you know, living on disability. And yes, that is a percentage of people. But we're seeing a rise in, you know, two-income families coming to the food bank. And that's, you know, because they're both, you know, full-time employed, but because of their housing costs and whatnot, They're just not able to get by and provide for the rest of their basic needs. And so we are seeing a shift in demographics in terms of who's coming into the food bank. A third, like I said, is children. A third are seniors. Our seniors are also incredibly vulnerable because they're on fixed incomes. But we are seeing a rise in two-income families coming to the food bank. So it really affects everybody. You know, and we always, you know, things can change day to day. You know, people might be fully employed one day and then, you know, a job loss or there's something sudden that happens in their life that might change their situation. And so, you know, we never turn anybody away from a food bank. We never make an assumption. We never make a judgment about their circumstance. People don't have to come into a food bank and prove that they don't have the income, essentially. If you've come to a food bank and you say you need help, we're going to provide that help to you.
Peter Reynolds: 14:08.296 - 14:09.217
Is there still a stigma?
Stephanie Ashton-Smith: 14:10.481 - 15:04.874
Absolutely. Absolutely. That's a really big piece of it. And, you know, it's really difficult for people to be able to sort of make that decision that I've got to go into a food bank. I have to ask for help because of that stigma piece. So, you know, it's pretty significant. We do a lot of work to tackle that as much as we can. We did hold a panel last year, for example, just all about myths and misconceptions. You know, just helping people understand, you know, the types of people that have to rely on support. And in many cases, it's a temporary situation, right? They're coming into the food bank, you know, for a month or two. It's a temporary situation in their life until they get back on their feet and they're able to, you know, either go back to work or their circumstances change. But for the most part, we're not seeing, you know, people come into a food bank for years and years. It's really just to help provide them or get them through a really difficult point in their life.
Announcer: 15:06.144 - 15:34.974
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Damon Adachi: 15:37.110 - 16:10.835
Well, it's funny that I think that in regard to that stigma, the association that a company like farm boy has really helps that situation. Because when you think of the brand, you think of quality and you think of, you know, very enriching and powerful. And we were very used to. bringing your tinned goods, you know, bringing your no-name cans for food drives, but the sense that you've got a brand and a company with as much investment in quality and in nutrition as Farm Boy being part of this helps to break that statement down, I must imagine. Do you want to speak to that, Aaron?
Aaron Wade: 16:11.303 - 17:05.991
Yeah, I completely agree with you. I think for us on the retailer side, this provides us an opportunity to help people in our community that aren't necessarily our customers, but in the future they could potentially be our customers. As Stephanie said, a lot of the time these are temporary situations. For us, getting the right types of foods into the food bank I know is incredibly important. I know it's incredibly important for the food banks as well to be able to provide the things people are looking for. You mentioned everyone brings in their canned goods, but there's only so many cans of crushed tomatoes that you can give out. Um, you know, when we run our holiday food drive, a lot of the things that we provide are those staple items. Um, but you know, people providing that fresh high quality food like you get at farm boy is that's how you really make an impact on the people that are utilizing their services.
Peter Reynolds: 17:09.585 - 17:12.187
Aaron, do you have any success stories you can share with us?
Aaron Wade: 17:12.547 - 18:16.899
Yeah, so the first and biggest one that I would love to share is that over the last holiday food drive, so the month of December, we raised over $340,000 in our store. That's not including our corporate match of $25,000, so we were able to provide, you know, almost, well, a ridiculous amount of food. I don't even want to get into the weight because it is, like, substantial. But this was the first year that we actually had to do the pickup in waves because of how successful the campaign was. And then, you know, other little successes. Last week we were able to help out Stephanie with providing food to some of the people that were impacted by the ice storm. So we were able to donate two skids of bread and that went up to, like I said, the communities that really needed it. And we're always really proud to step in in those little situations as much as we're keen on making those big donations because As much as the big donations, yes, help and keep the lights on and all that kind of fun stuff. It's those little ad hoc ones that really, you know, in my mind, make the impact.
Damon Adachi: 18:19.521 - 18:58.310
So I have another client that's in the co-op housing sector. Actually, I have a number of clients in co-op housing. So what I've noticed there is that they are charitable organizations. Uh, they are integrated with government because they rely on some of those programs, but they're not government. And they obviously have an idea of how they want certain policies to change and how programs need to be funded, but talk about the, the, the challenges of, of having to rely so much on the way politics can swing and how programs can be axed or pumped or things like that. So, you know, that has to change your operational procedures pretty quickly sometimes I imagine.
Stephanie Ashton-Smith: 19:00.089 - 20:16.117
Yeah, I mean definitely we always have a pulse on what is happening. We aim to work as close as we can with whoever is in power at the time. And we meet with them, we have conversations with them, and we just make sure that, you know, We try to make sure food insecurity is on the agenda, you know, make sure that it is a priority. You know, by us being able to share stats at a provincial level and really help them to see the true need in the community and recommend the changes that we recommend, it's important and it's crucial. So, you know, we do our absolute best to make sure that this is being taken seriously and that they're aware of it. But again, you know, with changes in governments, it can, you know, really impact the level of social services. it really makes a difference in terms of where that funding goes. And that has a ripple effect, and that can affect, you know, who is coming into the food bank. And so we do our best to really, you know, stay on top of it, stay on the pulse of what's happening. And when we do see changes like that, you know, we brace for impact, essentially, if we know that that's going to have a change in terms of people being able to, you know, afford their daily basics and, you know, they might have to come into a food bank at one point.
Peter Reynolds: 20:17.961 - 20:28.992
So Stephanie, how can local businesses, the small businesses in the community help Feed Ontario to combat food insecurity?
Stephanie Ashton-Smith: 20:30.267 - 23:07.086
So there's a number of really, you know, great ways that you can help organizations like us. Vida Ontario and Firm Boy is certainly a really great example. We have a multifaceted partnership with them where they're giving cash donations, they're giving food donations, but they're also, you know, sharing the message of food insecurity on their own social media channels and sort of standing up as a community and saying this is a real issue that we need to address. Aside from that, you know, we have a number of partners who, for example, might hold charitable events. You know, we have, you know, they hold golf tournaments in the summer and they donate their proceeds to Feed Ontario, which is great. You know, an example of that is Hydro One did a great tournament this summer, and then their corporate office gave them a two-to-one match. So, you know, they raised $23,000 from the event, but then that ended up being, you know, close to $70,000. So, that has a really huge impact. We have some smaller organizations and some smaller businesses who might do like a percentage of proceeds. So, you know, if we want to take like the Cheesecake Factory, for example, they choose a favorite flavor of a cheesecake every year and 25 cents per slice comes back to us. And then everybody knows Denny's. So Denny's has a Grand Slam day where they sell their breakfast for $4.99. It's one day a year. They make a big splash about it, but they raise close to $20,000 from that alone, and then that comes to the organization. I think partners, even individuals, they get really creative in terms of what they can do to make a fuss and raise money. You know, beyond the financial commitment or piece, you know, there's also the opportunity to volunteer. We work with a number of organizations and individuals who come in and they volunteer. From an organizational side, it's a great team building experience to have a bunch of people come in and, you know, do a food sort or help out in the warehouse, that type of thing. So there's always that option as well. And I think beyond that, there's an opportunity to even participate on a board or a committee. I mentioned one of the areas that we work in is called Feeding Possibility, where we provide grants to food banks across the province. And we have a committee that really looks at all the applications and makes decisions. And Aaron, for example, sat on that committee and helped to sort of evaluate the need and make decisions on who's going to get funding that year. So that's a great way just to become engaged with an organization like us and help out in a way where it's not just always about money. Even though cash is king, I'm not going to lie.
Aaron Wade: 23:09.440 - 23:58.506
I will say that sitting on those boards and those committees is a very rewarding experience. I've gotten the opportunity to evaluate the grants as well as evaluate their rewards. And if you really want to see the peek behind the curtain with food banks, both of those were incredibly informative. You just hear things like Stephanie mentioned earlier, they need shelving or they're currently using a closet in a building where they really don't have their own space and they need something to, or they need a little bit more room to expand so they can deal with that increased demand. And then the awards, I do want to talk about that. Those are just heartfelt stories of food banks recognizing food banks. And it's honestly, it was one of the most heartwarming things to hear about community members and the individual impacts that they're making with their communities.
Damon Adachi: 24:01.596 - 24:18.505
Excellent to hear these success stories, but I want to hear a little more about how this affects the culture of Farm Boy as a company, when not just obviously the benefit provided to Food Ontario, but tell me more about how your employees and your culture wraps around this initiative.
Aaron Wade: 24:18.645 - 25:47.480
Oh, so, okay. So Farm Boy, I'm not sure if you folks are aware, was founded as a 300-square-foot produce stand in Cornwall, Ontario. And when we say our company came from humble beginnings, we literally mean an 18-year-old kid, Jean-Louis Balmer, would drive down every morning to Montreal, take the cash in his pocket, buy whatever he could from the fruit and vegetable terminal, bring it back, sell it that day, and then repeat the following day. As he went out and did this, he found that there was a lot of need in the community, and it became baked into our company culture that we give back. And I will say to this day, the most active community that we see on the community investment side is Cornwall. So when we talk about our culture, this is something that is fostered right across the company from home office staff to staff at the warehouse, right down to the staff at the stores. And if you want a proof point for that, look at the success of that holiday food drive. That's $341,000 that went to providing people with food. And the knack for making those campaigns successful, I'm going to give you guys the secret, it's the cashier's asking. So every time that we saw a donation came in, that meant that a cashier felt passionate enough to ask their customer. And I think that that demonstrates our culture the most. We almost tripled our goal for this year. So we were very, very happy.
Peter Reynolds: 25:50.270 - 26:14.713
That's absolutely fantastic. I mean, getting that buy-in at all levels of the company. I think that, you know, that, you know, again, some businesses may write a check and donate that way to various causes, which is of course fantastic. But this idea of it actually being ingrained in your culture, you know, can only imagine that it benefits the community as a whole.
Aaron Wade: 26:15.736 - 26:29.158
Exactly. We treat every community that we're a part of as if it's a small town that we belong in. And we, you know, strive that every customer that comes through our door leaves feeling like a neighbor. And part of that commitment is being a neighbor back.
Damon Adachi: 26:31.638 - 27:02.069
Wonderful. I have one question before we start to wrap up. I had a client who was actually looking to do a bit of a food drive around the holidays, you know, something to give back to the community and develop goodwill. And unfortunately it kind of fizzled out because there was a logistics problem of, well, who do we talk to and how do we get them these goods and, and all of these. Procedural issues got in the way of a great initiative. Is this something that Feed Ontario can absolutely pinpoint help companies do and quarterback these initiatives that they take on themselves?
Stephanie Ashton-Smith: 27:03.140 - 27:52.808
Yeah, we've done it with a number of partners, particularly with, you know, companies that might have multiple locations. It's great to work with someone like us because we can kind of coordinate it at a bigger level. I do see, you know, it can be challenging for individuals who might want to do a small food drive, and then they're maybe relying on the food bank to come and pick it up. That is, we do, there are some logistical challenges, and it's really just based on capacity from the food bank. But we know that everybody has great intent, and we know that, you know, food drives are, I mean, food drives are really at the heart of food banks. You know, back in the day, you know, schools, community, it still is a really important part, particularly at Thanksgiving, particularly at the holiday season. Yeah, so I would absolutely, if someone's running into a challenge, we can definitely help out with that. But, yeah.
Peter Reynolds: 27:55.529 - 28:19.655
Terrific. Terrific. Aaron, um, maybe you could speak directly to businesses out there who are watching entrepreneurs, um, who are, you know, maybe they're a little bit on the fence, the, they see the need, but obviously, you know, times are challenging and, uh, and they're trying to sort of, you know, turn every dime and, uh, maybe you could talk to them about, about the value of, uh, of the kind of work that you do.
Aaron Wade: 28:20.313 - 29:17.061
Yeah, like I said earlier, when you're part of a community, people see you as that neighbor and they want to come in. There is a ton of research out there that indicates the connection between The impact on your bottom line and your community investment activities, the expectations of customers for giving back, this is particularly high in millennials and members of Generation Z, of wanting to see people give back. But in terms of actually getting out there and making it happen, just pick up the phone and call somebody like a Stephanie. All of these organizations, regardless on what they do, they are looking for partners and starting that conversation is the biggest hurdle. Um, you know, there are times where you'll have to, you know, convince a leadership member or something like that. But most of the time, when you've explained what the need is of your community, the people in your business will want to help.
Peter Reynolds: 29:19.903 - 29:22.405
Stephanie, the, uh, any final thoughts?
Stephanie Ashton-Smith: 29:24.397 - 30:13.793
I'm just really grateful for the opportunity to do this. I think this is wonderful. I think, you know, to Aaron's point, I think sometimes people want to do great, but they don't know where to start. And sometimes it can be as simple as picking up the phone or sending an email. And I think, you know, there's a lot of really great creative ways that we do work with businesses, small, big, and entrepreneurs. And we're always happy to chat with someone and, you know, be creative and come up with an idea. You know, Feed Ontario and many other organizations, we are 100% dependent on individuals and companies for donations. We don't get any government support. And so, you know, in order for us to do the work that we do, it's really, we really rely on the community and we're incredibly grateful to, you know, partners like Farm Boy for stepping up and helping us to be able to meet the need in our community.
Damon Adachi: 30:15.832 - 30:26.529
Yeah, we normally talk to businesses, but I would put the call out today to individuals, like you said, you know, learn about Fruit Ontario, shop at Farm Boy and support what we can as individuals beyond just our businesses.
Peter Reynolds: 30:28.452 - 31:13.265
Absolutely. Stephanie, Aaron, thank you so much for joining us and shedding some light on how we can all play a role in tackling food insecurity here in Ontario. It's been a sobering yet inspiring conversation. And if you're listening out there and wondering how you can make a difference, whether as a business owner, entrepreneur, or community member, now is the time to act. Support your local food bank and find creative ways for your business to give back. As we've heard today, helping in your community, isn't just the right thing to do. It's smart, it's sustainable and deeply rewarding. And of course, thank you to my cohost, Damon, for helping us dig deeper in giving his perspective on this important topic.
Damon Adachi: 31:14.466 - 31:15.047
Happy to be here.
Peter Reynolds: 31:16.639 - 31:41.577
And always to our listeners, thank you for being part of the conversation. Make sure to follow Pros and Conversations wherever you get your podcasts, or catch the video version on YouTube to see our beautiful faces. Subscribe, leave a review, and most importantly, share this episode with someone who needs to hear it. So for Damon, Stephanie, and Aaron, I'm Peter Reynolds. You've been listening to Pros and Conversations, and we'll see you next time.
