Fourth summer for the partnership with charity Project FoodChain
(TORONTO: June 24, 2024) — Trucks for Change is helping get some hot-weather relief to vulnerable people in Canada’s largest city.
Stacey Jenkins, Director of Sales and Marketing, Thomson Terminals with some of the bottled water Trucks for Change Network carriers will be moving.
The organization is coordinating deliveries of bottled water donations for Project FoodChain, a charity partner that coordinates programs to support the unhoused population in Toronto and the surrounding areas.
“The summer, with increasingly hot temperatures forecasted for this year, is especially difficult for people living outside or housed infrequently,” says Betsy Sharples, Executive Director of Trucks for Change Network. “We’re proud to support Project FoodChain which coordinates with churches, food banks and community services to ensure that water and other essential products get to the people who need it most.”
“In this extreme heat, water is literally crisis healthcare and can make the difference between life and death for unhoused residents, stranded outside all day,” added Kate Hanley, Co-Founder Project FoodChain. “Our partnership with the Trucks for Change Network is critical in ensuring we can get water delivered to those who don’t have access to this essential need. This is a big operation and your Network is the backbone.”
BlueTriton Brands Canada donated the water; pallets are collected from their facility near Guelph and trucked to a central distribution point in Mississauga. From there, Atripco Delivery Services uses smaller vehicles that can get into tight locations to deliver to local organizations, ensuring bottled water is given directly to the people who need it.
This is the fourth summer the Trucks for Change Network has coordinated water distribution to service organizations. Since 2021, Trucks for Change Network carriers have delivered 505 pallets of bottled water. That’s more than 43,750 cases totalling 1.258 million pounds. The collaboration began when businesses were forced to close during the pandemic and unhoused residents in Canada’s largest city no longer had access to clean, running water.
This year, Kriska Transportation, Thomson Terminals Limited, Brian Krutz Trucking, and GX Transportation Solutions are the fleets carrying water to the distribution centre. The water deliveries will continue through July, so service groups will have stock on hand as they need it throughout the summer.
Did you know? Trucks for Change Network fleets have delivered bottled water donations during major disasters, including to first responders during wildfires in Shelbourne, Nova Scotia, in 2023 and to evacuees impacted by fires in Lytton, BC, in 2021.