News release - Barrie & District Christmas Cheer
Barrie & District Christmas Cheer has become accustomed to pivoting their campaign following the COVID-19 pandemic, but this time around it’s a turkey shortage that has the organization shifting gears.
The organization, who provides nearly 1,700 families in need with a food hamper and new, unwrapped toys for Christmas Day, typically supplies each family with one turkey per household. This year, due to an epidemic of Avian Influenza affecting the entire turkey industry, Christmas Cheer organizers received a shocking phone call from their supplier to inform them that their order of over 1,000 turkeys had been cancelled.
“We’re no strangers to making changes on the fly, but this circumstance was completely unexpected,” said Christmas Cheer President Stephane Quenneville. “We made the decision to substitute a turkey with a full-sized ham this year, in order to meet the demand and also ensure the health and safety of our applicants.”
In addition to the changes to their food hampers, the organization announced a new $280,000 fundraising goal, to help combat the rising cost of food inflation. Fundraising is well underway in order for Christmas Cheer to reach their new goal, but with only a few short weeks left to go, organizers are definitely concerned.
“We’ve noticed that local fundraisers and events haven’t been hitting the numbers that they have in the past,” said Christmas Cheer Events Coordinator Leah Wells. “People everywhere are struggling with inflation, which has our application numbers up, and our donations down.”
Despite having to substitute a ham for a turkey in food hampers, Barrie & District Christmas Cheer wants the community to know that the health and safety of their applicants are of the utmost importance and they will ensure families receive the food and toys they need to create a magical Christmas morning, but will need to rely heavily on the donations from the community.
For more information about Barrie & District Christmas Cheer, to donate, or to find out how to host a fundraiser, please visit their website: christmascheerbarrie.com.
Banner image via Barrie & District Christmas Cheer
