Our Charity of the Month for June is Made With Love Winnipeg. Made With Love Winnipeg is an initiative by Chef Ben Kramer to address food insecurity in a time where covid-19 is restricting access to food for many individuals in Winnipeg. We asked Chef Ben Kramer some questions about the inspiration behind Made With Love Winnipeg and more to learn about this wonderful opportunity to serve people in our own community.
Q: Tell us about your inspiration to start Made with Love Winnipeg? A: We’ve been working with the Community Food Centres of Canada for quite a few years. We think the work they are doing is incredible. We have a food centre here in Winnipeg (Norwest). The Made with Love concept is one that was/is quite successful in Toronto and we decided that there is no reason it wouldn’t be here. Winnipegers are extremely generous. We decided to give it a shot and Winnipeggers stepped up and helped make it happen with their donations.
Q: Why is this something you are passionate about? A: I believe that food is a basic human right. Feeding people is love as a verb. In this time of uncertainty, it’s imperative that we take care of our neighbours who are the most vulnerable. We have the skills to do this effectively and with that comes the responsibility to respond to this need.
Q: Which local organizations will are the meals being distributed through? A: We are currently distributing food through Main Street Project and Norwest Community Food Centre. If donations keep rolling in and we are able to continue this project we intend to expand our reach.
Q: How many meals have you been able to provide so far? A: We just started. Our first week we did 160 meals and our second week we are up to 200.
Q: How long do you plan to continue running Made with Love Winnipeg? A: We plan on continuing as long as we can. We’ve raised enough money to continue for a few months and if donations keep coming in we will go indefinitely.
Made With Love Winnipeg has developed a high-quality, nutritious take-home meal menu that will be prepared using the highest food safety standards. These meals will be distributed through several Winnipeg organizations that are on the frontlines in trying to help communities during the COVID-19 and ever-deepening food insecurity crisis. Your support will ensure that our neighbours in need will have safe access to healthy food. Your charitable donation (big or small) will go a long way to getting good food to those who need it most.
Learn more about Made With Love Winnipeg by clicking HERE.
Throughout the month of June, $1 from the sale of every box of cupcakes will be donated to Made With Love Winnipeg.
