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TURKEY INDUSTRY HONOURED BY ONTARIO’S FOOD BANKS

October 28, 2011 (Guelph, ON)  – The Ontario Association of Food Banks (OAFB) presented its annual Paul Mistele Memorial Award to Turkey Farmers of Ontario at the Harvest Gala in Guelph last night. Named for the late farm leader who founded Ontario Pork’s Donate-A-Hog program in 1998, the Paul Mistele Memorial Award recognizes agricultural partners who have shown a significant and enduring commitment to ending hunger in Ontario.

“Access to affordable, fresh food, especially high protein, is all too often out of reach for low-income Ontarians,” said Bill Laidlaw, Executive Director of the OAFB. “The ongoing generosity of Turkey Farmers of Ontario is a marvellous example of how Ontario’s farmers and producers can make a huge impact in the fight against hunger."

Turkey Farmers of Ontario continues to be an important supporter of food banks. This past Thanksgiving, they donated $57,000 to rural food banks across Ontario, to purchase turkeys to help struggling families celebrate the holiday.

Past recipients of the Paul Mistele Memorial Award include Ontario Pork (2008); the Ontario Dairy Council, Dairy Farmers of Ontario, and Ontario Milk Transport Association (2009); and Nature Fresh Farms in Leamington (2010).

About OAFB
The Ontario Association of Food Banks (OAFB) is a network of 20 regional food banks and over 100 community food banks representing over 1,100 hunger relief programs across the province, from Ottawa to Windsor, and Niagara Falls to Thunder Bay.  For more information about the OAFB, as well as hunger and poverty in Ontario, please visit oafb.ca.

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