TORONTO — Chelsea Hotel, Toronto has gone above and beyond its usual holiday food drive by donating $1 per stay throughout the month of December to the Daily Bread Food Bank.

By year’s end in 2022, the hotel raised $15,000 in addition to collecting 1,500 pounds of food. 

For the past several years, the Chelsea has supported the organization by collecting close to 2,000 pounds of food each year through its holiday drive. But this year, the team wanted to take their commitment to the next level, said Josef Ebner, regional vice-president, Canada & managing director, Chelsea Hotel, Toronto.

“The ability to give back to the community is not only an important value of the Chelsea Hotel, Toronto but it is something the hotel practices every day. We are not only willing to go above and beyond to bring comfort to our guests, but also to bring comfort to families in need in the local community in which we operate. It is our hope that our fundraising efforts will make a significant difference for those who depend on Daily Bread Food Bank,” said Ebner.

According to Neil Heatherington, CEO of the Daily Bread Food Bank, there have been 1.99 million visits to Toronto food backs over the past 12 months, with demand projecting that number t over two million for the 2022 calendar year.

“The need for food banks is at crisis levels, with no sign of slowing down,” said Heatherington. “The support of community partners like the Chelsea Hotel is more important than ever as we have tripled the amount of food going out to our city since the pandemic to meet this dramatic rise in need.”

The Daily Bread Food Bank has found that after rent and utilities are paid, its clients have a median of $8.01 left per person, per day to pay for food and all other necessities. This is a drop from the previous year’s median of $9.17 per day. In addition, 69% of food bank clients were paying at least half of their income on housing, putting them at risk of homelessness, and 39% report that they do not have people in their lives to count on in times of need.

For more information about the Daily Bread Food Bank go to https://www.dailybread.ca/.