TORONTO — As part of a national partnership with Second Harvest, Sunwing has committed to donating over 46,000 meals to 17 communities across Canada.
According to Stephen Hunter, CEO of Sunwing Travel Group, partnering with Second Harvest – the largest food rescue organization in Canada – will give Sunwing the resources to ensure much-needed meals reach Canadians during this difficult time. Meals include smoked meat sandwiches, pizza, sausage rolls and breakfast sandwiches, among other items.
“We know Canadians are worried about their health and safety, but they shouldn’t have to worry about putting food on the table,” said Hunter. “Working with an incredible organization like Second Harvest gives us the opportunity to continue to help Canadians even as our operations are temporarily suspended.
“As a Canadian family-run business, we know what it means to look out for one another during moments of need, which is exactly what this partnership is all about.”
Sunwing’s donation will be provided to food programs in the following communities: Kelowna, BC; Vancouver, BC; Calgary, AB; Edmonton, AB; Saskatoon, SK; Regina, SK; Winnipeg, MB; Thunder Bay, ON; Ottawa, ON; Toronto, ON; Windsor, ON; Quebec City, QC; Montreal, QC; Moncton, NB; Halifax, NL; St. John’s, NL; Gander, NL.
Lori Nikkel CEO of Second Harvest, added: “During this crisis in particular, when so many people are at risk of going hungry, we can’t afford to let food go to waste. We thank Sunwing for their commitment to Canadians and their meaningful food donation that will help ensure Canadians everywhere have access to healthy food.”
After suspending all flights in response to the spread of COVID-19 and the government-imposed travel restrictions, Sunwing focused its efforts on helping support Canada’s collective pandemic response. The company’s airline employees and destination representatives worked tirelessly, sending over 400 repatriation flights to 45 destinations across the Caribbean, Mexico, Central America and Florida and bringing home over 60,000 Canadians, including 3,300 non-Sunwing customers, free of charge. This partnership with Second Harvest, through its program FoodRescue.ca, will allow Sunwing to redirect all unused inflight meals to Canadians in need.
