Buy one, donate one. It’s a simple concept one group is hoping Winnipeggers will get behind.
Mealshare is a non-profit organization that donates meals to children in need by connecting local restaurants with local charities.
“It’s a buy one, give one model,” Mealshare Community Leader Chantal Lacoste said. “Basically once the customer orders they are not only getting their meal, they are giving a meal to a youth in our community.”
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The social enterprise launched in Winnipeg in mid-June.
When diners purchase a ‘Mealshare’ item from a participating restaurant, one dollar goes to the charity to purchase food and provide a meal to a youth in need.
“Our goal is to help end youth hunger,” Lacoste said. “Going out to eat is a luxury. Not everyone can afford to do that. So why not give back with something a lot of us take for granted everyday?”
In each city that Mealshare operates, it works with a different local charity – in Winnipeg’s case, the Boys and Girls Clubs of Winnipeg – to donate meals. The organization also works with Save the Children, which provides meals to children in Africa.
“One of the things we do within our clubs across the city, we always feed kids a meal who come through our doors,” Michelle Schmidt, the Director of programs for Boys and Girls Clubs of Winnipeg said. “We know that sometimes it may be the only meal they’ll see that day or the only healthy meal they’ll see that day.”
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But it can be a daunting task to always have enough funds to cover the cost of that food.
“We’re always looking for dollars to provide that food and that healthy food for kids,” Schmidt said. “A dollar is huge. It costs, for us, probably $2 to feed a kid a day and to know that most of that, half of that, is covered through a partner like Mealshare is huge.”
Participating restaurants in Winnipeg include Stella’s, Original Joes, Fionn’s, Confusion Corner, Mona Lisa, The Merchant Kitchen, Teo’s and Pizzeria Gusto.
Already, 1,249 meals have been donated within the city.
Across the country, Mealshare has donated more than 2.1 million meals.
Mealshare originally launched in Calgary in 2013, teaming up with four restaurants. It now has partnerships with more than 80 restaurants in eight cities and 45 communities.
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