The annual Three Loonies on the Street fundraiser in Peterborough has surpassed its $130,000 goal in support of Kawartha Food Share.
The Friday morning fundraiser on George Street in downtown Peterborough has been raising funds for the food bank for the past 18 years, raising more than $1.6 million.
As of 3:30 p.m. Friday, more than $142,000 had been raised, according to Kawartha Food Share, with more donations still to be counted. Volunteers at the corner of George and Simcoe streets at Peterborough Square were collecting donations from pedestrians, drivers and businesses.
The food shelter provides monthly provides support to 9,000 residents in the city and county.
“We have 37 member agencies, so those include food banks, meal programs, housing shelter,” general manager Ashlee Aitken said. “We feed about 9,000 people a month through food banks, 15,000 meals are served at meal programs and 17,000 kids a day at breakfast and nutrition programs — so it’s quite large numbers for a city our size.”
Each dollar donated to Kawartha Food Share translates into $6 of spending power for the food bank.
One of the biggest single donations of the morning was $10,000 from Tim Hortons in Peterborough.
“It’s actually a privilege,” said Erika Howe-Gallagher, a Tim Hortons franchisee. “It really is a privilege to be able to do this. We know that there is such great need.”
Corus Entertainment’s Global News Peterborough, Fresh Radio 100.5 FM and 101.5 FM The Wolf were major sponsors of the event.