The Humboldt and District Food Bank got a great seasonal boost from their friends at Olymel. On December 8, 2022, Olymel was proud to present the Humboldt and District Food Bank with a total donation of $44,292 from their sixth annual Giving Back Together fundraiser.

Lori Rowat, human resources manager at Olymel, says it was a community effort and they could not have achieved this goal without the support of local businesses as well as their staff. It started six years ago with a corporate initiative to support those who had food issues to help provide for their families.

“It made sense for us to partner with the local food bank,” says Rowat. “Our mission statement is ‘feeding the world together’, so it just made sense for us to go to somebody who helped people with issues providing food for their families.”

Olymel in Humboldt runs a variety of smaller scale fundraisers from May to September to support the cause, but by far the biggest is the community barbecue featuring Olymel products. This year’s event, which was packed as usual, took place at the beginning of September. 

“Later on in the day, we provide meals to local farmers. We’ll take the meal out to the field while they’re harvesting, and we’ll provide enough food usually for 10-15 people.”

The single day fundraiser generates $15,000 to $20,000. Raffles and auctions throughout the summer fundraiser period supply the balance. Those funds were gratefully received by Amy Shepherd, director of the Humboldt and District Food Bank. 

Through it’s donation, Olymel remains true to their mission statement: “Together, we feed the world.”