Mississauga, November 28, 2023 – Bayer Canada’s national fundraising efforts over the past five years have totalled more than $1 million in support of Food Banks Canada. Bayer has more than 1000 employees across Canada striving to prevent and cure disease, improve everyday health, and help feed a growing population. Each year, Bayer employees run two fundraising campaigns that support the one in five Canadians who continue to find it difficult to bring food to the table each day.
Over the past 5 years, these fundraising efforts have:
- Helped Food Banks Canada reach its goal of delivering 185,000 ‘After the Bell’ food packs to over 200 communities in Canada in 2023.
- Supported the development of 83 community gardens, greenhouses, and growing projects across 8 provinces – generating 140,000 lbs of fresh food (+FreshFund program).
- Assisted with the development of awareness and advocacy efforts which are seeking to improve how policy better supports the needs of Canada’s most northern communities.
“We are thrilled to continue this relationship with Bayer, we know that their employees share our vision of a Canada where no one goes hungry,” said Kirstin Beardsley, CEO of Food Banks Canada. “The support received is more important than ever and we are extremely appreciative of our partnership, and that Bayer employees continue to give generously to helpfood banks across Canada.”
In 2023, employees raised over $28,000 in support of the ‘After the Bell’ child nutrition program which addresses the 33% of food bank users that are children. In addition, almost 350 employees participated in this year’s Thanksgiving canstruction campaign donating more than 2,800+ kg of food to support the growing needs at local food banks.
“We have a passionate group of employees who are compelled to support their communities in the spirit of our global mission of Health for All and Hunger for None,” said Antoine Bernet, President and CEO of Bayer in Canada. “I am proud of our employee’s continued efforts and am pleased to be supporting the great work our partners at Food Banks Canada are doing to address the growing challenge of hunger in Canada.”
About Bayer
Bayer is a global enterprise with core competencies in the life science fields of health care and nutrition. Its products and services are designed to help people and planet thrive by supporting efforts to master the major challenges presented by a growing and aging global population. Bayer is committed to drive sustainable development and generate a positive impact with its businesses. At the same time, the Group aims to increase its earning power and create value through innovation and growth. The Bayer brand stands for trust, reliability, and quality throughout the world. In fiscal 2022, the Group employed around 101,000 people and had sales of 50.7 billion euros. R&D expenses before special items amounted to 6.5 billion euros. For more information, go to www.bayer.ca.
About Food Banks Canada
Food Banks Canada provides national leadership to relieve hunger today and prevent need tomorrow in collaboration with the food bank network from coast-to-coast-to-coast. For 40 years, food banks have been dedicated to helping Canadians living with food insecurity. Over 4,750 food banks and community organizations come together to serve our most vulnerable neighbours who in March of last year made nearly 2 million visits to these organizations, according to our 2023 HungerCount Report. Over the past 10 years, as a system we've sourced and shared over 1.4 billion pounds of food, and Food Banks Canada shared nearly $168 million in funding to help maximize collective impact and strengthen local capacity – while advocating for reducing the need for food banks. Our vision is clear: create a Canada where no one goes hungry. Visit foodbankscanada.ca to learn more.
Contact:
Bayer Inc.
Communications Department
Director of External Communications
michelle.book@foodbankscanada.ca
Find more information at www.bayer.ca and at www.foodbankscanada.ca.
Forward-Looking Statements
This release may contain forward-looking statements based on current assumptions and forecasts made by Bayer management. Various known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors could lead to material differences between the actual future results, financial situation, development or performance of the company and the estimates given here. These factors include those discussed in Bayer’s public reports which are available on the Bayer website at www.bayer.com. The company assumes no liability whatsoever to update these forward-looking statements or to conform them to future events or developments.