Released by Trucks For Change Network

(TORONTO: July 17, 2024) Trucks for Change Network transporters have wrapped up a two-month-long national campaign this week delivering kids’ food packs for the After the Bell initiative of Food Banks Canada. The transporters have made deliveries coast to coast to coast – from Charlottetown, PEI to Inuvik, NWT to Vancouver Island, BC.

A total of 94 food banks all over Canada received deliveries from Trucks for Change Network transporters of kid-friendly food packs that will help feed children struggling with food insecurity during the summer after the last school bell rang. That’s 112,840 individual food packs that will help feed more than 14,000 children throughout July and August.

The deliveries were made for a charity partner program aptly called, After the Bell, a Food Banks Canada initiative, which ensures kids receive food when school meal programs stop over the summer months. Trucks for Change Network is proud to be recognized as an official partner of Food Banks Canada’s After the Bell program, which the network has supported for several consecutive years.

“Trucks for Change sponsors and transporters are eager to support the After the Bell initiative because hunger affects so many families in every community across Canada,” says Betsy Sharples, Executive Director of Trucks for Change Network.  “The trucking industry is uniquely positioned to assist this program given that our carrier partners are able to deliver these kids’ food packs to virtually every food bank that is accessible by road.”

“The number of families experiencing food insecurity is soaring across the country, and unfortunately, it has a significant impact on children,” explains Kirstin Beardsley, CEO of Food Banks Canada. “The need for us to join forces and work together is imperative especially now, as school-based meal and snack programs are not available during the summer. This is why we appreciate our partnership with the Trucks for Change Network and are grateful for all they have done to help children across Canada have a better summer in 2024.”

Trucks for Change is a national network of community-minded trucking companies and industry sponsors that provide transportation services for charitable organizations.

Food Banks Canada’s After the Bell program provides children in high-needs communities with “summer packs” containing nutritious meals when in-school breakfast and lunch programs are not available. Food Banks Canada is a charitable organization representing the food bank community across Canada.

Thank you to the 31 carriers that provided transportation services for the 2024 After the Bell program:

• Apps Transport Group
• B & R Eckels Transport
• Bandstra Transportation Systems
• Bison Transport
• C.A.T. Inc.
• Canada Cartage
• Cavalier Transportation
• ColdStar Solutions Inc.
• Eassons Transport Group
• The Erb Group
• Gardewine
• Grimshaw Trucking LP
• Guilbault Inc.
• GX Transport
• Hartrans Cartage Services Limited
• JD Smith Logistics Solutions
• Kriska Transportation Group
• Lethbridge Truck Terminals
• Manitoulin Transport
• Maritime-Ontario Freight Lines Limited
• Minimax Express Inc.
• Mountain Transport Institute Ltd.
• One For Freight
• Onfreight Logistics
• Pacific Northwest Group
• Polaris Transportation Group
• Rosenau Transport Ltd.
• Sokil Group of Companies
• TST-CF Express
• Whitecourt Transport Inc.
• XTL Transport Inc.

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More Information

For more on Food Banks Canada’s After the Bell program, go to afterthebell.foodbankscanada.ca

For more about Trucks for Change, go to trucksforchange.org