OPMA and TWPA Donate 1,000 Boxes of Fresh Produce to Ontario Food Banks and Agencies

Toronto, ON – March 26, 2025 – The Ontario Produce Marketing Association (OPMA), in partnership with the Toronto Wholesale Produce Association (TWPA), packed and distributed 1,050 boxes of fresh produce to people experiencing food insecurity across Ontario over the past weekend. The boxes – similar to a large-sized banker’s box -were packed by over 60 volunteers on Saturday, March 22, 2025, at the Ontario Food Terminal.

“The current economic situation in Ontario has sparked increased food insecurity and an increased use of food banks, so we were pleased to run the Annual Produce Share Program this spring, which was supported by a generous sponsorship from TWPA,” says Rebecca Harris, OPMA President. The boxes were delivered to various food banks and agencies across Ontario, and each contained enough fruit and vegetables for a family of four for an entire week. Each box also included a healthy recipe using the ingredients provided in the box and a cutting board.

“The OPMA and TWPA, as well as volunteers from the OPMA membership, have been running this program since 1990,” says Steven Moffat, Chair of the OPMA’s Social Responsibility Committee and CFO at North American Produce Buyers Ltd. “We are strong believers that everyone should have access to affordable, healthy fruits and vegetables. Unfortunately, that is not the case for everyone and we are happy to do our part.”

To run this program efficiently, OPMA members offer produce at reduced prices, with some members offering donations. In addition, transportation is donated with members’ trucks carrying the boxes packed on skids to organizations in Kingston, Leamington, Kingsville and London, with local organizations chipping in to provide their own transportation.

Mike Bloxam, Fresh Food Co-ordinator at the London Food Bank said: “Thank you once again for the generous donation on Monday. I wanted to share with you that in addition to giving the produce boxes to the larger families that visit us, we were able to distribute about one-third of the boxes to eight other food banks and agencies in London, Ingersoll and St. Thomas. You have had such an amazing impact on our operations this week and also helped out so many other organizations as a result.”