Hold those hamburgers, food banks need the cash
Senators fans asked to stop tossing burgers when hunger affects many
Before buying a hamburger to toss on the ice at Thursday’s Ottawa Senators game, think of all the mouths you can feed with that cash, community food bank organizers say.
“They are paying so much for (burgers),” said Denise Herbert, administrator at the Osgoode Community Food Cupboard, “and if the money was donated to the food bank there’s so much we could buy with it. So it’s a lot of money wasted.”
Herbert says it’s fun to support to Andrew “The Hamburglar” Hammond, the Senators rookie goaltender who has taken the spotlight with 14 wins in his first 15 starts, but there are other ways to celebrate his winning streak.
“I don’t really think they need to (throw) something on the ice. They could just wear the mask,” said Herbert.
“There are so many people hard up, really hard up. They have no income whatsoever for whatever reason and they can’t even put gas in their car to go look for a job. It’s ridiculous. And then, how much are those hamburgers? Five dollars each?”
Mai Lee. who heads up the Dalhousie Food Cupboard, says the burger tossing ritual is not only a waste of food, it also creates unnecessary work.
“It’s a waste of food and people have to work to clean it up,” said Lee.
“I don’t see it as a nice gesture. There should be a code of ethics. You come to see the game, you cheer the game. But you shouldn’t do those things that cause inconvenience to others.”
The Ottawa Food Bank understands how easy it is to get caught up in the excitement of the Senators’ recent success, and says a better way to support the team would be to make a donation at www. ottawafoodbank.ca. Given every dollar donated generates about $5 worth of good, that money would go much further than the arena trash can.
“We have a very active food recovery program with local hotels, restaurants, grocery stores and the Canadian Tire Centre where we recover food and in turn can provide it to those in need through our member food programs located throughout the city,” says Samantha Ingram, communications coordinator of the Ottawa Food Bank.