Donations from Windsor-Essex's 2nd June 27 Miracle food drive to help 'thousands' in need

With more than 5,000 volunteers and 40 central food hubs, Windsor-Essex's second annual June 27 Miracle food drive was another huge success, according to organizers. 

The event involves residents from all across Windsor-Essex placing non-perishable food items or toiletries on their doorsteps. Teams of volunteers then drive through the communities to pick up the food and transport it to one of 40 locations in the region. 

"I think it's more than last year, even from the energy, the involvement has been amazing," said June 27 Miracle organizer Matt Hernandez. 

At this time, Hernandez said it's unclear how much food was collected, though they hope to know a rough estimate once the sorting process is complete. Last year, organizers said they received approximately 916,500 kilograms of food.

Last year, when the event was founded, the food took seven weeks and some 1,200 volunteers to sort through it all. 

Last year, all the donations were brought to one central location, the WFCU Centre. 

We're going to be helping out thousands and thousands of families that are in need throughout Windsor-Essex.- Matt Hernandez

But because this caused some sorting and distribution challenges, Hernandez said this year, they decided to set up dozens of spots. 

All of the locations, according to Hernandez, were spaces that were offered up by local business owners or organizations who had available storage, such as Average Joe's on Lauzon Road and Tecumseh Mall.

Though Hernandez is grateful for the places that stepped in to help, he said this comes with its own challenges, in terms of ensuring that donations are being properly received and sorted. But he's hopeful this will avoid the logistical issues they faced before. 

"By having all the organizations involved who actually deal with the people that need it most, we're going to be able to get that food out a lot faster this year," Hernandez said. 

In the next week, Hernandez said distribution to local organizations and places or people in need will begin. 

Donations to help 'thousands' of Windsor-Essex residents

One of the food hub locations was at the Roundhouse Centre shopping mall in Windsor. 

The food at that location is for the UHC Hub of Opportunities, formerly known as the Unemployed Help Centre (UHC), and distributed to the 15 food banks represented by the Windsor Essex County Food Bank Association. 

At that location alone, there was an estimated 68,000 kilograms of food, according to June Muir, CEO of the UHC Hub of Opportunities.

"Our goal is to make the food last, because we're not getting a lot of donations right now ... so this food is so helpful and this truly is a miracle today because our shelves are getting bare." 

The food collected in 2020 lasted almost a full year, Muir said, adding that she hopes they can stretch these donations just as far. 

"It's a sense of relief, too, because we know UHC could use more donations, especially the amount of food bank clients we see come through the drive through every week," said Leilani Logronio, a city parks and recreation staff member who has been redeployed to help other organizations during the pandemic. 

Hernandez said everyone who participated in this year's event should be "extremely proud."

"We're going to be helping out thousands and thousands of families that are in need throughout Windsor-Essex," Hernandez said.

If your June 27 Miracle donation was missed and not picked up from your home, Hernandez said you can bring the food to a drop-off location listed on their website or message the group on Facebook for accommodations.