Though a big milestone, founder Tim Kelly hopes to see even more food rescue in the coming years<\/p>\n
Connect the Dots Community Harvest is connecting more people than ever with healthy meals.<\/p>\n
Since being founded in 2017, the local food rescue organization has saved over 250,000 pounds of food from going to waste \u2013 over half of which was rescued in the past year alone.<\/p>\n
Put in other terms, that\u2019s enough meals to line the highway from Sault Ste. Marie to the St. Joseph Island turnoff.<\/p>\n
This year, they\u2019re looking to do even more.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think 240,000 pounds for this year alone is reasonable. That’s our target,\u201d said founder Tim Kelly.<\/p>\n
To connect people in need with healthy meals, the charity collects food that might otherwise go to waste from local grocery stores, bakeries, and farmers markets, and helps it get to the people who need it at dozens of different organizations across the city.<\/p>\n
When Connect the Dots started, it rescued around 10,000 pounds of food per year.<\/p>\n
That\u00a0has since ballooned to well over 10,000 pounds of food per month.<\/p>\n
In order to support local food security to that degree, a lot of people and organizations have stepped up.<\/p>\n
From the Tim Hortons Smile Cookie campaign that landed the charity its food rescue van last year, to the volunteers that step up every week and the local businesses that provide excess food, the community has come together to help Connect the Dots in its mission to help others.<\/p>\n
In February, 100+ Women Who Care Sault Ste. Marie donated over $11,000 to the charity, which will help pay off the balance of its van once the pre-paid two-year lease is up.<\/p>\n
\u201cOur goal is to raise money to buy out the van. We need about $59,000 by June of 2027 \u2013 that’s coming along,\u201d Kelly said.<\/p>\n
Without that support, Connect the Dots wouldn\u2019t be able to have the impact it does.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt’s pretty crucial. We’re a very low budget, high impact, local, grassroots kind of organization,\u201d Kelly said.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe don’t have regular funding, so getting funding from 100+ Women Who Care or any other organization that will help us out is crucial.\u201d<\/p>\n
With its van, community support\u00a0and a network of local non-profits to distribute food with, Kelly said Connect the Dots is now in a position where it can readily take on additional work if local businesses would like to step up and donate unused food.<\/p>\n
“This was a goal to expand, to be in a position where we can take advantage of opportunities for additional food when it becomes available,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n
\u201cUp until now, using a borrowed truck, or my pickup truck or so on \u2013 we couldn’t expand much. It was a bottleneck.\u201d<\/p>\n