Signature Events

The Ottawa Food Bank’s signature events serve two important purposes:

  1. To help generate monetary and food donations necessary to support our member agencies and their clients
  2. To engage with our dedicated and enthusiastic community!

We could not do the work we do without your support. From grocery food drives to our annual Food Sort Challenge, these Ottawa Food Bank hosted events would not exist without YOU. Thank you to our volunteers, sponsors, event partners and participants for all that you do. Check out the full line up below.

Food Sort Challenge

The Food Sort Challenge, presented by Mondeau Bathroom and Kitchen, a division of Boone is a fast-paced corporate and community challenge, where teams of ten compete head-to-head to see who can sort food the fastest!

Incredible prizes are awarded to the fastest team as well as the top fundraisers, and the most spirited group.

adopt a crop community harvest

Adopt A Crop

Engage your employees, get outdoors and support the Ottawa Food Bank. Adopt a crop today!

Adopt a Crop invites local businesses to get involved with our community harvest. Each Adopt a Crop Ambassador will choose a crop and champion it over the course of the growing season. Our Ambassadors will also have access to a full season of exciting programming, including onsite community harvest volunteer shifts, virtual events, seasonal recipes and monthly updates straight from the farm!

Holiday Food Drive

Each November, we call on YOU and challenge workplaces, neighbourhoods, sports teams, faith communities, and other groups across Ottawa to collect funds and non-perishable food for families in need, as part of our Holiday Food Drive.

The Holiday Food Drive is a great way to bring in the holiday season, and the proceeds help the Ottawa Food Bank provide emergency food service for our community food programs and their clients well into the winter months.

Fill Plates Food Drive

Our Fill Plates Food Drive happens every spring and is always our LAST major food drive until the giving season begins in October. This means we need to ensure our shelves stay stocked and that we are able to continue to Fill Plates through the spring and summer months.

Ottawa Food Security Conference

The Ottawa Food Bank is pleased to host our annual Ottawa Food Security Conference, with each year focusing on a different theme. This conference aims to develop and grow the discourse around food security in Ottawa through knowledge sharing and professional development.

Thanks for Giving Food Drive

Amazing Ottawa Food Bank volunteers set up in grocery stores across the city to encourage shoppers to donate to the Ottawa Food Bank to help restock shelves as we prepare for the cold months ahead.

Need food?

Use our look up tool to find the community food program in your neighbourhood.