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Writer's pictureRotaract Club of Toronto

Community Services Committee (CSC) – Monthly Blog – Reflections on October Events


Fort York Food Bank (FYFB)

By Gina Chetram

On Saturday 27th October 2018, volunteers and members were able to prepare meals at the Fort York Food Bank. The day was divided into two shifts: the food preparation and cooking shift and the serving and cleanup. The first shift began at 8:30 am under the leadership of Head Chef Errol, an intelligent and kind-hearted individual who organized the meals and delegated their respective duties to volunteers to start the cooking.


The second shift directed by Maggie, the FYFB director commenced at 11:30 am, the second shift volunteers arranged the serving room with the necessary equipment for the meals as well as greeted and served the food, coffee and tea to the individuals who visited the FYFB that day. The team were able to serve a total of 155 plates of food, which consisted of pasta,vegetables, ground beef, chicken nugget and honeydew melon.


Personally, volunteering at the FYFB has been extremely fulfilling. It gives you the chance to work with people from various walks of life, contributes to self-development and empowers you to make a difference in the community. One of the reasons for getting involved with the Rotaract Club of Toronto is to help improve the quality of the lives of others in the community and around the world.

Trick or Eat Flyering Event

By Nereu Oliveira

What is trick or eat, you might be wondering. Trick or eat is a Toronto Rotaract event where some of our club members volunteer to go door to door on Halloween night asking for non-perishable items. This event took place in the High Park North neighbourhood. To get an optimal result out of it, we split the area into four routes.

Yes, that is right, we are asking for food, not candy and this is why the flyering event exist. It happens on the weekend that precedes Halloween, on the very same routes our volunteers are going to ask for food. We visit the houses and stick a flyer to let the residents know that we are coming on October 31st, this way they have time to prepare their donations.

This year was the second time I participate in the flyering event. For me, I find it fascinating to go around the area and see all the decorations, the community getting ready for this tradition and creativity manifesting in the form of Jack-o'-lanterns. For this year event, I team up with another Rotaractor, each one of us goes on different sides of the street to spread the word.

After all of the flyering and the trick or eat is over, we take all the donations to the Fort York Food Bank where it will be put to good use.

Trick or Eat

By Michael Tai, Edited by Rodayna Abuelwafa

On the Halloween night of 2018, there were four groups from Rotaract of Toronto and University of Toronto Rotaract. We covered 4 routes within a square that's between Runnyumede Rd, Keele St and Dundas st w, Bloor st w.

Our group B, we went along the Clendenan ave from the South end to the North. The route is about 15 minutes by walking, comfortably. The weather is just lovely for the day with great cloud coverage. So, everyone can go Trick or Treat early without fearing the late sunlight. In our case, we go Trick or Eat! With the sun down, no one will know you are in the late 20th :p To be honest, everyone is a bit of a kid deep down inside somewhere. Everyone had amazing time and can be a little kid again.


This time of the year is the perfect opportunity to get the residents of the area to open their doors and contribute to the food bank! During Halloween, kids come around and collect candy. The residents are in a giving sprint, they all have a bit of something they can contribute. Whether is a can of snail to bags of pasta, we collect them all!

Of course, we have many bags of pasta and dry goods; stacks upon stacks of canned vegetables, beans and more. On the Halloween night, we filled up the food rack and had many cans left overs in storage. The lady at the food bank told us, "... I have never seen this much food before... You guys have done well! " It's always good to know we have done something good and had fun at the same time!


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