Make the Season Kind with CBC Sudbury

This holiday season, the CBC plans to Make the Season Kind.

In past years, we've hosted our annual Sounds of the Season event, often as a drop-in for listeners and the community to see one of our shows being broadcast live. This year,although the name and format is changing, the goal remains the same: it's all about helping those who are experiencing food insecurity in our communities.

This year, our reporters will be in the community gathering stories about the different ways people are making the season kind.

According to Feed Ontario, more than a million people living in Ontario turned to food banks over a 12-month period starting in the spring of 2023.

The organization represents a network of more than 1,200 food banks and hunger-relief organizations across the province.

The record number of visitors to Ontario food banks represented a 25 per cent increase over the previous fiscal year, according to the group.

Northeastern Ontario has been following the same general trend.

Dan Xilon, executive director of the Sudbury Food Bank, told CBC News earlier this year that demand was up 18 per cent.

At CBC Sudbury, we're doing our part to support the Sudbury Food Bank with our Make the Season Kind campaign.

Donate to the Sudbury Food Bank

Among the stories we plan to collect and present on radio and web, Morning North producer,Erik White, will connect with Sudbury's Nigerian community, wand will ride on their float in the city's hugely-attended Santa Claus parade. TheNigerian float made an appearance for the first time last year, andwas a big hit. This time, we will ride along and capture the atmosphere and the funand will play it back over the holiday season. .

Up North's Jonathan Pinto and Bridget Yard will be visit Sudbury's downtown market this month as it presents its Christmas theme. They will talk to vendors and shoppers about helping people facing food insecurity and the challenges small merchants and artists face these days.

Reporter Kate Rutherford will be visiting the Older Adult Centre in Sudbury which prepares and serves hot lunches for seniors at low cost. It has also just introduced a new twist, allowing people to pay for a hot take-away lunch for another senior, and do it anonymously.

Kate will visit on the day when seniors come to pick up their meal packages (which have enough food for two meals) and she'll talk to those who preparethe meals, as well as those who pay and those who receive.

We have more ideas in the works, but you'll have to stay tuned to Morning North and Up North, not to mention the CBC Sudbury web page, to follow all of our Make the Season Kind coverage.