Scarborough Health Network (SHN) is honoured to be selected as the first recipient of MLSE’s generous new meal donation program – Bring Toronto Back – with our Centenary hospital enjoying a special delivery of earlier today.

MLSE and a team of founding partners – Scotiabank, Tangerine Bank, Bell, and Rogers – teamed up to create a large-scale meal program to support and thank Toronto’s frontline health workers and their families. Deliveries to SHN’s Birchmount and General hospitals are scheduled for next week.

SHN staff and physicians were greeted by Doug Ford, Premier, Province of Ontario; John Tory, Mayor, City of Toronto; Michael Friisdahl, President and CEO, Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment; Dan Rees, Group Head, Canadian Banking, Scotiabank; Elizabeth Buller, President and CEO, SHN; and Alicia Vandermeer, President and CEO, SHN Foundation. Joined by Carlton the Bear, Mascot for the Toronto Maple Leafs, and The Raptor from the Toronto Raptors, the team presented staff and physicians with pre-made, gourmet meals as a thank-you for their courageous efforts.

“Our frontline heroes and behind-the-scenes warriors are putting themselves at the forefront of the COVID-19 fight, spending time away from their homes and families. We’re extremely grateful to MLSE and partners for recognizing the efforts and commitment of our teams responding to the COVID-19 pandemic,” said Elizabeth Buller, President and CEO, SHN.

The goal of the community meal program, operating out of Scotiabank Arena, is to prepare and deliver as many as 10,000 meals a day to local hospital frontline workers and community agencies. Scotiabank Arena has been transformed into Toronto’s largest kitchen, with its many food preparation facilities and the arena floor being used to prepare and assemble the meal packages.

“We are deeply appreciative of MLSE, Scotiabank and all of the partners who have found an innovative way to use their resources to support the communities who need it most, recognizing the heroes keeping our community safe and healthy. Thank you, from the bottom of our hearts,” said Alicia Vandermeer, President and CEO, SHN Foundation.

Second Harvest, the largest food rescue organization in Canada, along with a network of local suppliers and sponsors, are supplying fresh ingredients daily to the MLSE team. The chefs will then turn those food supplies, along with other food purchased or donated to the program, into fresh, nutritious, ready-to-heat single-serving meals suitable for a variety of dietary needs. MLSE worked with food hygiene experts and Toronto Public Health during the development of the program to ensure the safety of the meals and of the people who are working to prepare them.

“In a time of crisis like we are experiencing, many different needs emerge, and we saw this as a chance to use our facilities and engage our people to serve our community. We are grateful to MLSE’s employees, our teams through the Team Toronto Fund and the Maple Leafs Alumni for their donations and our generous partners for helping answer the call and providing the resources needed to fill an important need at this critical time,” said Michael Friisdahl, President & CEO of MLSE.

For details on SHN’s COVID-19 response, visit SHN.ca/covid-19. For more information on SHN Foundation’s COVID-19 relief efforts, visit www.shnfoundation.ca.