The Ottawa Food Bank’s Fill the Plates food drive is returning this weekend. In partnership with more than 20 grocery stores across Ottawa, the food drive aims to collect non-perishable food items at grocery store entrances for those in need. The most needed items this spring are cereal, canned tomatoes and oats. “The reason why that’s really important now is that as we see the growth in cost, cost of living, affordability. All of these donations will help us get through the summer months,” says Natalie Spooner, interim CEO with the Ottawa Food Bank. The Ottawa Food Bank says high cost of living, including the cost of housing, gas and groceries, make it harder for people to afford the basics. According to the Ottawa Food Bank, over 25 per cent of families and individuals in Ottawa will continue to have empty plates this spring. The Ottawa Food Bank says it saw mroe than 588,000 visits in 2025. “Going into this year, what we’re starting to see is people needing to turn to food banks more consistently. Some people who need to turn to food banks, who never had to turn to a food bank before,” says Spooner. Spooner mistakenly said there were 855,000 visits in 2025. The Ottawa Food Bank says she misspoke. “The Ottawa Food Bank network records 588,000 visits annually. A previously stated figure of 855,000 was shared in error. Thank you for allowing us to correct the record,” a statement says. A continuous challenge for the Food Bank is the growing demand. “We really do need to keep those food drives going, because we need those donations to meet a rising demand that just seems to outpace us,” says Spooner. The Food Bank supports a network of about 100 programs across the city, a number that keeps growing. The drive will run between 10:00 a.m. and 3:00 p.m. on Saturday at Loblaws, Metro, Real Canadian Superstore, and Your Independent Grocer locations. Monetary donations can be made through the Ottawa Food Bank. These are the participating grocery stores:
