10% of our profits to the Ottawa Food Bank May 14-24
May 14 - 24 We will donate 10% of our proceeds to the Ottawa Food Bank
It's about the time of year when Ottawa explodes with tulips. The Tulip Festival is a great tourist destination with a cool story behind it. As kids growing up here, every year in school they tell you the story of the connection between Holland and Canada, how a hospital room was declared Dutch soil for a princess to be born in, and how the bulbs are a gift from Holland in recognition of Canadian assistance during World War II.
I've seen the power of that connection first hand. My grandfather was one small part of the giant effort made in the 1944/45 liberation of Holland. Everyone called him "Shorty". Everyone except his Dutch friends, they called him "Petty", short for Patrick. He maintained friendships with the people he met there until he died. When my parents took him back in 2005 for the celebrations for the anniversary of Dutch liberation, they said it was like he and his old friends were picking up right where they left off.
Dutch Canadians, many of them refugees, have done a lot for the horticulture industry in Canada, and so we gardeners also owe a lot to those immigrants for the beautiful plants (not just tulips!) that we enjoy today. Also, they put chocolate sprinkles on their toast for breakfast and that's just incredible.
The Dutch famine (Hongerwinter) was attributed to the deaths of 18,000 people between September 1944 and May 1945. And while it's good to remember the hard times and sacrifices made by our grandparents, it's important to remember that we have neighbours who are struggling in the here and now. The pandemic has made the pressure on the Ottawa Food Bank even more acute. Every month, over 39 thousand people in Ottawa use the Food Bank.
How much is 39 thousand people? It's about as many people as it would take to fill each and every seat in the Canadian Tire Centre.
Twice.
More than a third of them are children.
Food insecurity is a vital issue. Shorty was always the first in line to give to the community. We are very fortunate to have food on our plates. So for May 14-24, I'm very happy to announce we will donate 10% of our net proceeds to the Ottawa Food Bank.
No, we don't sell tulips. (Maybe next year!) May is not a great time to plant bulbs, anyway. But I can almost guarantee there's a Dutch connection to just about any plant we sell, if you're into themes. And if I don't know a real one, I promise I'll personally make up a really great story about a connection to Holland for any plant you want to buy, or point you to places where you can get toast sprinkles. Not sure where to start? We're here to give advice on any garden question you have. We're so glad to be part of a project that can help raise funds to support the Food Bank's mission, alleviate poverty, and make Ottawa an even more beautiful place to live.
